Students and parents at odds over required reading material

Tuesday's Western Placer Unified School District meeting was filled with parents, students and teachers who wanted to voice their views on a controversial book, "The Hate U Give," that was assigned last week to Twelve Bridges High School students. The book written by Angie Thomas is a new part of the English 9 reading curriculum at the high school. According to the author's website, angiethomas.com, "The Hate U Give" is "inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement." Thomas wrote the book as a project in college a few years after the death of Oscar Grant. Grant, a 22-year-old African-American man, was killed early New Year's Day 2009 by Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Police Officer Johannes Mehserle in Oakland. Grant was shot in the head while laying face down. Mehserle was later found guilty of involuntary manslaughter, instead of what many said should have been murder. The events were captured on video and went viral on social media. His death sparked protests across the U.S., according to multiple reports. The book tells the story of a teenage girl, Starr Carter, who "moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends," according to angiethomas.com. "The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer." The book became an immediate young adult New York Times bestseller and was adapted into a movie shortly after it was published. "I'm concerned with the path and agenda this district is pushing toward," said Darren Nelson, a Lincoln resident. "You say this book is about leadership and inspiration but I disagree. This book spews nothing but hate, racism and a strong message to defund the police." Nelson said that he has two children in the district and he "could just ignore it because they only have two years left" but he "wants to be a voice" for other parents in the district. "We haven't even talked about all of the vulgar language in the book. The 'F' word is used 89 times," Nelson said. "I've read several books from great leaders who didn't have to use the 'F' word to deliver their message." About five other parents spoke out and agreed with Nelson. The meeting erupted in claps as he spoke. "We don't use profanity in my family," said Maureen Heckleman, a concerned parent. "I can't control what they hear but I can try to control what they read. The sexual content is completely inappropriate and goes against all of our values." Students at Tuesday's meeting disagreed with the parents. "We may be minors but we also have First Amendment rights. No law should prohibit free press and books apply to that," said Gionnna Gross, a Lincoln High School student. "We should be allowed to read it. These are real issues that affect people in the real world." Clara Williams, student advisory board member for Twelve Bridges High, agreed. "The people that you think you are protecting are going to be adults in two years," Williams said. "You're trying to send us out there blinded. You think we don't already know about a lot of things but I hate to break it to you, we do." Williams added that the book has good and bad people from all different walks of life and doesn't target any specific group. She encouraged the board and parents to read the book in its entirety before drawing any conclusions. Board member Marjorie Proffitt requested an emergency special meeting about the content of the book and whether it should be a part of the required curriculum. Although concerned parents have the option to opt out, she said the divide is causing tension between parents and students. In other news School board member George Dykstra proposed a "student success committee" to help the district focus on academics. "I hear everything else being discussed but I barely hear about academics and that's why we're all here," Dykstra said. "There's no reason why we can't be number one. I'd like some kind of report every two weeks letting us know where we stand." School board President April Nitsos proposed a raise for board members. "Two-hundred dollars a month barely even gets to all the meetings we have to attend," Nitsos said. Western Placer Unified School District board meetings are every first and third Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at 600 6th St., Lincoln.