Marist students protest, claiming Black Lives Matter posters torn down

On Wednesday morning Nia Cherrington was a lone voice, stepping down as Marist College's cultural leader following claims her teachers tore down Black Lives Matter posters she'd put up around the school. On Wednesday afternoon, the Year 13 student was joined by a chorus of her peers, voicing their concerns about alleged systemic racism at the Catholic girls' college. It comes after Nia helped organise nine minutes' silence for students to pay tribute to George Floyd and an online petition to highlight racial issues at the school. Nia and her mother Ani say the students were told off for putting up "Black Lives Matter" posters despite earlier being told it was fine. Those posters were later allegedly torn down by staff. Ani Cherrington has since laid a complaint with the Board of Trustees who are due to meet to discuss the matter. But Ani, Nia and six of Nia's senior schoolmates met with Checkpoint reporter Nick Truebridge and cameraman Nick Monro to tell us why casual racism has to stop. In a statement, principal Raechelle Taulu said: "Marist College is aware of the concern our young people have about racism in our society and in the world. We stand with them in sharing the rejection of actions and attitudes that are racist and violent. "We are working with our student leaders to help them share this message with our community, while also recognising that we are governed by policies and procedures. The School Board and Senior Management take any claims of racism seriously and we are reviewing the issues raised with us. "As always, the wellbeing of our students is our priority and this will be at the forefront of any decisions we make within the guidelines of our policies and Catholic education."