_____________ ROCKVILLE CENTRE ____________
SAV E W HE N Y OU B U NDLE A UT O & HOM E INS U R A NC E
HERALD DECEMBER 19 - 25, 2024
WIN NER
ALEX ANDERSON
516.544.2728 530 MERRICK RD.
Across from Pantry Din er
Aanderson8@allstate.com
$1.00
The Anderson Agency
123738 804 123 1028 1111 18
Vol. 35 No. 52
Presented by
lichoiceawards.com 2023-202 2023 4
4.9
Synagogue hosts pre-Hanukkah Page 10
HER ALD
Transgender bathroom issue sparks outrage Centre resident, said that he was frustrated with the response by district administraSeveral parents in the Rock- tors after the November school ville Centre school district are board meeting, at which he voicing concerns about trans- posed a series of questions on gender students being given the subject. “The answers provided were access to bathrooms and locker rooms based on the gender they almost entirely deflections based on the clearly feel most comforterroneous position abl e i d e n t i f y i n g that district policy with. permitting students At the Board of to use bathrooms Education meeting and locker rooms on Dec. 12 in the of the opposite sex South Side High is not a policy School auditorium, change,” Cooney more than a dozen said. “Superintenparents urged the dent (Matthew) district to reverse Gaven said nothing the policy, despite a b o u t s t a t e l aw state and federal requiring this. If requirements that MATTHEw GAVEN the board wishes to p r o h i b i t p u b l i c superintendent, restore some meas c h o o l d i s t r i c t s Rockville Centre sure of credibility from denying a stu- schools it has lost, it will dent use of a restclimb down from room due to gender the position that there is no polidentity. Parents expressed fears that icy change, and that the district providing such access to stu- has had no choice but to permit dents could potentially put oth- students to use bathrooms and ers in harm’s way. They also locker rooms for the opposite expressed frustration over a sex since 2019. That was not lack of parental consultation what the district policy was in about what they perceived to be 2023, and it is not how the district interpreted state law in a new policy on the issue. William Cooney, a Rockville Continued on page 18
By DANIEl oFFNER
doffner@liherald.com
Stu Goldman/Herald
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas Brothers Charles, 7, and Jack Thompson, 4, of Rockville Centre enjoy a holiday-themed breakfast with Santa and Mrs. Claus at the Rockville Centre Recreation Center. Story, more photos Page 3.
Two South Side H.S. students help lead the fight against hate By DANIEl oFFNER doffner@liherald.com
The Village of Rockville Centre, in collaboration with local Jewish leaders, adopted a resolution pledging to combat antisemitism and educate residents on ways to identify and report such acts when they occur, following a series of antisemitic activity in recent years. Hateful propaganda was spread across the South Shore of Long Island by a group calling themselves the “Goyim Defense League,” and two rallies were organized by the neo-fascist organization, the Proud Boys. “Part of that resolution included a continuing endeavor to cooperate with recognized organiza-
tions which combat antisemitism and to assist such organizations in educating residents about identifying acts of antisemitism,” Village Trustee Katie Conlon said. In an effort to spread this message among Rockville Centre youth, Kate Gupta and Lauren Ferazani, co-vice presidents of the South Side High School chapter of the Distributive Education Clubs of America, have teamed up with the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism in the hopes of inspiring others to join them in standing against hate in all its many forms. “Antisemitism has been an enduring issue throughout history and is increasingly prominent today with the conflict in Israel,” Gupta Continued on page 9
T
this established practice is not a response to any recent policy changes.