Students stand up against school board candidate Jeanie Ames
![Rallying across the street from the Parkway School Board Candidate Forum at the Islamic Foundation of Greater St. Louis, Parkway students, parents and alumni share signs that address white supremacy on the Board of Education. Students also protested and talked to voters at polling sites April 3 to help spread their message. “At about eight different locations, [students] protested basically all day, holding up signs, talking to voters and making sure that they knew to make an informed decision,” senior Cheryl Ma said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/29683472_422410541516458_2732205528126631375_n-900x600.jpg)
Photo courtesy of Not On Our School Board Facebook
Rallying across the street from the Parkway School Board Candidate Forum at the Islamic Foundation of Greater St. Louis, Parkway students, parents and alumni share signs that address white supremacy on the Board of Education. Students also protested and talked to voters at polling sites April 3 to help spread their message. “At about eight different locations, [students] protested basically all day, holding up signs, talking to voters and making sure that they knew to make an informed decision,” senior Cheryl Ma said.
April 3, 2018
Students across Parkway have formed the group “Not on Our School Board” to protest school board candidate Jeanie Ames’ campaign for a position on Parkway’s Board of Education after controversy surrounding Ames’ Twitter account.
“The people on this board are representing us, our beliefs and our values,” freshman Ella Seigel said. “They have a lot of influence, and I don’t want someone representing Islamophobia, or someone who’s a self-proclaimed ‘confederate’ representing me.”
Senior Mali Seigel was informed of the controversy surrounding Ames by her brother, Jack Seigel, a 2012 alumnus and community organizer. Along with other West students including senior Cheryl Ma and junior Gokul Venkatachalam, M. Seigel helped get the student-led movement on its feet.
“I was asking [J. Seigel] about the candidates, and he told me about Jeanie Ames. I was appalled. The more I looked at her Twitter and Facebook the angrier I got,” M. Seigel said. “The bigger issue is the security Ames feels in posting her anti-Muslim views and declaring herself a confederate. She felt like enough people agreed with her that she would be elected with these messages of hate up on her wall and in her Twitter bio.”
Students created an Instagram and Facebook account to spread awareness about Ames’ policies and what they believe her election would mean for students. Venkatachalam and senior Haran Kumar were also recently published in the St. Louis American for an editorial they wrote to explain their motivation for protesting, specifically explaining the protest at the Islamic Foundation of Greater St. Louis during a candidate forum March 25.
“[This movement is] not necessarily about Jeanie Ames rather, but it’s about the structure of white supremacy as a whole. What she stands for is a broader struggle against a large oppressive institution. If we oppose Ames, we’re opposing that institution,” Venkatachalam said.
Students have many different reasons for participating in the protests, such as Ma, who wants to make her school a safer place for her younger siblings.
“The biggest thing for me is the fact that I’m graduating this year, and I have a lot of younger siblings. I don’t want them to be raised in an environment of intolerance,” Ma said. “Parkway needs to prove that there’s no way someone like Ames is able to be elected.”
Along with keeping Parkway safe, M. Seigel wants to ensure that the district continues to be tolerant to all students, regardless of race, religion or identity.
“This movement is comprised of students from Ames’ district trying to make a difference, a more tolerant Parkway and a safe place for all students,” M. Seigel said. “It is important that she will not be able to make any changes that reflect her hateful views.”
Today, students are out at the polls to further promote their message and encourage voters to make informed decisions.
Standing in front of the polling station at Parkway Central, Parkway Central senior Hannah Maurer and Parkway West senior Mali Seigel further spread their message of tolerance in the district.
“School board elections are things that people don’t really know that much about, so a lot of times not a lot of people vote. Even when you do vote, you don’t really know what’s going on,” Ma said. “Generally people can agree that white supremacy is bad, but the hard part is getting someone to know that [Ames] is a white supremacist.”
As the race winds to a close with polls closing at 7 p.m, the student group “Not on Our School Board” hopes to sway the election.
“We need to look in the mirror and try to not have this happen next year,” J. Seigel said. “Instead of waiting until candidates file or until we find out shocking stuff about them, there are things we need to proactively do about white supremacy in West County.”
With low voter turnout for most local elections, despite the students’ personal opinions, they encourage all members of the community to vote and make an educated decision. Find the results on STL Today by tonight.
“If you can vote, I highly urge you to vote, regardless of who it is for. Just make sure that you’re read up and informed on the candidates to ensure that what you’re voting for is what you truly believe in,” Venkatachalam said. “This [election] will affect your classmates, your siblings and the people that will go [to Parkway] for years to come.”
![The narrow lens contrasts with a diverse reality; whitewashing means altering or concealing something to make it more appealing to white people. The word “whitewashed” as it is used today has caused identity crises for thousands, if not millions, of students. “I have been called whitewashed before, and it feels very sad. [It’s] just hard because it makes me not know who I am. You don’t get a lot of backlash for [saying it], so I think it’s a throwaway term for people who aren’t affected by it. When you are the person [who] is being called whitewashed, over time, it builds up,” sophomore Raaga Golla said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_5740-1-300x200.jpg)
![Two of Pathfinder’s most recent editorial accolades shine on display in journalism teacher Lindsey Katz’s room. Pathfinder was recognized as a SNO Distinguished Site on April 24. “Praise isn’t everything, but it feels so nice to see the hard work of our staff recognized. So much more than just writing words on a page occurs [in journalism], and I am so glad people see that. I love being surrounded by such talented writers, but also such great people,” editor-in-chief and junior Payton Dean said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/DSC_4941-300x200.jpg)
![There are more than 20 open cardio machines at Crunch Fitness. I enjoyed the spacious environment at Crunch, a sentiment that was shared by sophomore Sanjana Daggubati. “[Going to] Crunch Fitness was the right decision because [it] feels more professional. Crunch’s workers are laid back, but not to the point where they don't care,” Daggubati said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/IMG_5242-1-300x225.jpg)
![Setting up the activity for his first meeting, Financial Literacy Club founder and sophomore Yash Bandiananthaiah writes on the whiteboard. For the first meeting, Bandiananthaiah created an interactive experience for members to immerse themselves in. “To me, the most important thing during a meeting is to make sure we are all engaged and participating, and [I do this by] always making sure we have a hands-on activity,” Bandiananthaiah said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/DSC5306-1200x798.jpg)
![Hand raised into the air, senior Lauren Anstrom watches as her graduation cap flies along with the caps of all her peers. Anstrom hopes to leave behind the legacy as someone who was kind, hardworking, and always supportive of others. “Tossing my graduation cap honestly felt surreal. In that moment, everything hit me at once with all the excitement, relief and a little sadness too. It felt really emotional [because] this was the end of such a big chapter of my life, but also exciting knowing that everyone was about to start a completely new journey,” Anstrom said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/DSC_3031-Enhanced-NR-2-1200x800.jpg)
![French teacher Blair Hopkins enters City Coffee & Creperie in Clayton, Mo. for breakfast with her Honors French 4 students and AP French 5 students. Both classes went on a field trip to a fair trade chocolate factory in St. Louis to begin their unit on Côte D’Ivoire, a major producer of cocoa beans. “My ideal school would just be the Magic School Bus — you would always learn about things by going someplace and learning hands-on, being able to see it yourself and asking people questions. I think [learning is] always so much more memorable if you can experience it firsthand,” Hopkins said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/DSC2795-1200x798.jpg)
Frank Johnson • Apr 4, 2018 at 10:47 am
It’s fantastic that youngsters today recognize the ill effects of institutionalized racism in this country and are fighting against it. Ames had no business even being allowed on the ballot and while she was soundly beaten, it is still appalling that 12% of the Parkway electorate voted for her. Combining that with the 12% of votes that the other “controversial” Conservative received means that nearly 1/4 of the Parkway School District has no problem with White Supremacy/Privilege.
We need to do much better. Hopefully, these kids will lead the way to MLK’s “Dream!”
Jack Smith • Apr 4, 2018 at 10:34 am
Had no idea Eric was like this. He has managed money for me for years and will end that immediately. So glad his wife was voted down. But how do people end up like the Ames? I went to West as did my wife as well as all my siblings and wife’s siblings and none are like this. My wife’s brother was the same year as Eric.