More than 200 Piner Junior Senior High School students walked out of their classes Friday afternoon, Oct. 9, to demand accountability a week after another student posted “Free the Cornell 7” on Instagram, an apparent reference to the men accused of raping a Cornell University student in 2024.
The students gathered about 2:30 p.m. and marched 2.5 miles to Santa Rosa City Schools’ district offices on Stony Point Road, many wearing white T-shirts covered in red and teal handprints symbolizing victims of sexual violence. The student-organized demonstration brought together teenagers demanding consequences for their classmate’s post, shared with The Press Democrat, and greater support from school administrators for students who speak out against sexual violence.
Among them was Piner junior Erika Hernandez, who said she was disappointed by what she viewed as a lack of action from school officials following the post made Oct. 2 by a fellow student who is a captain on the school’s football team. His name is being withheld because he is a minor and The Press Democrat was unable to reach his family for comment.
“It’s very scary and disappointing,” Hernandez said, expressing frustration that adults at the school had not done more to address students’ concerns.
For Hernandez, the walkout was an opportunity for students to make themselves heard.
“Everyone has a voice,” she said. “Everyone is safe to speak out how they want to speak out. … It’s important to tell everyone how you feel.”
Calls for action began with a group of Piner cheerleaders who saw the “Free the Cornell 7” note on the student’s Instagram profile the evening of Oct. 2 while en route to a football game in Napa. The post and other screenshots were shared among students, and the cheerleaders brought the matter to Principal Andrea Correia during the game, a cheerleader’s parent told The Press Democrat.
“We watched the principal not tell the coaches,” said the parent, who asked to remain anonymous to prevent retaliation against her child. “It made me pretty angry. (The principal) should have at least benched him.”
Later, she said, Correia told her “there are certain processes we have to go through to discipline people and pull people off teams” when an issue arises.
“However,” the parent said, “I know you can bench somebody for missing an assignment, for talking back to somebody.”
The parent and students who marched Friday said they were alarmed by the football captain’s post, which they said seemed to condone and celebrate rape culture amid a growing call for strengthening sexual violence prevention following allegations that surfaced recently at Cornell University.
A former Cornell studentnamed only as Jane Doe, has filed a lawsuit against the universityalleging she was sexually assaulted by several members of Chi Pi fraternity, who have become known as the “Cornell 7,” two years ago after being pressured to drinking alcohol and taking drugs.
After his initial post, the Piner student stood by his comments in a later post to his Instagram story, according to screenshots shared with The Press Democrat. His post included a screenshot of a Google AI Overview search result with details around defendants’ rights under the Fifth and Sixth Amendments and excerpts from news articles about the Cornell case.
“Y’all don’t scare me,” the student wrote in his post, calling out his critics. “‘Cancel him.’ ‘He supports rape,’” the student wrote. “Grow up.”
Piner Athletic Director Ryan Riddle and football coach Adam Rosenstein declined to comment on the matter, referring questions to the school’s administration.
Correia did not respond to requests for comment, but a spokesperson for the school said the principal did not see the football captain’s post until after the game.
In a message sent Thursday, Oct. 8, on ParentSquare, a communication platform for schools and families, Correia said Piner “does not tolerate or condone sexual assault, sexual harassment, sexual abuse, or any behavior that makes another person feel unsafe, threatened, or disrespected.
“As your principal, I want to say this personally: I stand firmly against these behaviors, as does Piner Junior Senior High School,” she continued. “We stand with those who speak up, and with everyone in our community who believes that harassment, assault, and abuse have no place at Piner. Every student deserves to feel safe, respected, and supported.”
For some students participating in Friday’s walkout, the controversy extended beyond the social media post itself. They questioned whether the school’s response reflected a willingness to hold student athletes accountable and whether administrators were taking their concerns seriously.
Piner senior Aiyanna, who declined to give her last name, said she wanted the student removed from the football team because of his position representing the school.
“He doesn’t deserve to be representing us,” Aiyanna said. “None of us stand with what he’s saying.”
Friday’s demonstration reflected frustration among students who said they felt discouraged from speaking publicly about the controversy.
Aiyanna said she believed school officials had been more willing to defend the football player’s right to express himself than to support students protesting his remarks.
“I just would like them not to sweep it under the rug,” she said.
She said messages sent to students about the planned walkout appeared to emphasize the potential consequences of leaving class, rather than addressing the concerns motivating the demonstration.
Aiyanna questioned why students felt they needed to organize a demonstration to receive support from school administrators.
“I feel like you shouldn’t be having to organize a protest for your principal to support sexual assault victims,” she said.
The cheer parent said she wants the school district to show students “they don’t tolerate that kind of behavior in their sports suites, that that’s not acceptable.”
SRCS health curriculum covers sexual harassment, reporting and use of the STOPIt app, an anonymous safety and incident reporting app used by many schools, businesses and government organizations. But the cheer parent said it’s taught more in assemblies than in classes.
“It’s such an important topic, and I feel it should be talked about amongst the sports teams,” the parent said. “I think the coaches should also be talking about it.”
In her letter to campus, Correia touched on the importance of both in-person and online behavior and treatment of peers.
“Social media is a powerful part of our students’ lives. What we post, comment on, share, or choose to amplify can have a very real impact on others and on our school community,” the letter said. “As our students learn to become responsible, engaged citizens, we have a responsibility to help them understand that their choices carry impact, whether those choices are made in person or online.”
The SRCS Athletic Clearance Packet’s social media agreement, which is signed by school athletes and their parents, lists eight expectations for student athletes, including that athletes “will only post positive things” and are aware they “represent (their) sport(s), school, team, family and community at all times, and will do so in a positive manner.” Infractions of that agreement jeopardize athletic eligibility.
Students who sign the agreement also agree to “take responsibility for (their) online profile, including (their) posts and any photos, videos or other recordings posted by others in which (they) appear.”
After Friday’s walkout, district Superintendent Monica Thomas, Board of Trustees President Nick Caston and other district leaders met with students to listen to their concerns, according to district spokesperson Patrick Gannon. Thomas also spoke with students during the march, Gannon said.
According to the cheer parent, the football captain was not allowed to attend a team dinner Thursday, Oct. 8, ahead of Piner’s game Saturday in San Anselmo “because it’ll make the (cheerleaders) uncomfortable.” But, she said, she was unaware of any other consequences for the student.
Piner and school district officials cannot share confidential information about individual students or disciplinary matters, Correia said in her letter, but noted that “concerns reported to us are investigated.”
Gannon confirmed Piner and district leadership, including the superintendent, “began working to investigate a report of an offensive social media post.” Interviews were conducted to gather more information, Gannon said, and the school will follow up with appropriate disciplinary action according to the district’s student code of conduct and social media agreement.
“Santa Rosa City Schools does not tolerate or condone sexual assault, sexual harassment, or sexual abuse,” the district said in a statement. “We, along with our schools and school leaders, fully support students raising awareness and advocating for a safe school environment in safe and responsible ways. We take these concerns seriously, investigate accordingly, and look forward to engaging students in meaningful ways.”
Source: www.pressdemocrat.com
