Upper School Head Peter Neissa announced to sophomores in graderoom on March 30 that they would not be going on the fifth annual bonding trip April 13 to The Rink, a roller skating facility located in the Chatham neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago.

The reasons cited by Neissa to the sophomores were: the trip’s falling too close to break, the risk of concussions, and the reported violence in Chatham.

In 2015 there were 8 homicides in the neighborhood. Since March 3 of this year, there have been no homicides. No homicides have been reported in Lincoln Park in 2015 or the beginning of 2016.

Among the four people interviewed for this story it is widely believed a single sophomore parent originally brought the safety of the neighborhood to Neissa’s attention. The parent sent an email to board members, sophomore parents, sophomore grade heads Vicky Lee and Andy Bigelow, and a number of administrators, according to Bigelow.

Neissa says he learned of the concerns from not just one parent, but a “significant” number of emails from parents. He declined to give an exact number. After these parent emails, Neissa decided to ask around in order to get more information.

“I asked the dean of students to explain to me what the issues were with that location,” Neissa said, referencing Upper School Dean of Students Ed Amos. “The Dean informed me that, yes, it’s in an area where random violence does take place. I then did my own due diligence. I went down to The Rink. I visited the rink, went inside. I spoke to the police and asked them what it would be like. And from there I decided that in the best interest of the 10th grade, this was not the right time, what was good for academics, what was good for the safety of the students.”

Bigelow is concerned if there is a safety issue, yet there was never a problem in the past and he always felt safe while at the Rink.

“We literally drive the bus to the back, and the door’s usually locked, so someone runs up front to let them know we’re here, and they open up the door, and it’s just us,” Bigelow said. “There’s a DJ, a couple people making hot dogs, a couple people giving out skates, and that’s it. We skate, eat some hotdogs and chips, and then we come home.”

Many faculty members and students took issue with the fact that one parent, or several, could influence a school’s policy.

“I am worried that a white parent of privilege can rally the troops and change a tradition, a policy, a field trip, with such power and speed,” Bigelow said. “I worry that now all field trips will be under the scrutiny of an untrained eye without giving the administration and faculty time to address their concerns. How do we get these kids educated if we can’t get them outside of the Parker bubble? I respect decisions on safety, we just need to make sure we do our due diligence and are upfront with the kids when we make changes.”

Upper School English teacher Theresa Collins sees the effects of the trip cancellation inside her classroom.

“The kids know that there’s a conversation that they could be having that no one’s having with them,” Collins said.  “They’re angry about that, and they have every right to be.  It’s come up in class organically–kids walk in the door and make comments like, ‘Did you hear about this?’ and ‘What do you think is happening?’ and ‘I don’t understand.’”

Upper School history teacher Dan Greenstone was left wondering about the protocol Parker will use in the future in situations like these.  

“I understand that some parents are concerned about safety, and I think that’s legitimate, but I also think that part of our mission is to engage with the city and the world,” Greenstone said. “So we have to balance those two forces. I’m not saying the decision was wrong or right. What I’m wondering is: Are we going to approach decisions like this in a proactive way, where we have guidelines and policies to evaluate what’s safe and what’s not safe, or are we going to be reactive where the loudest voices drive the conversation?”

Neissa believes the administration made the right choice.  “I was looking at what the rise in crime rate in that area of town is like and decided that at this moment, with the surge of crime in that area, that should be one of the reasons we don’t go,” Neissa said, “but that was not the only reason.”

The possibility of concussions was another, Neissa said, as students are not required to wear helmets at The Rink. 14 Parker students suffered from concussions in the past year at Parker, according to Neissa, and there has been heightened awareness of concussions nationwide in that period.

The trip also fell too close to April break and to Cookies, and added one too many interruptions of academic study, according to Neissa.

“When the date was chosen, Cookies was not yet on the books,” Neissa said about the two-day extra-curricular study scheduled for April 28-29. “We were going through that process, and if you look at Cookies now being on the book, that means there were less days in April.”

The sophomore trip was to leave on a Wednesday during grade room and return by one o’clock, according to Bigelow. 17 sophomores who have science during the H-3 period–out of 79–would have missed one academic class. The rest of the grade, 62 students, would have missed no class time.

The trip will be rescheduled for a later date and at a different location, according to Neissa.