#OpenStJohns: Headmaster and Chairperson of Council failed to lead
28 July 2017
We welcome the decision taken by the St John's College Management to sever ties with Mr Arlow. This should have been the decision taken by the leadership of the College in the first instance. Racism is a serious charge and should be treated and sanctioned with equal seriousness.
The Headmaster and Chairperson of the Council failed in their responsibility to lead and protect the learners, a matter that we view in a very serious light. They must be held accountable for bringing disrepute to the College. The Headmaster, Mr Paul Edey, and Chairperson of Council, Dr John Patricious, must step down as they can no longer be trusted to take the College forward.
Our request for an audience with the Headmaster, Chairperson and as well as visiting Bishop, Reverend Dr Steve Moreo still stands. We are calling for this meeting to take place on Monday, 31 July 2017.
Mr Arlow and those of his ilk are symptoms of deeper and larger issues of institutional racism, which take more than a dismissal to root out. The St John's Community needs to commit itself to a process of reflection and transformation so that all learners feel comfortable and a process that make bigots, of all kinds, feel uncomfortable.
Going forward, the College must put systems and procedures in place to ensure that such a serious matters never happens again, but should it happen it must be dealt with in a transparent and procedurally correct manner.
This saga has brought shame to the College. The leadership of the College must introspect, reflect and take deliberate steps to ensure that the College is truly a place of diversity, where all learners are treated with the dignity they deserve.
We salute the learners who spoke out and those who protested in solidarity. History will mark you down as being a generation who started the process of truly transforming the College. You did what generations of Johannians failed to do.
Statement issued by OpenStJohns Organisers, 28 July 2017
