By Lindsay Tice,Staff Writer

AUBURN – More than 200 people gathered Thursday to discuss Auburn schools and how they deal with racism, bullying and harassment.

The evening ended with an impromptu show of solidarity when dozens of people held hands, formed a ring around the room and swayed to music.

“It was a moving thing to do,” said Edward Little High School math teacher Tina Vanasse, who started the circle. “I just thought If we could be one.'”

Held at Central Maine Community College, the Celebration of Unity invited parents to learn what Auburn has been doing to make schools safe. For two hours, school officials and civil rights experts talked about the civil rights teams, Unity Project and other programs put in place over the last couple of years to deal with racism, bullying and harassment. Many of the students involved in the programs performed skits.

“I hope kids go home knowing they have other kids who are willing to help them,” said student Elijah Moreshead after his Webster Intermediate School team earned a standing ovation for its skit on speaking up. “I wish that they’d go home tonight knowing they don’t have to worry about being bullied anymore.”

Older students talked about the region’s increasing diversity and changing school climate. Racism was sometimes a problem in the past, they said. The civil rights teams, Unity Project and other programs have helped.

“Everyone in the community needs to understand what’s going on, and not everyone does. And we students are right in the middle of it,” said 16-year-old Alex Maheux, a sophomore at Edward Little High School.

Auburn made headlines in February after three black students were accused of beating a white student in the halls of the high school. Two of the black students were expelled. They said the white student repeatedly harassed them and called them a racial epithet, and that school officials did nothing about it.

At the time, other students said racial tensions were rising in the 1,100-student school, which was nearly all white until an influx of Somali immigrants helped change the demographic.

School officials said the school’s racism issues weren’t that bad, and they were working to solve the problems that did exist. Stephen Wessler, director of the Center for the Prevention of Hate Violence at the University of Southern Maine, was already working with the school system. He added extra student training after the incident.

In March, several students involved in the Unity Project, an intensive program on tolerance and solidarity, told school committee members that racial tensions were easing and the school climate was improving.

Thursday, Wessler praised the school system, calling students and staff “extraordinary” and “courageous” for dealing with the issues.

“There is not a school system I have worked with that has been more forthright and committed,” Wessler said.

Many parents agreed that things have improved. They said the Celebration of Unity showed them why.

“I think for a long time these issues have been addressed in Lewiston but not Auburn, and since they didn’t address them it escalated,” said Mandy Boudreaux, whose son was asked to join the Unity Project after a fight at school.

Students hailed the evening as a success.

“I think it went really well tonight. We changed a lot of people’s views,” said 14-year-old Shamis Yonis, a member of Auburn Middle School’s civil rights team.

Her sister, Muna Yonis, 17, agreed. “I wish that we’d have more of these.”