Oppression of student activists Published by philly independent media
center By Dylan Sloboda
A series of peace activists in Downingtown Chester county are being
oppressed by pro-Bush principals.
n thursday the 20th, about 30-40 students held a student walkout at
Downingtown East High School in Chester county PA around 12:20pm. The
walkout was in protest to the war with Iraq. It was cold gray and wet
outside. The principal came out 5 minutes later and informed them that the
penalty for cutting class was a saturday detention. All but 14 of them went
back to class. Those that left said it wasn't worth it to stand out in the
rainy and cold weather. One of the students said "The longer we stand here
in the rain, the more we demonstrate our conviction to our beliefs!" This
rallying cry inspired the students to continue. The principal then
threatened them with the possibility of suspension. The 14 of them
remained, they knew that under the district's Disciplinary Code the maximum
penalty for "Defiance of Authority" is 3 days of "In-School-Suspension". At
this point the principals took photos of the students at their
demonstration to use as evidence of their "misconduct". The students
recieved them joyfuly, smiling and making peace signs with their fingers as
their photos were taken. The students continued on giving antiwar speeches
underneath the flag pole in front of the building. Although the initial
purpose of the demonstration was peace, it quickly gained an anti-Bush
theme as well. The faculty refused to allow the students back into the
building to use the bathroom. The demonstration was very peaceful and
rather quiet. The students only missed the last 2 classes. By the end of
the demonstration, the 14 students remaining were numb from the cold and
drenched in rain. In an "In-School-Suspension" the students are able to
work on the the school work they would have ordinarily been assigned.
Because of this, an "In-School-Suspension" does not interfere with their
education. The students are kept in one room for the entire day, and not
allowed to speak with one another.
The next day the students were told they have 3 days of
"Out-of-School-Suspension" for "Endangering the Health, Safety, or Welfare
of Others". In Downingtown Area School District's Secondary Code of
Discipline, the students would have to have commited one of the following
acts to be in violation of this rule.
1. attempt to cause or intentionaly, knowingly or recklessly cause bodily
injury to another 2. negligently cause bodily injury to another with a
deadly weapon 3. attempt by phisical menace to put another in fear of
imminent serious bodily injury 4. possess a weapon 5. knowingly cause a
false alarm of fire or other emergency to be initiated
In an "Out-of-School-Suspension" the students do not recieve work for the
lessons they will miss. As a result, the students grades are affected.
The principals were questioned by parents over in what way the students had
commited the violation. The response they were given was"They could have
been hit by a car". The parents and students asked them to elaborate on
this and they refused. Throughout the demonstration, the students
participating stayed on the side walk and never strayed more than 10 feet
from the building. The closest thing to a road nearest them was the
school's driveway, and throughout the demonstration not a single car came
in. It is likely that the underlying reason behind all of this is the
interior politics of the school. The faculty at the school is fiercly
patriotic and some of the students involved are quite the opposite.
I can understand the need to make an example of the students
involved(although I don't agree), but there are other ways of doing this in
accordance with the district's Disciplinary Code. Quite frankly, the lack
of a teacher to supervise the students does not essentially mean that the
students are endangering anyone's life. Also the rule cited above specifies
"others", meaning that this does not apply to students endangering their
own safety. On a side note, durring the transition in between periods some
students have to cross the parking lot in order to get to the modulars and
durring this time there is no one supervising them. So are they endanger
themselves? "Out-of-School-Suspension", because of it's academic
consequences, is usually used for serious offenses like potentially violent
misbehavior, not for minor infractions which cause no physical harm to the
students. No one in the demonstration was ever injured or at risk for injury.
To assist, contact the following and express your opinions:
Dr. Levi Wingard, Ed.D., Superintendent Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Downingtown East High School 610-363-6400
Ronald Pavlick, junior class principal [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Dr. James Bruton, senior class principal [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Thomas Baily, sophmore class principal [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Any support you have to offer me and my fellow comrades is incouraged.
Link: http://www.phillyimc.org/article.pl?sid=03/03/22/0322216
