At 9:20 p.m. on November 13, 2015 in Paris and Saint-Denis, France, 130 civilians were killed by 13 terrorist attacks. Mass shootings and suicide bombings occurred, and 89 people were held hostage and many killed at the Bataclan Theatre in Paris. These attacks were the deadliest France has seen since World War II and they have had a lasting impact throughout the world. In December, a few of the history teachers at Hackley formed an open discussion for anyone who wanted to talk about the Paris attacks.

History teachers Bill Davies, Vladimir Klimenko, and Steve Fitzpatrick invited members of the Hackley community to come together and talk about the recent attacks in Paris during lunch on December 10 in an open discussion titled, “‘After Paris: A Discussion about Policy and Politics in the Wake of the Paris Bombings.”

This discussion was held in order to bring light to the situation and teach students and faculty more about the attacks. “We wanted to provide some historical context. To make sense out of this kind of news story, I think it’s important to have at least some kind of idea of who the main protagonists are, what their goals are, what their motives are, and what their past has been,” said Mr. Klimenko.

While the meeting was focused on the Paris attacks, discussion spread out to many topics. “We didn’t actually talk as much about Paris specifically, more about the predominance of ISIS in Syria and what the US is doing to help Syrian civilians,” said junior Izzy Ampil.

Along with these topics, Donald Trump, refugees in Holland, and aid in the Middle East were discussed.

Many people believe that the discussion was a big hit and that Hackley should have more of these events because they get the community involved in current events. “I think the discussion encouraged members of the community by demonstrating that many people at Hackley are intelligent and concerned and capable of asking really good questions and bringing good ideas to the table,” said Mr. Klimenko.

Students enjoyed having a space where they could share and listen to other people’s reactions on the topic of the Paris attacks without being confined to a classroom. “The lineup of teachers was like the all-star basketball team. It educated us on what’s really happening and why it’s happening. It’s a nice way to relax during the day and step out of class,” said sophomore Max Tannenbaum.

Even though the Paris attacks discussion was successful, students believe there could be some improvements if Hackley were to host another event like this in the future. “It definitely could have been longer because it took a while for everything to get settled and started and we ended up having a short discussion,” said sophomore Grace Rubin.

The Paris attacks discussion was just one of many open discussions Hackley has had throughout the years, including ones about Ferguson and the dangers of a single story. Students and teachers are hopeful that there will be even more events like this to come so the Hackley community can continue to be well informed about the world around them.