Letter to the editor: Making clarifications on previous letter

By SHERI VETERE Green River

Editor,
The letter to the editor in last week’s edition was brought to my attention. I was very frustrated with what I read. I felt I should clarify some information that was totally wrong. I am the new secretary at Green River High School. Yes, we did have some issues during our election. The one thing people do not realize, is the privacy issue with the disciplining of students. As a public school we do not announce every time a student is disciplined. There is a privacy policy, and if you do not hear about what happened to a student, does not mean the student was not disciplined. We had some issues with both parties. Yes, some things happened that should not have been allowed, both parties made some mistakes. I believe as students, parents, and concerned members of a community, we need to get all of the facts before we take parts of a small incident, and fill in the blanks with what we think happened and run with it. This just makes something small…explode.
Unfortunately there is still racism and discrimination in the world we live in today. I feel we need to educate our children and not shelter them from this. In many rural areas, our children do not get exposed to the ugliness that is in our world today. In turn, they make naïve mistakes sometimes. As adults, I feel we need to take a little more time, with our children, explaining what racism, prejudice, and discrimination are exactly. Lesson to be learned by the adults, we assume our children know, not all of them do. The incidents at our school have not been brushed under the carpet, many people have been misinformed. It has opened some eyes and is being addressed.
I am not clueless on this topic, I grew up in Arizona and moved to Utah when I was 14. What a culture shock. I lived in Castle Dale for about six years, then moved to Green River. I have lived in Green River since 1987, raised three children, and been very involved in the community. Yes, this little town has its problems, but I would say Green River is one of the most diverse small towns in Utah. Please let’s all work together, not against each other, to help our children correct the wrongs of our past. I am a believer in our children.