West Cook News

Fenwick High School Principal Peter Groom sent an email via Schoology to students last week in which he indirectly compared former President Donald Trump to dictators Adolph Hitler and Benito Mussolini.

“As the weeks passed following the election, the 2020 election process has been under assault in a handful of swing states that were all won by President-Elect Biden,” Groom said in the message to students. “Even after the states and the courts had their say on the matter, the assault continued.”

Following the Black Lives Matter protests and riots over the summer, Groom did not send such a note to students condemning those incidents. BLM riots and looting in Oak Park occurred, which directly impacted the students at Fenwick.

However, it was only in reference to the Capitol attack by rioters Groom said the speech of division and hate was the breaking point in Washington, D.C. 

“Not only was the Senate and Congress under attack, the very foundation of our democracy was as well,” Groom said.

Groom said the attack on the U.S. Capitol building was more than “an incident that was inflamed by a demagogue trying to preserve power.”

“There are underlying issues that our country must face going forward,” Groom said. “While I am proud of how our students demonstrated maturity and understanding, I know that we at Fenwick are not immune to some of the changes that must occur.”

Groom noted that after World War I, there were many European countries that went from democratic systems to dictatorships. 

"Until the aftermath of WWI, the United States was the only country in the world that had been steadfast in their commitment to a republican style of democracy," he said. "As the 1920’s and 30’s unfolded, we saw the dangers of the democratic experiment in countries like Italy and Germany as populist facist movements rose to power and they manipulated the democratic systems to become dictatorships."

In the email Groom said he never thought America would be vulnerable to that until the U.S. Capitol attack.

“All Americans suffered due to these events,” he said. “It does not matter if you are conservative or liberal. The continued hate speech and division pollutes great people on all sides of our political spectrum. I think the most important message that we can deliver to our students is the message that was at the conclusion of my October speech to students. Regardless of the situation and circumstances, we must treat each other with the dignity and respect that we have learned from the example of Jesus in the Gospels.”

Groom is the principal and a Spanish and social studies teacher at Fenwick. He’s been the principal at the school since 2011.

See Groom's full email below:

From my understanding, our students, as a whole, have honored this message before, during and after the election, If my understanding is correct, I am very proud of our student body. Its is unfortunate that the actors on January 6th did not demonstrate the same behavior.

As the weeks passed following the election, the 2020 election process has been under assault in a handful of swing states that were all won by President-Elect Biden. Even after the states and courts had their say on the matter, the assault continued. The speech of division and hate came to a breaking point at our nation’s capital. Not only was the Senate and Congress under attack, the very foundation of our democracy has well.

This attack on the Capitol building on the surface can be seen as an incident that was inflamed by a demagogue trying to preserve power. Unfortunately, this view is far too obtuse. The images of Confederate flags and hangman’s nooses were a stark reminder behind what motivates certain people. There are underlying issues that our country must face going forward. While I am proud of how our students demonstrated maturity and understanding, I know that we at Fenwick are not immune to some of the changes that must occur.

Until the aftermath of WWI, the United States was the only country in the world that had been steadfast in their commitment to a republican style of democracy. As the 1920’s and 30’s unfolded, we saw the dangers of the democratic experiment in countries like Italy and Germany as populist racist movements rose to power and they manipulated the democratic systems to become dictatorships. Never did I think that our own government was as vulnerable as was demonstrated this week.

All Americans suffer due to these events. It does not matter if you are conservative or liberal. The continued hate speech and division pollutes great people on all sides of our political spectrum. I think the most important message that we can deliver to our students is the message that was at the conclusion of my October speech to students. Regardless of the situation and circumstances, we must treat each other with the dignity and the respect that we have learned from the example of Jesus in the Gospels.