High school girls and boys are protesting the official push for shared restrooms at John Jay High School in Wappingers Central School District in New York State.
Students at John Jay High School staged a walkout on Monday in protest of students being allowed to use restrooms of the sex they identify with, rather than their actual biological sex, according to a report by Spectrum News 1.
RELATED VIDEO — High School Student Calls Out School Officials for Not Protecting Girls from “Trans” Identifying Biological Male Using Girls’ Bathrooms and Locker:
“A bunch of people from our school, John Jay, feel uncomfortable,” John Jay High School student Shauna Neilan told the outlet. “We want to change that and give them their own spaces to make us more comfortable and them more comfortable.”
The protest reportedly sparked a counter protest that consisted of both adults and students in support of students using restrooms designated for the opposite sex.
The counterprotest was organized by Defense of Democracy, a nonprofit organization that claims its goal is to “educate the public about the value of inclusivity and the importance of emotional and physical safety for all individuals within the American public-school and library systems.”
Among the counterprotestors was transgender John Jay High School student Cory Pittore, who told Spectrum News 1, “I feel as though that we shouldn’t be silenced no matter what.”
“We are human, just like everyone else,” Pittore added. “I, myself, have been struggling with this for so long, and I just feel like we shouldn’t be silenced because we’re human ourselves.”
WATCH — Gavin Newsom Laughs at Parents’ Concerns About Transgender Notification Policy:
Wappingers Central School District Superintendent Dwight Bonk noted that a petition, which has since been deleted, had circulated around the campus community, alleging that incidents involving a transgender student have occurred in the school restrooms.
Bonk added that he is unaware of such alleged incidents.
“We are going to continue to provide a safe environment for all of our students. And all means all, each and every one of them,” the superintendent added.
John Jay High School reportedly has male and female restrooms, as well as a sex-neutral single-stall restroom that any student can use.
Laws reportedly state that school districts have to provide transgender students with access to restrooms of the opposite sex if they want to use them.
“We want to support all of their rights, but we’re also going to be following the proper protocol that we are responsible for following,” Bonk said.
The superintendent added that students who left school early will need to have conduct-related conversations in the near future.
Correction: This story was revised to provide the proper location of John Jay High School.
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and X/Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.