Students Weigh In On District 225 Election With Rally

NORTHBROOK, IL — Calling it a rally in support of inclusion, uncensored discussion and against intolerance, a group of Glenbrook High School District 225 students organized a rally Tuesday behind Northbrook Village Hall ahead of next week's Consolidated Election.

"Education shapes those in our democracy, and fighting for education at my school that accepts all members of our community and values preparing students to participate in our democracy will lead us to liberation, and therefore, is of the utmost importance," said Sophia Marasco, GBN senior and a rally organizer.

The students, including Marasco and fellow organizer, GBS sophomore Drew Duffy, said they are supporting candidates Bruce Doughty (current president), Michelle Seguin, Matt O'Hara and Peter Glowacki (current vice president) for the Glenbrook District 225 Board of Education on April 6. The organizers said these candidates are supportive of BIPOC and LGBTQ+ students and issues. Seguin spoke at the rally.

Also running in the race for four seats on the D225 board are incumbent Sonia Kim, along with challengers Albert Herbst III, David Hochberg, Paul Kelly, Mai Lin Noffke and Carol Schmidt. Herbst, Noffke, Schmidt and Kelly are being endorsed by Team Glenbrook 225.

Northbrook: 2021 Consolidated Elections

The students, who founded a group called Glenbrook As 1, said the rally was needed to stand up against the Glenbrook Community Action Network. The students said GCAN sent more than 30 emails to teachers and school boards in the district asking them to stop political discussions in the classroom.

"[They also asked them] to remove all conversations of race, Black Lives Matter, inclusivity for members of the LBGTQ+ community, and much more," Marasco said.

According to correspondence from a March 15 Glenbrook D225 board meeting, GCAN's mission is to promote non-partisan teaching and education as well as acceptance and protection of diverse viewpoints in all public schools. The students at Tuesday's rally said GCAN is supporting the Team Glenbrook 225 slate of candidates.

"Team 225 wants to turn back the clock back to a time where American students did not even have to be burdened with any part of the real truth," said Lauren McGinnis, a 2020 graduate of GBN. "They learned a very selective curriculum that painted a picture of a Disney fairy tale rather than the Brothers Grimm story this country actually is."

Organizers said around 250 people were in attendance at the rally. Other speakers included Julie Schaeffer, a parent of a nonbinary GBN graduate; Araya Dhiensir, a 2020 GBN graduate; and state Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz, a GBS parent.