Stevenson High School’s annual World’s Fair, a celebration of cultural diversity, became the center of controversy this year when elements of a Palestinian booth were deemed political and led to a heated discussion within the school and community.

The decision has sparked a debate over free speech, cultural representation, and alleged hate speech, drawing strong reactions from students, parents, and community members. The fallout included a security incident, a tense school board meeting, and calls for policy changes to prevent similar conflicts in the future.

Stevenson is home to over 20 world culture clubs, representing more than 15 countries across the globe. World’s Fair offers these clubs, along with other affinity groups, a chance to showcase their food and culture, in addition to sponsoring performances that promote cultural diversity.

At this year’s World’s Fair on January 25-26, a group of students created a new booth representing Palestinian culture; it was the first from that culture in the event’s history. According to students present at the booth, at around 11 a.m. on Saturday, January 25, school administrators pulled booth leaders aside and informed them that elements of the display had been reported for being offensive and political including a pro-Palestinian graphic and text that has been used in global protests.

The World’s Fair situation stems from the current conflict that began in 2023. Hamas, the ruling party in the Gaza Strip and a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, launched a surprise attack on Israel October 7, 2023, killing more than 1,200 people and taking around 250 hostages. Gaza has been an area of almost continuous active conflict ever since.

While death counts vary, both Israel and the Gaza Health Ministry estimate there have been more than 30,000 Palestinian deaths per Voice of America. The conflict has also been a hot topic of discussion across the US, including at Stevenson, where last year students organized a peaceful walkout to demonstrate their views on both sides of the conflict.

Given the ongoing conflict, the students said that they were told elements of the booth, especially the image and the definition given for Palestine’s boundaries, were political statements not in line with the goals of World’s Fair. Furthermore, some members of the public complained that the map and text endorsed the erasure of Israel, which they argued constituted hate speech which concerned some members of the Stevenson administration.

As a result of various concerns, members of the Palestinian booth say they were asked to cover some of the content that members of the public had raised concerns about. After meeting with members of the administration, booth leaders removed or covered those parts of the board.

On Sunday, January 26, following the removal of portions of the display, Principal Troy Gobble said a man entered Stevenson’s campus and allegedly verbally harassed students at the Palestinian booth. Security was quickly called to the area, and the Lincolnshire Police Department removed the man from the premises according to Gobble.

“I thought [the Lincolnshire Police Department] did a great job and people remained safe, which was the point,” Gobble said.

The rest of the event concluded as normal with cultural performances in the Performing Arts Center capping a weekend of cultural celebration. While there was an extra security presence, festivities continued without further interruption.

The Chicago Jewish Alliance posted about the event on their social media pages, and word quickly spread on social media and in parent-groups. Soon other groups, including the Chicago chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, weighed in on their websites and on social media. As the response grew in volume and scope, school officials and leaders of local municipalities collectively received tens of thousands of emails and calls from community members.

After the incident, multiple parents, students, and other outside groups made statements to the school board during a regularly scheduled Board of Education meeting on February 10. Administrators accepted input from the public, noting that feedback is a crucial part of the decision-making process.

“People have every right to come and speak their voice, and that’s why there’s public comment, and that’s, that’s what makes democracy wonderful,” Gobble said.

Gobble said that a significant amount of the public response was from individuals and groups not affiliated with Stevenson. While Gobble notes that he pays attention to all concerns, his biggest emphasis is on the feelings of students and their families. In a closing statement to those gathered at the Board meeting, administrators recognized that they made mistakes in how they handled World’s Fair and said they were acting to make changes before next year’s event.

“The things that didn’t [go well] were mostly failures on our part as the adults in providing the right kind of support for all of our students,” Superintendent Eric Twadell said.

While Gobble believes it is important to give students opportunities to express their opinions, he stressed time and place should be considered as well. Assistant Superintendent Wendy Custable and Gobble expressed that it is their responsibility as an administration to protect and support students, and they said that part of that responsibility includes making it more clear what the purposes of World’s Fair are.

“World’s Fair is a cultural event, it’s not a political event,” Gobble said. “It’s not an event to say your piece, it’s an event to celebrate your culture.”

Director of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion LeViis Haney also cites the need for the refocusing of World’s Fair on cultural celebration. Haney emphasizes the importance of ensuring student safety while supporting as much productive dialogue as possible.

“[We need to] balance the spirit of the event, and ensure the safety of students,” Haney said.

Following the board meeting, Stevenson administrators met to discuss changes needed to avoid similar situations in the future. While administrators have walked away with a few tangible goals, like mitigating hate speech and ensuring student safety, Gobble acknowledged that their main takeaway from this event was that the administration was unprepared for a situation like this.

“We honestly didn’t really have a [prior] review [process]; we’ve been running this program for 30 some years and have never really needed to have that kind of review,” Gobble said.

Similarly, Haney expresses that understanding can be built through a thorough screening process, despite the short, one-day timeframe during which the screening could occur. He said that the need for a process is indicative of a need to protect students, one of the administration’s and his priorities.

“We’re going to need to screen the booths, and [coming up with that procedure] is going to require a thoughtful process [over the next year leading up to World’s Fair]” Haney said.

As the community moves on from the immediate events surrounding World’s Fair, many see this as an opportunity for growth. Buffalo Grove President Eric Smith emphasized the necessity of educating both students and staff about the controversial nature of the display.

“I believe a crucial step is to educate both students and staff about the harmful nature of the display and the inaccuracies it contained,” Smith said.

Haney and Custable believe that discussing the incident improved people’s understanding of what happened and helped to reduce harm. Palestinian booth leader Aya Nasr ‘26 agreed as she told the Board of Education that she believes having productive dialogue furthers a safe and more accepting learning environment.

Despite the controversy surrounding World’s Fair, Smith and Nasr hope that the ongoing conversation leads to an improved World’s Fair next year, even as this year’s edition fades from public memory. At the end of the day, administrators remain cautiously optimistic that this year’s incident will serve as a learning opportunity for improving security and ensuring a productive and valuable experience at the World’s Fair.

Custable emphasized that global conflicts make events like World’s Fair complicated due to the administration’s responsibility to protect students.

“We want everyone to feel comfortable and included,” Custable said. “At the same time things are happening in the world, and we need to be mindful of those things.”

Despite the global conflicts that make it challenging to put on the event, Custable insists that it is worthwhile to give students a chance to express their culture. Haney and Gobble agreed, asserting that World’s Fair remains a vital opportunity to express people’s culture because the Stevenson community continues to value diversity.

“When I think of Stevenson, I think about excellence,” Haney said. “We should be excellent at everything we do, whether that is cultural celebrations or honoring our diverse population or empathizing with others. Stevenson should be the best at that.”