Hallway Headlines: October 2022

Jake Pfeiffer, News Editor & Copy Editor

EDITOR’S NOTE: Hallway Headlines will only appear online for the 2022-2023 school year. The focus of this feature has also been limited to just Illinois schools. 

1: Niles Township school district to vote on Assyrian Language course

NILES TOWNSHIP, Ill. — The Niles Township District 219’s school board unanimously voted to introduce a new Assyrian Language course for the 2023-2024 school year at their Nov. 1 board meeting.

The district serves Niles Township, Skokie, and Morton Grove, which have a combined population of over 100,000 people of Assyrian ancestry.

The course has been in development for at least seven years. It will include learning of both the language and Assyrian culture.

Seventeen students, staff and community members spoke at the Oct. 11 board meeting in favor  of introducing an Assyrian Language class. This included Atour Sargon, the Vice Chair of the Assyrian Policy Institute, who pledged their organizations full support for the implementation of the new class.

2: Athletic Trainer saves student at Geneva homecoming

GENEVA, Ill. —After a student collapsed in convulsions at Geneva High School’s homecoming, athletic trainer Nicole Collins administered CPR to the student twice before paramedics arrived.

The student, Bridget Archbold, credits Collins with saving her life. 

“I can’t shake the feeling that I would have died if she wasn’t there,” Archbold said in an interview with NBC5 Chicago. “I feel forever grateful towards her.”

Collins was chaperoning the dance when the music suddenly stopped, and students began to clear a space around the convulsing Archbold.

“It’s what I’m trained to do, so in the moment, my muscle memory kicked in, and I knew what to do,” Collins said in an interview with NBC5 Chicago.

3: Kankakee teacher fired after use of racial slur

KANKAKEE, Ill. —Kankakee School District 111 fired a high school math teacher after he was caught on camera calling a 10th grade student the N-word.

The district’s school board fired the teacher, John Donovan, at their Oct. 24 meeting after being placed on paid leave due to the incident.

Donovan called Michael Nelson Jr. the N-word following a verbal dispute.

According to Nelson’s family lawyer, Donovan had also thrown books at the student during a previous incident in September.

4: Four-day lockdown in Cahokia after threats 

CAHOKIA, Ill. —Cahokia High School went on lockdown for four consecutive days in late Sept., following shooting threats.

The threats were Airdropped to school administrators on Sept. 25, 26, and 27. According to one parent in an interview with FOX 2, the messages threatened to kill anyone seen in the freshman wing with an AK-47.

Parents speculated that the threats were the result of an incident involving a school security guard body slamming a student to the ground.Darby 

Cahokia’s school district said they were aware of the guard’s actions, and that he acted in accordance with school guidelines.

Sources: Chicago Tribune, NBC 5 Chicago, CBS Chicago, FOX 2 St. Louis