The fliers posted last Thursday were innocuous enough: “Join your student grassroots organization, City Bloc, for updates on how you can engage in the Baltimore political scene!”

Created to promote City Bloc, Baltimore City College’s student political organization, the fliers were posted in the school hallways in advance of a student activities fair, said Makayla Gilliam-Price, a City College student and spokesperson for City Bloc.

Gilliam-Price said the fliers were taken down by hall monitors yesterday, while fliers from other student organizations, such as an environmental club and talent show – even those for meetings that have passed – remained up.

City has a fairly liberal policy about fliers, she explained. “Usually, if something is taken down, they will tell you why. But not this time.”

“No one even began to talk to us about the fliers,” she said. “The fact that we don’t know what happened to them is really part of the problem.”

Gilliam-Price said City Bloc is trying to get in touch with the hall monitors and have a meeting with the principal, Cindy Harcum, to find out what happened.

BREW UPDATE: City Bloc students met with Harcum today. According to Gilliam-Price, the fliers were not removed maliciously, and Harcum told them the steps necessary to become a club with a faculty advisor. “She suggested we file a proposal to create that co-existing relationship with the school. Our goal is to become a recognized student organization,” Gilliam-Price said.

Not Recognized

She noted that while City Bloc has a number of faculty “allies,” several of whom even asked for copies of the City Bloc flier to make available to students, Harcum doesn’t recognize City Bloc even unofficially.

City Schools spokeswoman Edie House-Foster said Harcum “requires hall support staff to remove all fliers dated from the start of school year until the advertised student activity fair, that took place this past Friday Sept 11, be pulled yesterday in order to keep postings current around the building.

“The posted fliers by groups around the building encouraged student sign-ups and advertised information regarding clubs that would be represented at the fair,” House-Foster wrote in an email, adding:

“Only an orange flyer advertising PTSA membership for tonight’s back to school night remained by end of day yesterday.”

Student Voice

City Bloc was formed last year to help give City College students a voice in school and citywide and social injustice issues.

It has always been nonviolent, said Gilliam-Price, but is viewed by administration as “a source of antagonism not a source of productive student engagement.”

The organization conducted a walk-out last year in protest of school budget cuts and schedule changes. About 40 students walked from City College to City Schools headquarters on North Avenue during the school day.

They have also been a vocal opponent of school closures and local social injustice issues including the police-custody death of Freddie Gray. One of their upcoming projects is a voter registration drive.

The organization does meet on City’s campus, Gilliam-Price said, but is not an officially recognized “club.”

“We don’t have a faculty sponsor. I don’t want the jobs and safety of our teachers to be in jeopardy,” she said. “We believe a faculty sponsor would be fired.”

Not all fliers posted at the school are for recognized clubs, Gilliam-Price noted. “There are so many clubs, it’s hard to tell which ones are official and which ones are not.”

City College principal Harcum did not respond to The Brew’s questions about why the fliers were removed.