Position Paper #1 - Crisis Public Relations

 Marana High School

Social media plays a big part in a company, organization, or individual's public image in our society. When something is "trending" on the internet, it will cause publicity for the involved party. It only takes one "post," "share," "like," or "send" to determine how you are seen in the public eye. Sometimes the publicity is beneficial, or in some cases, a significant mistake or accusation will negatively impact the individual or party involved. 

In Tucson, Arizona, the Marana Unified School District has been facing negative publicity, not only locally but nationally. When scrolling through TikTok, I came across a video of high school students protesting and shouting, "we want justice, and we want it now." According to related TikTok videos, the students have claimed that the district has not done enough regarding alleged sexual assault allegations.  When rumors of the protest came to light, the school district announced that the students planned a "peaceful protest" on two campus grounds. The school planned to allow the protest as long as the students did not get out of control. 

@xxzenriquexx

##fyp##protest##highschool##maranahighschool##xyzbca##crazy

♬ original sound - xxzenriquexx

@grace_lights2005 I go to Marana high school and we've been ignored so much that it got to this point #fyp #greenscreen #shadowbanned #maranahighschool #boost ♬ original sound - Aurora Grace 

The amount of time it took the school to make a statement worsened their already declining image. Due to the timing of the TikTok video, the school district was aware of the allegations and claims well before the protest on campus. The school had time to create a newsletter and notify parents and other students that the protest would occur. The school district did not make a statement until a week after the TikTok video was posted. This gave the impression that the school district did not feel inclined to make a statement until the story went public on a national level. Due to minimal public details of the case, the public did not know whether the school had handled the accusations correctly. It would have been beneficial to the district if they had made a statement early on and discussed how they dealt with the sexual assault claims before the video trended further. 

The original protest was led by student RayAnn Honea, who claimed that she reported her assault to the district in April; however, she claims that the district did not do enough regarding the report. She also claimed that she received "continuous sexual harassment from her attacker" after coming forward to the school. Initially, students and other individuals claimed that the sexual assault that created the frenzy happened on campus; however, Honea admitted it was an off-campus assault. This is what the district has to say according to their statement: 

"Unfortunately, posts on social media are characterizing this incident as a rape that occurred on campus. That is not true. While this off-campus case remains open, it is important to note that there have been zero allegations of rape on campus or at school-sponsored activities at Marana High School or in the District."

The school district also claimed that they met with the families involved and "offered support" during the time of the allegations and that they notified the proper authorities. According to Honea's mom, the school nor the police followed up with them. 

Multiple other assault allegations have been made; Honea claims even a freshman is being assaulted, and nothing is being done about it. Honea created a petition for the public to sign for the school to develop better policies regarding allegations. 

The story has definitely painted the district in a negative light. Instead of waiting an extensive amount of time, the district should have made a statement earlier. Also, a phrase used often in their statement is "this is not true." How do we know it is not true? There has been more than one student to come forward with sexual assault claims. The school should have also discussed these other claims in their statement. 

Ao now they're silencing the students and calling them liars?Kids dont just say things to say them,they're reasons. accountability needs to be there. stop silencing the voiceless,take responsibility for wrong actions.If that happened to my daughter, you dont even know what I'd do

— 🇺🇸TheGod777🤴🏼🇺🇸 (@USAJamesBond007) September 16, 2021

Although the district has handled this situation poorly, it was a wise decision not to prevent the protest. The school has also commented that they are following up with students following the protests: 

"As such, following the protests on campus, school leaders have engaged and listened to students’ concerns. The MHS leadership team has developed a plan in collaboration with students about how they are going to further educate and support students throughout the District on this topic now and in the future. Additionally, the MHS leadership team is working with District counseling services to provide new support groups for students while increasing avenues for disseminating general information about how students and families can report concerns regarding sexual assault and sexual harassment."

It is going to be difficult for the school to recover from this publicity. To recover, the public will have to witness the school following through with the measures they have promised in their response. Also, it will take time to truly witness the effect this story has had on the school. Sexual assault claims are very serious, whether true or untrue and should be treated as such. Any school or school district can learn a lesson from the events taking place at Marana High School in Tucson, Arizona.