Wednesday, October 27, 2004

Kids who support Kerry threatened with expulsion -- UPDATED


Kids at Richland Center High School in Richland Center, WI got a chance to meet George W Bush during an official visit. However, any student who turned up wearing a pro-Kerry pin, hat or shirt was threatened with expulsion.

Here's the contact information for the school officials, who have betrayed the trust we put in them as educators to teach democratic fundamentals, like open debate, dissent, and freedom of expression.

Richland Center High School
23200 Hornet High Rd
Richland Center, WI 53581
Phone: (608) 647-6131

Here’s the principal:
John Cler
608-647-6131 x1590

Here’s the local superintendant of schools:
Rachel Schultz
608-647-6106

Here’s the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction:
1-800-441-4563

Here’s the state superintendent:
Elizabeth Burmaster
state.superintendent@dpi.state.wi.us

Link

Update: Many of you wrote to say that you communicated with the the principal listed above that that he says:

  1. The Bush people rented the gymnasium, and the school was just enforcing their requirement that students not wear Kerry-supporting materials
  2. The principal didn't threaten expulsion
I don't buy it: signing up to do #1, enforcing a ban on political expression, at a political event, in a political season, is a betrayal of an educator's duty. And anything a school administrator bans carries with it the implicit threat of discipline. One student reports being threatened with expulsion, the principal denies it. It may be that the principal didn't make the threat of expulsion, but telling students that it is forbidden to do foo implies that students who undertake foo will be punished somehow.



posted by Cory Doctorow at 02:52:37 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

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