Harford County Public School’s Ban on Baltimore Trips

Adaora Ede

Recently, the Harford County Public Schools field trip ban to Baltimore was lifted. Didn’t know anything about this? I didn’t know about it either. Frankly, I wouldn’t expect most of us to be aware of the ban, as the majority of us were unaffected. Most high schoolers don’t go on that many field trips (as a side note, maybe I’ll write a feature on the fact that high school students need a lot more excursions; outside air is good for the mind and stuff). On the other hand, there’s a story behind the 10 month ban, which other counties like Anne Arundel and Baltimore County’s respective school systems followed through with as well. This ban was put in place in April of 2015 after the Baltimore protests and riots following the arrest of Freddie Gray and his subsequent death.

As previously stated, this ban was originally placed in April 2015, and trips were also re-suspended in December of the same year as the trial of the first police officer related to the homicide of Freddie Gray began, for fear that more riots would affect student safety. Many of these protests stemmed out of vexation towards the increase of police brutality in American cities. The ban was lifted earlier this February after internal dialogue with law enforcement and city leaders, beginning the gradual entrance of athletic groups for sports competitions.

My main question is: Why? And also, why was the ban prolonged? In my eyes, bans like this continue to perpetuate a belief that seems to be all too common from those living in semi-rural Harford County: that there is something big and menacing over county lines in Baltimore City. Baltimore City shouldn’t be a bogeyland: this is a place where normal people reside and go through their everyday lives, similarly to the way that we do here in the quaint Harford County.

Surprisingly enough, Harford County Public Schools has received criticism from a variety of sources for their initial decision to ban school trips into the city, with some sources actually wondering what ulterior motives a predominantly white county’s school system would have suspending students from going on field trips into the 66% African American city during the trials of the police officers charged in the death of a black man. Even political leaders like Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and Maryland delegate criticized the initial decision.

This whole situation is eerily reminiscent of the forced alarm in seen in historical events such as the Red Scare where the government perpetuated the negative beliefs against Russians and other Eastern Europeans that the general public should fear them, as they are all probably Communists trying to overthrow to government. Enough about history, perhaps the modern-day equivalent of this belief persists in the notion that the predominantly black Baltimore population should be feared as a threat.

In my opinion, it was unrealistic to continue this ban for TEN months. As a student, I understand the idea of safety. I want to feel safe in my learning environment. I know my parents would want that as well. But ALSO as a student (and a citizen), I comprehend the cultural value of field trips. Visiting the Baltimore Zoo and the Aquarium at Baltimore will forever be staple of my formative years. Who can forget the Baltimore Museum of Art, the Lyric and Meyerhoff, the Baltimore Museum of Industry, and more? With such a proximity to a city full of so much cultural significance, where was the TRUE rationale for not allowing students to visit, even after most of the civil unrest had ended? Harford County Public Schools eventually made the correct decision to remove this ban, but this decision was made far too late to prevent the perpetuation of more bias towards the citizens of Baltimore.