Male and female students and staff at Maybeck High School in Berkeley wore skirts and posed for a noon photo today, Friday, in support of Luke "Sasha" Fleischman, a Maybeck student who was set on fire on an AC Transit bus Monday.
"It's very moving to see so many students support Sasha," said school director Trevor Cralle.
About three dozen members of the 110-student school community assembled for a lunchtime photo with signs saying "Skirts for Sasha" and other messages of solidarity for Fleischman.
Fleischman, an 18-year-old senior at the school, was wearing a skirt on the bus in Oakland about 5:20 p.m. Monday when another passenger set the sleeping student on fire. The suspect, Richard Thomas, 16, was later arrested and has been charged as an adult with felony assault and a hate crime. Thomas told police that he set fire to Fleischman because he is homophobic.
Fleishman does not identity as male or female but as non-gender, according to his friends and family.
The youth suffered second- and third-degree burns and was taken to the burn center at St. Francis Memorial Hospital in San Francisco. Fleischman needs skin grafts and has already undergone one surgery, Cralle said.
Even though he suffered serious injuries, Fleischman is in good spirits, Cralle said.
"We were heartbroken when we found out what happened," said Ari Gumora, a Maybeck senior who wore a long black skirt today.
"By wearing skirts, we're supporting the message that Sasha was standing for," Gumora said. "... You don't have to define yourself by how society defines you."
The idea for classmates to wear skirts came from the students this week, Cralle said.
Community support has poured in for the burned teen as well. A recovery fund on Fundly.com quickly reached its $20,000 goal.
"We have had a tremendous outpouring from community organizations and individuals who want to do what they can to help," Cralle said.
There's no indication yet of when Fleischman might be able to return to school, Cralle said.
"Sasha is a spectacular student, off the charts academically," Cralle said. "We're not worried. Sasha can catch up with anything."
Bay City News Service contributed to this report.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
