These resignations reflect increasing turmoil in higher education. Although controversy on college campuses is nothing new, the Israel-Hamas war and the Supreme Court decision ending affirmative action have precipitated a new wave of battles for institutions. As accusations, controversies and resignations play out, the future of free speech, inclusion and academic integrity.

The Limits of Free Speech

On Dec. 5, three elite U.S. university presidents — Gay, Magill and Massachusetts Institute of Technology President Sally Kornbluth — testified before the U.S. Congress on the topic of campus antisemitism following the onset of the Israel-Hamas war. While the presidents recognized the rise in antisemitism and Islamophobia on their campuses and said they were taking steps to address the issue, their answers were widely condemned. When asked whether calling for the genocide of Jews would violate their schools’ codes of conduct, the presidents failed to provide clear answers, saying that it depended on context and whether the speech was reflected in conduct.

Politicians, alumni and university donors alike attacked their legalistic, ambiguous responses, leading to calls for the presidents’ resignations. Both Gay and Magill resigned within a month, with Gay’s resignation marking the shortest presidential tenure in Harvard’s history. Currently, Kornbluth retains her position as MIT’s president.

The congressional hearing had implications extending beyond the three university campuses, fueling debates over which forms of speech are protected by the First Amendment — especially at educational institutions dedicated to diversity of thought and perspective. Social studies teacher Laurel Howard highlighted the difficulties in navigating conversations about geopolitical conflicts like the Israel-Hamas war.

“We used to say when you’re talking about these polarized issues, you have to have both sides represented,” she said. “But as these kinds of conflicts come up, when you say you support one side, people immediately assume that means you want the death of another group. We jump to these extremes really quickly, and that makes it a really dangerous thing to have these open conversations even though they’re so important to be having.”

She explained that even with legal guidelines, there is not always a clear-cut answer for what constitutes free speech.

“We do have guidance in our constitution and in the Supreme Court cases about free speech that say if it’s speech that immediately leads to violence, it is not protected,” she said. “So that’s what I come back to personally. Is this speech trying to incite violence against another group? If so, we probably should not be protecting it. The larger conversation is, when are we getting to that point? At what point does my language lead directly to violence, and how do we determine that collectively?”

Gunn alumna and current UPenn sophomore Sage Leland believes that there’s an important distinction between legally sanctioned and morally permissible speech.

“I think that distinction is something that the university should try to make, where it’s not so much restricting speech but drawing the line of community-minded speech,” she said. “Even if legally you could say something, is it the right thing to say? Should you be saying it?”

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Gay was Harvard’s first Black president, and her resignation fueled the on-going conversation about diversity, equity and inclusion — or DEI — in higher education. Since early last year, conservative lawmakers and academics have sought to undermine colleges’ DEI efforts, with anti-DEI legislation being introduced in at least 21 states since 2021, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education. The bills aim to ban diversity training, employment and funding for DEI offices, and the use of diversity statements and identity-based preferences in admissions and employment.

As white men continue to constitute the majority of U.S. college presidents, Howard noted the intense pressure on university officials such as Gay who come from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds.

“Nobody wants to be reduced to just their racial identity or just their gender identity,” she said. “It shows that the bar is so high, and there’s so much scrutiny on people who are thought to have received those positions because of their identity.”

Debates over systemic DEI are not new, but recent events have resulted in further polarization. According to social studies teacher Tara Firenzi, DEI should come naturally, and conflicts can easily be avoided.

“This question of diversity, equity and inclusion really should be a no-brainer for everybody,” she said. “It’s been manipulated in order to inspire passionate responses that often end up falling along political lines to benefit certain political actors. It goes back to a lot of the ideals of our country. We should make amends for injustices of the past in ways that are fair and equitable. These are things that most of us can agree on.”

Although Leland recognizes UPenn’s efforts to support DEI, she doesn’t always feel or see the effects as a student.

“I think meaningful diversity, equity and inclusion work that addresses all marginalized communities — not just focusing on one — and that reaches more individual students is something that is super important, instead of just pledging to do something and not actually doing it,” she said.

Academic Integrity

In addition to the controversy from the congressional hearing, Gay’s resignation resulted from an investigation of plagiarism during her academic career. The fallout was similar to that of Tessier-Lavigne’s resignation in August 2023 after he was accused of academic misconduct in and mismanagement of his past studies. More recently, former MIT professor Neri Oxman was found to have plagiarized sources such as Wikipedia in her dissertation. Oxman’s husband, billionaire and hedge-fund manager Bill Ackman, was one of Gay’s most notable critics and had tried to remove Gay from Harvard’s board, according to the New York Times.

This recent pattern of events brings an underlying crisis of academic integrity to light. Yet situations like Oxman’s and Gay’s make it clear that plagiarism accusations are not entirely apolitical: They have become entangled with debates over free speech and DEI. In an interview with Politico, published on Jan. 3, conservative activist Christopher Rufo acknowledged that the plagiarism allegations against Gay were made by specific figures and news outlets to dismantle her legitimacy, especially regarding new DEI programs.

Many of these attacks stemmed from not blatant plagiarism but subtle replication of ideas with a lack of citation. Because the line be-
tween plagiarism and originality can be murky, Howard urges all of her students to be safe rather than sorry.

“It’s really common if you’re doing a lot of research to accidentally replicate something,” Howard said. “Obviously, if you’re pulling from another person’s work and if your thoughts directly match their progression, even if you use your own words, it’s really important to cite that kind of thing.”

Firenzi believes that intentionality is the key distinguisher of plagiarism.

“I think plagiarism is when you knowingly and intentionally are taking someone else’s work and representing it as your own,” Firenzi said. “And that can be verbatim or it can be in substance. I think it’s not as black-and-white as it may seem to a lot of people.”

These attacks on university leadership have brought along another wave of skepticism toward educational institutions: The percentage of young adults believing in the importance of a college degree has fallen from 74% in the early 2010s to about 40% in recent years, according to the New York Times. Still, some have questioned whether these resignations were necessary and if the backlash was too harsh.

“In all of these cases, the question of degree has been at the heart of the debate,” Firenzi said. “It really behooves everyone to be extremely careful about any time you’re using someone else’s work, and making absolutely sure that you’re giving all the credit that you can for it and not cutting corners.”

Furthermore, Firenzi highlighted the importance of understanding the nuances of these issues — from academic integrity to free speech — in Palo Alto, a highly educated community.

“These things are probably felt more prominently here than they are in a lot of other places,” she said. “That brings with it an awareness that ultimately benefits our students — that you do have to do these things in a way that puts both integrity, equity and inclusion front and center and ensures that proper credit is given for ideas and words to the authors that created them.”

To ensure students with disabilities receive equitable instruction, all U.S. schools are subject to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA, which guarantees funding for schools that fulfill a set of requirements around SpEd. An effective SpEd program must consider the level of integration with General Education classes, staff training and the needs of individual students.

Background

SpEd at PAUSD and Gunn comprises multiple programs, which can be adapted to support the differing needs of all students with disabilities. At PAUSD, students enter the SpEd program when a parent or staff member submits a verbal or written referral to the district. The referred student’s parents then work with district staff to decide the student’s eligibility for an individualized education program, taking into account the student’s academic history, along with a reading and math assessment administered by PAUSD.

According to Gunn Special Education Coordinator Teri Lee, students can enter the SpEd program if they have a disability that impacts their learning and need accommodations. Students with mild to moderate disabilities sometimes struggle with speech or attention span and don’t usually require an in-class aide. Students with moderate to severe disabilities, however, often require the assistance of a specialized aide or teacher throughout the school day.

Outside of the entry process, SpEd plans differ greatly from student to student. For students with mild learning difficulties, IEPs focus on making their in-class experiences easier, including accommodations such as extra time on tests, the option to take exams in quiet settings, frequent teacher check-ins and movement breaks. These accommodations aim to help students participate in GenEd classes alongside their peers.

The Futures program, least integrated with GenEd classes, serves students with moderate to severe learning differences. Although daily schedules and activities vary from student to student, most Futures students spend three periods in GenEd classes and four periods in a specialized classroom where they receive additional support.

Integration

One of IDEA’s major goals is to keep all students in the same classroom “to the maximum extent appropriate to the education needs of the students with disabilities.” However, “maximum extent appropriate” varies from student to student, and opinions sometimes differ on what the correct measure is.

According to Lee, Gunn incorporates students into GenEd as much as possible, providing accommodations and separate classes if necessary.

“We always want to start in General Education, and then based on the student’s needs, work our way back from there,” she said.

Some schools are built around a philosophy of maximum inclusion, such as Hope Technology School, a private school in Palo Alto. HTS follows the Universal Design for Learning model, putting students in the same classroom as much as possible and accommodating all learners’ needs and abilities. HTS classrooms ensure that students are all able to participate in class by adding occasional breaks and flexible amounts of classwork.

Although the UDL model might help some students with disabilities, having all students in the same classroom for more challenging classes can frustrate SpEd and GenEd students alike. Yael Naveh, a parent of a Futures student, said that putting her child in GenEd classes when he isn’t at the same level as the rest of the class inhibits his learning.

“Sticking a kid like mine in an algebra class when he’s doing second-grade-level (math) doesn’t really have much meaning for him,” she said. “And it’s not necessarily constructive to him learning, because all that will happen will be that he will have to work on something completely different.”

Momoyo Yanagihara, a parent of a Futures student, pointed out that SpEd has to focus both on inclusion and educational level.

“I just want my son to be in an appropriate environment for him, and that may mean (being) excluded sometimes,” Yanagihara said. “If he’s in a regular PE class, he might have fun, but sometimes it might not be the right level for him.”

Parent Tina Chow, however, whose son freshman Nikolaos Chow uses a letter board to communicate, believes more coordination and creativity with UDL approaches is needed in order to make the GenEd curriculum more inclusive.

“(Other students) are talking back and forth, and who’s going to wait for Nikolaos to spell out his answer?” she said. “So what would be a UDL way to approach that? Maybe everybody has to provide written answers, instead of just blurting them out, so then he has time to write something.” Unlike Gunn, HTS’ smaller class sizes make focusing on individual needs significantly easier and the UDL model more feasible. HTS’ model, however, requires significant time and attention that many Gunn teachers and aides cannot afford.

That being said, Gunn’s Unity PE is a powerful tool for inclusion. Unity PE puts GenEd students in the same class as SpEd students, enabling students to help and form friendships with one another. Naveh and Yanagihara have praised Unity PE for providing their students with social interactions and friendships that extend outside of school.

Gunn also offers co-taught classes, which are instructed by two teachers and occasionally an aide, as another way to keep students in one classroom. Co-taught classes include students with and without learning challenges, allowing those with moderate learning differences to remain in a classroom with their peers not in SpEd. Social studies teacher Patrick Rode, who co-teaches two classes, noted how the format is also helpful for teachers.

“It almost forces you to be more creative and provide more opportunities or different learning strategies for all of the learners in the classroom,” he said.

Rode also mentioned that co-taught classes benefit GenEd students by exposing them to alternative learning styles.

“I love having the students work together because you get multiple perspectives,” Rode said. “And that’s a life skill. … Starting at the high school level for the students is really beneficial.”

Staffing Shortages

Staffing district SpEd programs proves a challenge nationwide, according to Gunn SpEd Instructional Lead Briana Gonzalez.

“There’s such an incredible shortage when it comes to not only instructional aides for SpEd but also qualified educational specialists,” she said. “This shortage can absolutely lead to challenges, such as providing individualized support and attention for students with IEPs.”

For Nikolaos Chow, this shortage of aides has made participation in GenEd classes like Algebra II/Trigonometry Honors difficult.

“It takes me a long time to write my responses, and the aide needs to have specialized training to know how to support me with the letter board,” he spelled out on the letter board. “The school knows that I need this support, and they are providing training to the aides, but it is not enough. It is almost December and we have explained the need for training to the school many times, but there have been so many delays. This basically means that I cannot participate in class by sharing my opinions or thoughts, and so it is easy to get super frustrated because I am not able to really be included.”

Tina Chow emphasized the need for specialized training in order for aides to become familiar with the student and their learning method. As aides come and go, however, familiarity with individual students is often jeopardized, and existing aides must take on additional responsibilities. Instructional aide Keanna Martinez explains that this creates much more stress and pressure.

“Having one-on-ones is definitely a lot easier because each kid needs that certain attention, and when we have (shortages), we’re not able to fully commit ourselves to one student and give our day our all because we’re running around going from Point A to Point B,” she said. “If another aide gets sick or has to go somewhere, we have to move one aide to another aide’s spot, and it’s like a domino effect of problem after problem if we don’t get that necessary support.”

Gunn is working to hire and train more aides to support a diverse array of students, according to Gonzalez. For instance, instructional aides were invited to participate in teacher development days and meet with the teachers that they’re supporting this year.

“They sat with those teachers and together reviewed instructional accommodations, and also which strategies (they’ve) observed that are working or not working,” she said. “It’s something I hope we can continue to do because this is really how we make sure that instructional aides are part of the conversation.”

Fostering Inclusivity

With Gunn’s broad range of SpEd programs, Gonzalez said an inclusive environment is especially important because of the stigma that exists surrounding SpEd.

“Students may hold stereotypes or lack in understanding of the diverse abilities that exist among all our Gunn High School students,” she said.

She noted that daily language, which shapes our perception of the world, plays a major role in enforcing or dismantling the stigma around SpEd and disability.

“If we can change our own language here at Gunn so it’s more inclusive, that’s encouraging respective communication, which builds toward creating a respective, positive, inclusive atmosphere,” she said.

For example, she proposes changing the “handicapped spot” in the parking lot to “accessible parking,” de-emphasizing the presence of a disability.

According to SpEd Specialist Sandra Conklin, GenEd students can also create an inclusive environment, by being open to learning from SpEd students, who are just like other teenagers.

“Everyone is different; we all have gifts and we have something to offer the community,” she said. “They’re teenagers. They want to have friends — they have crushes. They happen to have a couple more challenges, but they also have some gifts that other people don’t have.”

Many opportunities exist for GenEd students to interact with SpEd students, both inside and outside the classroom. Conklin encourages students to join Unity PE and the Best Buddies Club, which meets on Thursdays in Room F-2 and brings students together through activities like board games, cooking and sports. She adds that even the simplest gestures can make a difference in SpEd students’ experiences at Gunn.

“If you’re walking around a campus and you see a Special Ed student sitting by themselves, ask them to join you,” she said. “Volunteer to take some kids to assemblies (and) reach out to include the kids in what you would normally do in a high school day because these are often kids who don’t have that group that they go to assemblies and dances with.”

Gonzalez believes that this kind of inclusivity should be a goal of not only students but educators as well.

“For teachers, regardless of subject — whether it’s a co-taught course or an honors course or AP — we should always be thinking and implementing changes in our teaching style and curriculum to support all students,” she said. “Each generation we have a new group of learners. Technology has changed, curriculum has grown, information has changed. I think we ourselves also have to.”

Although most of the priority areas carried over from last year, Innovation replaced Healthy Attendance in this year’s Promise following more consistent attendance and increased interest in new artificial intelligence tools. Key subgoals include incorporating technology into curriculum and instruction, increasing students’ access to postsecondary opportunities. Because these goals are recent and constantly evolving, PAUSD Board Member Shana Segal explained the importance of engaging students. “We’ve been hearing that it’s hard for students to attend after-school committee meetings, so we’re trying to hold more meetings during lunch and use the feedback to guide teaching practices and improve learning experiences,” she said. “As a board member, I’m very appreciative of students who come and speak because I take the words of every student into account and find it very meaningful.”

Serve and Celebrate Others, defined in the 2022-23 annual report as “building people up through positive interactions and acknowledging those who invest in others,” has been a long-standing priority of the district. Still, Board President Jennifer DiBrienza noted that it continues to adopt new meanings. “We have a long history of expecting kids to do community service and then putting it on their transcript,” she said. “But we’re trying to move from doing it for credit to doing it because it’s a worthwhile thing to do. There are so many amazing things our staff does — we’re trying to recognize those.” Examples of this recognition include the traveling builder helmet, awarded to employees who are positively impacting their communities, and the State Seal of Civic Engagement, awarded to civically active high schoolers.

Post-pandemic, Mental Health and Wellness has been another district priority, and it is one that DiBrienza expects will remain in future Promises.

In addition to providing tiered levels of support based on student needs and expanding the Social Emotional Learning curriculum, the district is also working to bolster staff mental health support, according to Principal Wendy Stratton. “We now have a therapist for staff that anyone can reach out to, and I’ve already heard from some Gunn staff who said they’ve reached out,” she said. “I think it’s so important that staff are supported because they’re on the front lines of working with our students.”

The goals of Early Literacy and Equity and Excellence were also renewed from last year’s Promise. Data from the iReady Assessment, Smarter Balanced Assessment and Panorama Survey indicate that the district has made strides in supporting the academic achievement of underrepresented groups and the development of a more diverse and inclusive curriculum.

Stratton hopes that Gunn will continue to progress in both areas this year by maximizing resources and opportunities in equitable ways. “To interrupt predictable patterns of performance for target groups’ students, we know that you have to look at many areas, like school climate, curriculum and instruction, and community engagement,” she said. “We’re working hard at Gunn with the SLAM (Student Leaders Anti-Racist Movement) program, the Student Leaders for Equity and the diversity commissioners on SEC to have more events that celebrate all of our different students and make them feel seen and special for who they are.”