This story is syndicated from The Lamplighter, the newspaper of Paul Laurence Dunbar High School in Lexington, KY. The original version ran here.
Respect is one of the first things we’re taught — respect your teachers, respect your peers, respect the system. But what happens when the people preaching forget to practice?
In the Trump era, that contradiction is only becoming more and more common. As I approach graduation, I’ve spent years learning to respect the leadership and structure of our school system. Teachers, administrators and the community have all played a part in shaping my education. But after attending Kentucky’s Fayette County Public Schools Board Budget Workshop, I found myself questioning the things I had always believed about the people leading our schools.
I have been taught how to show proper decorum when making presentations, so I was taken aback when I saw the exact opposite from the very people who assign my presentations.
Toward the beginning of the meeting, board member Amanda Ferguson asked why the former Budget and Finance Committee chair, the only parent on the board, was denied access to the FCPS budget.
Superintendent Demetrus Liggins said that he didn’t think most people would understand all the numbers in the budget, and dismissed the possibility that there was any intent to hide information revealed in the budget.
“It’s not a matter of transparency,” he said.
Board member Penny Christian added, “I think it’s also disingenuous to imply that this board or this district was hiding something that is completely public.”
When Ferguson began to reply, Christian raised her voice and said, “Don’t interrupt me.”
She went on, “Here’s what’s not going to happen. I will not be silenced, so you’re gonna let me finish.”
In response, Ferguson became visibly emotional. Christian responded by appearing to mock her. “I don’t care,” she said.
I locked eyes with a fellow high school reporter from the Lafayette Times. She and I were both confused.
Later, I emailed Christian and Ferguson to ask for clarification and context of the exchange. I received no response from Ferguson, but Christian responded, “Sometimes emotions get the better of all of us, even school board members.”
I appreciated her response, and I agree with the sentiment — who hasn’t lost their cool at some point? But it was unsettling to see my district’s school board members lose their composure in such a public way. It’s human nature not to always be calm and collected, and maybe it’s unfair of me to judge people for simply being human, but should we be able to hold certain people more accountable, especially when they’re leaders?
Maybe not. In a televised House Hearing on May 16, 2024, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene questioned if Rep. Jasmine Crockett’s “fake eyelashes” were impairing her ability to understand the topic at hand. Crockett later asked the chair to clarify if a statement like, “Your bleach-blonde, bad-built, butch body…” would be permitted, clearly referencing Greene.
In this back-and-forth, it was less about policy and more about tearing the other person down. Witnessing two women in leadership go at each other in this way was especially jarring. The jabs at physical appearance were in poor taste, and felt more like exchanges between high school mean girls than between politicians. Believe me, I know.
It’s hard enough for women to be taken seriously on a professional level, and these examples perpetuate an issue that won’t be going away anytime soon.
As a high school student, I’ve faced my fair share of tough situations — group projects that go off track, disagreements with classmates and the pressure of leadership roles in clubs. I get it. It’s not always easy to keep emotions in check.
But both of these examples show more than just a disagreement. I felt second-hand embarrassment at these displays of disrespect.
Sadly, we’ve come to expect a certain level of spectacle in politics. To see it trickle down to our community makes it feel personal. These moments are often broadcasted, shared and turned into memes. It’s hard to believe in professionalism when politics reward performance over principle.
These moments, whether in Congress or at a local budget meeting, don’t exist in a vacuum. They echo into classrooms, into conversations between students and into what we accept as normal. Recently, I called out a boy in class for mocking a girl’s body. Still, I recognize that his behavior didn’t come from nowhere: why would he feel shame for being disrespectful when it’s clearly an accepted form of communication? If adults can get away with it, why wouldn’t he think he can, too?
We’ve been told that leadership starts with us. But maybe it’s time we ask more of those who’ve come before us, too. It’s time we hold our leaders to a higher standard. The way they act affects the culture we live in — and if we’re going to succeed where they failed, we’re going to need a new culture.