About 50 New Trier High School students walked out of class Wednesday, Nov. 4, and marched to Village Green Park in Winnetka.

Carrying signs reading "We are all people" and "LGBTQ+ rights are human rights," the students left the Winnetka campus shortly after 10 a.m. and walked about a mile to the park, the Chicago Tribune first reported. Organizers said the walkout was a protest of the alleged racial and homophobic slurs directed at Evanston Township High School's (ETHS) marching band during the Oct. 16 rivalry football game at Northwestern University's Ryan Field. They also called for changes in how New Trier handles harassment.

Several students planned to stay out for the rest of the day, the Tribune reported.

At the park, students gathered around a flagpole stand and shared accounts of racist, homophobic and transphobic comments they said they had experienced at New Trier. Some said they had reported harassment to staff and administrators with no result.

Freddy Walsh, a New Trier junior who identifies as transgender, told the Tribune's Pioneer Press he has been called "pretty much every slur under the sun" over three years at the school. Walsh said the Ryan Field allegations made him want to act.

"There needs to be actual punishments … rather than everything happening behind the curtain where it can just be brushed aside," Walsh told Pioneer Press.

Junior Kelsey Buzza described what she called a pattern in how the school responds to reports of racism or homophobia. "It's usually just like a slap on the wrist and then they tell you, 'Oh, just tell your teachers not to partner [you with another student]' or you just won't be in a class with them," Buzza told Pioneer Press.

New Trier's response to the walkout has not included any statement from Superintendent Peter Tragos or Board President Sally Tomlinson. Niki Dizon, the school's chief communications officer, said in a statement that New Trier supports students' right to organize and to free speech. Dizon said the walkout was student-initiated and not sponsored or sanctioned by the school. Students who participated were marked absent from class, and classes proceeded as usual, she said.

Dizon said the organizers had shared their plans with administrators beforehand. The school met with them to discuss their concerns and invited future discussions, according to the Tribune.

The district's investigation into the Oct. 16 incident was still in process as of the walkout, Dizon said.

What happened Oct. 16

ETHS marching band and color guard members alleged that New Trier fans in the student section shouted racial and homophobic slurs at them before and after the game at Ryan Field. The Evanston RoundTable reported firsthand accounts from ETHS students who described being called slurs, told to kill themselves and, in some cases, having trash thrown at them. One student said she was spat on and told to "go back to Africa," according to ETHS band director Matthew Bufis, who said students came to staff in tears after the game.

Superintendents Peter Tragos of New Trier and Marcus Campbell of ETHS released a joint statement Oct. 18 pledging to investigate the reports. In an Oct. 23 update, Tragos said the investigation was continuing and outlined steps the school had taken, including PA announcements, adviser-room discussions and meetings with student affinity groups.

At the Oct. 19 New Trier Board of Education meeting, nine community members spoke during public comment, the Record North Shore reported. ETHS parent Jennifer Sadler, whose daughter is a color guard captain, described the slurs her daughter reported hearing and demanded action from the board.

As we reported Oct. 30, about 50 people gathered outside New Trier's Winnetka campus Oct. 25 for a rally organized by Healing Everyday Racism in Our Schools (HEROS), where community members signed an "upstander" pledge against racism and homophobia.

What students want

Sophomore Jay Eltanal, who participated in the walkout, told the Tribune he hopes the school will recognize the scope of the problem. "I'm hoping that the school will recognize … they'll wake up and see, hey something is wrong with this community, students are being bullied, they're being targeted, they're being harassed," Eltanal said.

Senior Jonah Rosenthal said in a speech at the park that the walkout gave him something he hadn't felt before at New Trier. "I think it comes from stuff like this," Rosenthal said, "supporting students who might have their views neglected or might be overlooked by the school administration."

New Trier has 11 student affinity groups and a Student Belonging Council. Several walkout participants told the Tribune they want the school to go beyond those existing programs.

No public timeline has been announced for the completion of New Trier's investigation into the Oct. 16 incident. ETHS Board President Pat Savage-Williams said Oct. 27 that ETHS had completed its own investigation and shared findings with New Trier, according to our Oct. 30 report. New Trier has not publicly detailed those findings or any disciplinary outcomes.