When Mr. D’Ambrosio addressed the community at all-school meeting last Friday, he asserted that complaints about the school’s unresponsiveness to an incident of hate speech during a Lower Mid class activity were unwarranted. He cited recent examples of the school taking disciplinary action — specifically, two dismissals and five general probations handed out by the DC.

However, Mr. D’Ambrosio’s speech only added confusion to the chaos, as some pointed out that the disciplinary actions he referenced were entirely unrelated to the Lower Mid class activity. We were unsurprised by this most recent case of unrest against the school’s discipline committee, as it represents the product of a system shrouded in secrecy.

Like many others in the community, we’re disturbed by the opaque nature of our school’s discipline process. Recently, racial bias involving hate speech during a Lower Mid class activity was reported to the Deans’ Office, but the Hotchkiss community has been kept in the dark about what response, if any, the school is taking. This lack of transparency has created a palpable atmosphere of mistrust and skepticism among students who are questioning whether the school is truly taking the issue of racial bias seriously.

The Discipline Committee at Hotchkiss is entrusted with upholding the values and rules of our school, but without transparency, the community is left questioning the fairness of the Committee’s decisions. This must change.

One solution to this problem would be to establish an independent oversight committee, composed of students, staff, and community members, that would review the decisions and actions taken by the Discipline Committee. This oversight committee would provide an additional layer of transparency and accountability, and would help to ensure that the school is taking the issue of racial bias and hate speech seriously.

Another solution would be to publish redacted or partial minutes of D.C. meetings during all-school meetings, so the Hotchkiss community can have a clearer understanding of the Committee’s actions. The Committee’s decisions should be shared with the entire student body, along with an explanation of the reasoning behind them.

Transparency is key in addressing issues of racial bias and hate speech, and it will be crucial in rebuilding trust and confidence in the school’s disciplinary process. The Hotchkiss administration must take concrete action to increase transparency and accountability. It is time for the school to demonstrate a real commitment to addressing the issues of racial bias and hate speech in a transparent and just manner.