Somali community forms task force to address tensions

A group of students walked out of classes Wednesday afternoon at Technical High School in protest.
(Photo: Jason Wachter)

By Sam Louwagie
Tuesday, March 24, 2015

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Members of the St. Cloud Somali community have assembled a task force of around 15 people to meet with St. Cloud school district officials and seek a "peaceful resolution" after ethnic tensions flared at Technical High School last week. Members of the task force could meet with Superintendent Willie Jett as early as Wednesday.

Abdul Kulane, a Somali community leader and former City Council candidate, said at least 200 community members gathered Saturday at St. Cloud Public Library and chose people from different segments of the Somali population who intend to talk about what they see as a pattern of bullying and discrimination at the school. The task force includes parents of Tech students, community elders and other leaders, and two Tech students.

"We wanted the full community to be represented," Kulane said. "We want people to put their heads together and have a meaningful dialogue. It's not going to work if it's just the students, or just the parents."

Members of the task force met Monday to solidify an agenda before meeting with officials.

District spokeswoman Tami DeLand said Jett is planning to meet with members of the task force this week. DeLand said Jett met with Somali community elders Saturday.

"All of these meetings are intended to be problem-solving," DeLand said. "The superintendent's agenda is to make sure that our mission is carried out at Tech High School and all our schools, and that all students feel welcome."

Separately, representatives from the Council on American-Islamic Relations met Monday evening with Tech students and community leaders after being contacted by them last week, said CAIR Executive Director Jaylani Hussein.

As a civil rights organization, Hussein said it is supporting community efforts and will work with all parties to settle any cases in the short term. Most of that happens through negotiations and conversations, he said.

"Dialogue is when real solutions happen," he said. "Especially issues like this require dialogue. Right now, we support the community's efforts ... and are working hand in hand."

They discussed specific issues the students had been reporting to the media. Hussein said they also discussed some of the steps the district was supposed to take as part of its lawsuit settlement with CAIR in 2011.

That agreement required the district to report student complaints, examine codes of conduct, train staff and communicate with the community.

After some discussion about those measures with students, Hussein said that requires further investigation before CAIR makes a statement.

CAIR plans to have more meetings with parents, teachers and community members.

Hussein said while there is still great tension among students and community members and fear of backlash against students who protested, they do feel like their voices are being head.

CAIR has not been in touch with school administrators.

"When the community is ready, when we're all ready as a group to deal with administrators," he said, they will do so.

Meanwhile, normalcy returned to Tech during a successful school day, DeLand said. In a voice message sent to parents Monday afternoon, principal Adam Holm said he was "very proud of all the students and staff for working together toward a safe and caring environment."

Nearly 100 Somali students protested on the school's front lawn Wednesday after protesters said an offensive Snapchat post circulated. On Friday, another disturbance placed the school under lockdown, and upset students walked out of a meeting with administration meant to address their concerns. DeLand confirmed that some students left the meeting, though she did not know how many or what prompted them to walk out.

"If you're going to have deep and meaningful conversation, it doesn't end after one meeting," DeLand said.

School districts track at-home languages but not students' nationalities. Of the 1,426 students at Tech, 277 — or just more than 19 percent — speak the Somali language in the home, DeLand said. At Apollo, that number is 292 of 1,342 students, or nearly 22 percent.

Times staff writer Stephanie Dickrell contributed to this report.

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