By Channing Smith ’17

A quick punch of the phrase “white privilege” in a Google search results in dozens of articles and photos of idyllic downtown Westport, scenes with which all Staples students are familiar, as a result of a TEAM Westport essay prompt.

As part of the fourth annual TEAM Westport Essay Contest, the board revealed this year’s topic of “white privilege.” The prompt read:

“In 1,000 words or less, describe how you understand the term ‘white privilege’. To what extent do you think this privilege exists? What impact do you think it has had in your life—whatever your racial or ethnic identity—and in our society more broadly?”

When asked about the prompt, TEAM Westport Chairman Harold Bailey Jr. emphasized how the word “extent” allowed responses of all viewpoints. “Students can respond in numerous ways,” Bailey said. “The idea of the contest was that young people and teenagers would have an opportunity to comment from their perspective on subjects that might be of controversy or interest.”

Despite TEAM’s intended open-ended question, as Bailey explained, the essay received national media coverage from outlets such as The New York Times, New York Post and even international coverage from the UK Daily Mail.

Jonathan Demeter ’17 blamed ‘buzzwords.’ “People love it,” Demeter said. “‘Rich,’ ‘white town.’ Let’s go there,” he said mockingly.

Staples principal James D’Amico echoed this idea, as he explained he believed much of the buzz comes from miscommunication, as few people may have actually read the prompt.

“They only react to the headline,” D’Amico said. “It’s Twitter culture.”

The widespread news coverage snowballed inaccurate information concerning the essay prompt, leading to outrage and disagreement from many. D’Amico explained he fielded calls from as far as Seattle and Virginia debunking rumors surrounding the school’s involvement with the prompt. Falsely reported information included that the town of Westport was paying TEAM and funding the cash prizes, or that the essay was an assignment for every student in the Westport school district.

First Selectman Jim Marpe agreed that the headlines were worded as “click bait.”

“Unfortunately, in today’s world, certain word combinations are seen by some as “code” for extreme views, […] Given the power of social media, it quickly spread itself to many people in distant places who would not have heard of, or reacted to, this contest,” Marpe said.

D’Amico was also surprised at the attention the contest gathered around the nation. “People would call saying, ‘How could the school force the kids to write an essay on this?’ Which is just not true,” D’Amico laughed.

On Feb. 5, TEAM Westport published a fact sheet outlining the truth and purpose regarding the essay prompt.

Bailey compared the news coverage to a game of broken telephone. “For every wrong story there were dozens of people saying ‘This is outrageous’ to something that wasn’t true,” Bailey said. “After this we decided to publish the fact sheet.”

Though the essay had no direct affiliation with the school district, both D’Amico and Bailey explained TEAM and Staples have combined forces to tap into tough conversations at school.

“Historically, [TEAM has] been a good group for us to partner with for kickstarting discussion on diversity on the local level,” D’Amico said. “There are certain conversations about diversity that can be difficult to have in Westport, or anywhere.”

Bailey was adamant in believing these tough conversations must be introduced early on in education. “The parents of the students get a chance to go to work, travel and get away all the time, seeing the diversity that makes up the entire world or the nation.  Students here don’t get a chance to do that,” Bailey said. “They tend to be only exposed to the folks around them.”

Ali Tritschler, Greens Farms Academy class of 2016 and one of the winners of the 2016 TEAM Essay Contest, voiced her appreciation for TEAM’s initiatives. “I think Westport TEAM is doing something that our community needs,” Tritschler said.

“It is very easy to live in Westport and feel like you don’t relate to anything happening around the world. Westport TEAM is encouraging kids to get involved by asking them to think about different ways in which they can relate and approach the problems in our country,” Tritschler said.

Ellie Shapiro ’17, president of Staples’ TEAM club, expressed her disappointment that the media was portraying TEAM in a negative light.

“They didn’t create TEAM to accuse anyone, to point fingers or to blame. The organization is about educating and opening up a conversation in our town,” Shapiro said.

However, she justifies the excitement with the negative connotation brought with the word “white privilege.”

“Using the term white privilege rips off the dozens of band aids that have been put on race inequality issues,” Shapiro said.

“Although TEAM had absolutely no intention of shaming or forcing anyone into a particular stance, by bringing up white privilege, people are most definitely reminded of the harsh history of the term and the negative connotation it holds. They’re uncomfortable with talking about it and more importantly, how it might still exist,” Shapiro said.

Tritschler agreed in the respect that the term “white privilege” causes discomfort, but this does not mean discussing the term should be avoided.

“I understand that white privilege is a controversial topic, and many people either don’t understand it or simply don’t acknowledge it; however, in a town like Westport, I think it is extremely important for kids to tackle the question this contest is asking regarding white privilege,” Tritschler said.

Marpe noted that the controversy shouldn’t necessarily be viewed as a negative thing and rather recognizes Westport’s progressive steps as a means for sparking discussion.

“The controversy over a high school-level essay contest is a result of our community’s willingness to tackle difficult and often sensitive topics in public and to celebrate the airing of different opinions in a civil and fact-based format,” Marpe said.

Unfortunately, not everyone is comfortable with considering alternative opinions and perspectives in public (or at all), so they might have a negative view of our community as a result of this contest.

Demeter compared the media excitement over the essay prompt to reporting on the debate questions before the debate even happens. “I don’t know why people are freaking out,” he said with a shrug. “It’s so open ended; no one has even given any answers yet.”