Local News
Alrighty, so some drama went down at Natick High School recently, and now some students are feeling a bit uneasy. Here’s the scoop: last month, around 20 students decided to stage a walkout to protest the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. They felt like school leaders were biased against pro-Palestine voices, so they took matters into their own hands. The group gathered outside the school, had a few folks speak, and then marched downtown. Hatcher Cheeseman-Meyer, a senior at Natick High who helped organize the whole thing, said he even made some new friends out of it.
It seems like these students are not alone in their views, as a good chunk of young adults in America seem to sympathize more with Palestinians than Israelis. But here’s where things get a bit uncomfortable. After the walkout, a dude named Eugene Levin wrote an opinion piece calling the protesters “morons” and basically accusing them of being antisemitic. He posted some videos of the protest alongside his article, and that really freaked out some of the students. Some of them even decided to stay quiet and not respond to the whole thing. But not Cheeseman-Meyer, oh no. He thinks Levin’s piece is a load of nonsense and just an attempt to make them look bad.
Now, the students were expecting some backlash, but they weren’t prepared for this level of heat. They’ve even experienced some verbal harassment at the school, which is not cool at all. Cheeseman-Meyer called out the school leaders for being more comfortable with “Zionist voices” and not supporting their cause. Apparently, a walkout to protest gun violence a few years back was fully endorsed by the school, but this time around, they were shut down. The school claims they didn’t approve the posters advertising the walkout because it made it seem like the school was behind it, but who knows what really went down there.
As if that wasn’t enough, there’s some serious stuff happening in the Middle East. Children are starving, patients are dying, and Israeli officers are talking about an impending famine in Gaza. It’s a mess over there, and it’s taking a toll on the Natick students. Cheeseman-Meyer mentioned that many of them are just hoping for the suffering to end and trying to focus on what’s happening closer to home. It’s a lot to handle, and they’re feeling pretty worn out. But hey, that’s life, right?
Ross Cristantiello, the reporter covering this story, seems to be all over the place with his news beat. He’s keeping us updated on local politics, crime, and the environment. If you want to stay in the loop, sign up for the newsletter and get all the juicy details delivered straight to your inbox every morning. Stay woke, folks!
