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Joe Shlabotnik

(5,604 posts)
Tue Jul 8, 2014, 05:37 PM Jul 2014

Middle School Students Plan To Break Dress Code: Principal Screams Terrorism

Terrorism has become a ridiculous catch-all

A group of Georgia middle school students decided they had enough of the school dress code and would violate it together in an act of civil disobedience. The school, Cowan Road Middle, found out about the plan and suspended the students for…terrorism.

What?

"To me it was just a bunch of 13-year-olds acting crazy," said Christopher Cagle, the father of a suspended honor roll student.

Cagle said the principal called the students’ actions terroristic threats. He said the principal was too swift and severe with the punishment.”

Violating the school dress code is indeed a violation of school policy, but to elevate it to a level where one could be indefinitely detained, without charge or trial, is going way too far. Just in case, we contacted the school to see what they had to say about the incident, asking if they truly considered this on the level of a bomb threat, and they doubled down.

The principal refused to speak to the issue, but instead forwarded it to their PR manager, who responded to us. Though the school claims threats were made, they provide no examples or proof to back up their claims…and they still want to consider this terrorism.

Luckily, they are only punishing the students by having them write long essays on why civil disobedience is a crime.
From: http://www.mintpressnews.com/middle-school-students-plan-break-dress-code-principal-screams-terrorism/193602/

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Middle School Students Plan To Break Dress Code: Principal Screams Terrorism (Original Post) Joe Shlabotnik Jul 2014 OP
Those students are getting a lesson they didn't expect. arcane1 Jul 2014 #1
They should also mention Thoreau and Ghandi csziggy Jul 2014 #2
Please spell his name right! bigmonkey Jul 2014 #7
Using Thoreau would also be excellent. However he did recognize his actions as a crime - one that jwirr Jul 2014 #3
Calling it civil disobedience is a little bit of a stretch, too. n/t Orsino Jul 2014 #4
What a world we have become. enlightenment Jul 2014 #5
I hope those essays LWolf Jul 2014 #6
“Our youth now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for RufusTFirefly Jul 2014 #8
"Middle School", "PR manager" Babel_17 Jul 2014 #9
+1 toddwv Jul 2014 #10
We did this at my junior high. Gormy Cuss Jul 2014 #11
The stupid runs deep ... GeorgeGist Jul 2014 #12
A middle school.principal who can't deal with middle schoolers? Brigid Jul 2014 #13
 

arcane1

(38,613 posts)
1. Those students are getting a lesson they didn't expect.
Tue Jul 8, 2014, 05:48 PM
Jul 2014

I hope every one of those essays contain references to MLK, Rosa Parks, etc.

csziggy

(34,133 posts)
2. They should also mention Thoreau and Ghandi
Tue Jul 8, 2014, 06:04 PM
Jul 2014

Especially Thoreau!

Henry David Thoreau’s “Resistance to Civil Government” or, “Civil Disobedience” (1849) (http://sniggle.net/TPL/index5.php?entry=rtcg) was the foundation of much of modern civil resistance and influenced Ghandi.

jwirr

(39,215 posts)
3. Using Thoreau would also be excellent. However he did recognize his actions as a crime - one that
Tue Jul 8, 2014, 06:05 PM
Jul 2014

was worth paying the cost for. Calling it terrorism is going way overboard and makes the school look ridiculous.

enlightenment

(8,830 posts)
5. What a world we have become.
Tue Jul 8, 2014, 06:17 PM
Jul 2014

When I was in 6th grade - attending an overseas military base school - we decided to protest not being allowed to wear trousers to school (girls wore skirts or dresses). This was a Long Time Ago.

So, we had a mass demonstration, wearing our trousers and walking around the front of the school building carrying signs.

Nobody suggested we were terrorists - or even breaking the law . . . and the school decided to let us wear trousers (not jeans) because they were pleased that we had developed a plan and carried it through.

RufusTFirefly

(8,812 posts)
8. “Our youth now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for
Tue Jul 8, 2014, 07:06 PM
Jul 2014
“Our youth now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for their elders and love chatter in place of exercise; they no longer rise when elders enter the room; they contradict their parents, chatter before company; gobble up their food and tyrannize their teachers.” -- Socrates

"Same as it ever was. Same as it ever was." -- David Byrne

Babel_17

(5,400 posts)
9. "Middle School", "PR manager"
Tue Jul 8, 2014, 08:14 PM
Jul 2014

If we back up to that, and look at root causes, I think we might see a promising avenue of investigation.

toddwv

(2,830 posts)
10. +1
Tue Jul 8, 2014, 09:30 PM
Jul 2014

Yeah, I noticed that too. Who needs a Phys Ed teacher when you can have a PR Manager, amiright?

Gormy Cuss

(30,884 posts)
11. We did this at my junior high.
Tue Jul 8, 2014, 09:43 PM
Jul 2014

The principal's reaction was meh. I think there was a stern warning that the school committee set policy and we'd all be in big trouble if we did it again.

But then, it was pre-911, pre -"zero tolerance" policies. You know, before people lost their minds.

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