LI Classmates Condemn Student Who Violated Coronavirus Protocols

MASTIC BEACH, NY — Some William Floyd High School students created a petition to speak out against Maverick Stow, a classmate who was arrested Thursday for attending school in person on a day when he was scheduled for virtual instruction due to coronavirus protocols.

The petition, "The Students of William Floyd High School Condemn the Actions of Maverick Stow," was created by Emilia Brandimarte and garnered 2,014 signatures by Monday afternoon.

"Maverick Stow’s egotistical spectacle does not get to speak for what student activism looks like at William Floyd," the petition says. "We condemn Stow’s actions and are embarrassed to be represented by him in any way. We do not believe that we should be deprived of our two days of in-person learning because of the actions of a single student."

A representative for the school district said on Thursday that if Stow continued with his actions, in-person instruction could be shut down for the entire high school of nearly 3,000 students.

On Tuesday, Stow, 17, a senior, turned up for school on a day designated for Group A students, despite the fact that he was in Group B, designated for virtual instruction students. He attended, he told Patch, to protest the district's hybrid learning plan. He was suspended and when he returned on Wednesday, he was cited with a criminal trespassing notice. On Thursday, when he returned a third time, he was arrested.

School officials said Stow did not return to campus Friday.

Stow did not respond to a request for comment Monday.

After his suspension, he told Patch, "The district seems to think students peacefully speaking their minds and making their voices heard is an unacceptable practice that seems to be disciplined quite harshly."

He said he realized showing up for classes was a "pretty extreme measure that requires a certain amount of risk."

The story gained national attention. The petition said students believe some media accounts portray Stow as a martyr "living up to his name" of Maverick.

"What they don’t report on is that our school attempts to pack around 3,000 students into one building," the petition says. "Social distancing would be completely impossible if students were allowed to attend every day. To make matters worse, William Floyd is now threatening to revert to all virtual learning if Stow’s arrogant excuse for a protest persists."

The petition added, "William Floyd students would like to let the public know that Maverick Stow does not represent the rest of his peers. We are a headstrong and outspoken student body, but we are not entitled and obtuse. Stow is not a hero. He is not a person to rally behind. He does not represent activism at William Floyd."

What Stow has done, the petition says, "is irresponsible and selfish, not only for those that are vulnerable to contracting COVID-19, but for all the students that can’t learn with an all virtual learning model."

In March, many students were made more anxious and fatigued due to the sudden, drastic shift to virtual learning, the petition said.

"Stow purports to be an advocate for those students, but his actions have put those two days of in-person learning in jeopardy," the petition says. "None of us are happy with how this school year is turning out, but hybrid learning was a concession that would keep people healthy physically, as well as mentally, emotionally, and intellectually. We are happy to see our friends and to be able to get in-person help from our teachers. Maverick Stow plans to put that on the line in order to idiotically protest an institution that has no power over the current learning model in the first place."

William Floyd features many student-led programs that are helmed by dedicated activists, the petition says. "We wish that these efforts in real student activism would be given as much publicity as Stow is now. The students of William Floyd High School agree with Maverick Stow that he has inspired us to take action on our own. But unlike him, we refuse to put the health and safety of our loved ones at risk to make an idiotic mockery of student activism."

James Montalto, spokesman for the William Floyd School District, said, "We will let the student petition speak for itself."

According to Suffolk County police, the 17-year-old student was charged with third-degree criminal trespassing for entering school grounds after he was notified by school officials he was suspended and barred from campus.

"Any attempt by a student who has been suspended or any other unauthorized person trying to enter school grounds is taken extremely seriously and will be met with the most severe consequences," Montalto said. "School safety is a top priority especially in this day and age."

He added: "Mr. Stow continues to display irresponsible and selfish behavior with Thursday's latest publicity stunt. He arrived wearing a neon green shirt — for high visibility — with a contingent of media just outside the fence line trying to capture him getting arrested as he entered the building.

"If Mr. Stow continues to try to access school grounds each day that we are open, we will close the high school — and its approximately 3,000 students — to all in-person learning and it will be all virtual for the foreseeable future."

The district said in a statement it will abide by the regulations set in place by government and health officials designed to keep students and staff safe from the spread of the coronavirus.

"As we have said, Mr. Stow's rights as a student do not surpass the rights of any of our other 8,799 students; they should not have to come to school to witness this circus atmosphere each day," the statement said. "Most of our in-person classes at the high school are at maximum capacity according to the square footage of each classroom. It is just not possible to have all of our students back under the current social distancing regulations. We will not condone or allow students to flagrantly break the law in our schools."

Stow said he was aware of the risks of his actions.

"You have to take the consequences for standing up for what you believe in," said Stow, who lives in Mastic Beach.

Stow said he took the bus to school, where staff performed the mandated temperature check under coronavirus protocols. He then proceeded to class.

"It wasn't my day to go to school but obviously, I disagreed, so I went into class," he said. "I wasn't on the roster so the assistant principal got involved."

Stow was called into Principal Philip Scotto's office, where he said he was told he needed to vacate the grounds. Stow said Scotto told him that the district needed to adhere to guidelines, which meant he had to leave.

"I refused," Stow said. Scotto then told him that if he did not leave as directed, he would be suspended for insubordination.

"I left his office and went back to class," Stow said. He said he attended his complete schedule of classes. At the end of the day, he was contacted by his mother, Nora Kaplan-Stow.

"My parents are fully supportive of this," he said. "She told me I had been suspended for five days and the district was taking disciplinary action for insubordination."

"Kids need to be in school every day. Virtual learning is not learning," Nora Kaplan-Stow told ABC 7. "My son is being suspended because he wants to be in school."

Stow said he made the decision to attend classes as soon as the district announced they would be following a hybrid model of in-person and remote learning.

"I didn't think it was acceptable," he said. "I figured I would go to school and it would be a 'them' problem, to figure it out."

On the first day of class, Stow said, "I didn't know what was going to happen this morning. I thought I might get carried out the front door by security guards."

Stow believes the district claims there were "opportunities for us to sit and peacefully discuss this, to talk to them about the reopening plan, but there weren't. They made this decision on their own and kept us out of the whole decision-making process."

"It was a 'them' decision," he said. "We were never given the opportunity to voice our opinions. At a certain point, you have to take a stand and make it so they can't ignore you anymore."

The district laid out its reopening plans on its website and held virtual briefings where individuals could submit questions in advance.

Stow said he, like many other students, saw their dreams derailed when the coronavirus shuttered schools last spring.

A member of the Future Business Leaders of America, Stow said he was scheduled to attend a national competition in Salt Lake City, Utah, but the event was canceled. In addition, as a member of the virtual enterprise program, he was meant to attend a trade show in Brooklyn, New York, with 15,000 students from virtual enterprise firms worldwide. That event, too, never took place.

"Last year, a lot was taken away," Stow said.

This year, due to the pandemic, the district is not offering sports or extracurricular activities, Stow said. "Our tax dollars go to those programs. Where is that money going if we don't have sports or extra-curricular activities?"

Stow said he has a message for fellow students, the school district and community. "Anyone who believes that education is valuable should want students to be in school five days a week, with extracurricular and sports activities to go along with it. Anyone who feels as strongly as I do about this should participate and make it so the administration can't ignore it any longer."