MAKIN' LAWS: STUDENTS HOLD A MOCK SEXUAL HARASSMENT HEARING

By Anthony Wilson

Usually when young people are in court, it is a sad event for the community, but not for the students of Duggan Middle School who participated in a mock trial hosted by the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination ("MCAD") in conjunction with Citizen Schools and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center.

The MCAD opened their courtroom to the students from Citizen Schools, an after-school program at Duggan Middle School. The case addressed sexual harassment in a school setting between two students. The group of 12 students filled all the legal positions of a real sexual harassment trial. They acted as lawyers, MCAD Commissioner and witnesses. “At first I thought it would be boring. Then I started really having fun,” said Tameca Short, one of the Duggan students.

Gilbert May, MCAD Education Outreach coordinator, spoke with the students in the beginning of the school year, at the request of Vandana Goyal, Citizen School coordinator, to see what the students wanted to do. After some discussion, they felt that sexual harassment was a topic the students would be interested in. “All Springfield schools need more training and knowledge about their sexual harassment policy,” said May.

“We thought it would be good to show [the students] the legal standard of sexual harassment,” said Cynthia Tucker, MCAD Commissioner.

The student lawyers and witnesses held court proceeding like real lawyers and judges. Mrs. Tucker encouraged them from the audience with words like, “Speak up” and “Project your voice.” “It was more fun when Cynthia came; she gave us more energy,” said student, Kiara Rodriguez.

The MCAD presented the students certificates to remind them of their experience and posters to hang up in their school. Ms. Goyal said that it is sometimes difficult to tell how much students really learn, but she knows by the effort they put into making this mock trial happen that the students “got a lot out of it.”

Both the students and the MCAD staff said they would love to continue their partnership in the future. Gilbert May has already volunteered his service to Citizen Schools for future projects. “It’s a lot of time and a lot of work but when it comes to our kids, it’s worth it,” he said.

(Citizen Schools is a leading nonprofit provider of after-school education programs, preparing underserved students for achievement and leadership in high school, college, the workforce, and civic life. Their programs for 6th, 7th and 8th graders blend rigorous academic support with real world "apprenticeships" -- fun, hands-on learning projects taught by business and community volunteers. Approximately 80 Duggan Middle School students participated in the 11-week program which was funded by a 21st Century Learning Center grant from the federal Department of Education, Mass 2020 and the United Way of Pioneer Valley)