A man who was angry about Sunset Beach Elementary School’s COVID-19 safety rules walked onto the campus without authorization Thursday with his smartphone video camera running as he cursed and argued loudly with some staff members.
The incident caused some children to cry before he finally left.
A teacher who witnessed the 11:30 a.m. incident said approximately 60 third and fourth graders were at the school cafeteria for lunch when the man walked toward the cafeteria’s rear entrance, aiming his phone camera toward the students.
A social media video provided to the Honolulu Star- Advertiser appears to have been shot by the man as he entered the campus. In what appears to be a Facebook Live post, the man, in a red shirt and dark glasses, had the camera pointed toward himself as he said, “Yeah, so I’m here at Sunset Beach Elementary. I’m gonna go see firsthand what they’re doing.”
He turned the camera forward to show children standing outside the cafeteria as he approached and said, “They’re at lunch right now. Yeah, they sure are. So I’m gonna see for myself,” and then turned the camera back to himself and continued, “what kinda illegal s— they got going on here. Stay tuned.”
The teacher who witnessed the incident said the man said something about “segregation” as he tried to videotape students as they sat 3 feet apart in compliance with state Department of Education and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention protocols. She asked that her name be withheld because she fears retribution.
She said she heard the man level a string of profanities at Sunset Principal Eliza Elkington before he said, “I’ve heard horror stories about you.”
The teacher said school employees kept the man from entering the cafeteria, steered him to a different area outside the other end of the building and shut the cafeteria doors. However, students could still see and hear the commotion through the cafeteria’s screened windows, and while some children were merely curious, “some kids were scared and upset and crying,” she said.
The teacher and other staff members said the man is a member of the North Shore community who does not have children attending the school. He was told to leave, and he did so after about five minutes, yelling and cursing as he left, the teacher said.
Some children and staff members were shaken, and at least one child was crying because he recognized the man, the teacher said. Police arrived after the man had left.
A Honolulu Police Department spokeswoman Friday said no arrest was made. A Star-Advertiser message to the social media account the video reportedly came from was not returned.
Elkington wrote in a letter sent Thursday to parents that “an unauthorized visitor approached our cafeteria during the lunch period and began yelling and using profanity at our students and staff about COVID protocols while videotaping. Staff confronted the individual immediately, called police, and moved the individual away from students. No physical contact was made, but students and staff were visibly upset by the incident. The Honolulu Police Department responded and a police report was filed.”
The teacher, and a mother whose children attend the school, both said the incident was symptomatic of growing tension at the school, where there is a deep, emotional divide between parents who are strongly opposed to the school’s pandemic safety protocols and those who support them.
The mother also requested her name be withheld for fear of retribution.
As a public school, Sunset Beach Elementary officials are required to follow rules set by the state Department of Education. The department has been mirroring the pandemic guidance of the CDC on masking, distancing, vaccination, quarantine and isolation.
“We’re not making these guidelines, we’re just following them,” the teacher said. “We’re doing our job, and we’re being attacked for doing our job.”
The DOE declined to elaborate beyond releasing a statement attributed to Elkington, in which she said the man’s behavior “was not acceptable. There is a time and place for civil discourse regarding controversial or divisive issues, and this incident was not civil in any way. The actions were threatening and disrespectful toward students and staff.
“I understand this is a divisive issue for some and that emotions run high. I’ve been accused of some pretty hurtful things that run counter to my values as a school leader. My priority has always been the well-being and safety of our entire school ‘ohana. I have put my whole heart into the duty I have to care for the students at Sunset Beach.”
