December 5, 2002

• Group rallies against suspensions
  
  Protesters say 50 Petaluma High students were punished unfairly
  
  Pamela J. Podger, Chronicle Staff Writer Thursday, December 5, 2002
  
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  Nearly three dozen peace activists rallied Wednesday at Petaluma High School, objecting to the one-day suspensions handed out to roughly 50 students who took part in a nationwide protest against the Bush administration's stance toward Iraq.
  
  Braving the early morning chill, the protesters from the Not In Our Name peace movement bore signs reading "War Disrupts Education" and "Extra Credit, Not Suspension." The school, they said, was suppressing dissent, freedom of speech and civil rights. Imposing a penalty of a one-day suspension was overkill, they said.
  
  "Suspension is usually for really bad behavior, like bringing alcohol to campus," said Susan Lamont, 54, of Santa Rosa. "Why is the punishment so out of line?"
  
  "I think this is political harassment," said Peter Church, 50, of Sebastopol.
  
  Petaluma High School Principal Michael J. Simpson said that the school had warned students ahead of time that anyone walking out of class as part of the Nov. 20 protest would be suspended.
  
  "The students knew they would be in defiance of rules and still chose to do it and were very willful about it," he said. "They demonstrated the courage of their convictions."
  
  Student protest leaders said they appreciated the morning rally but accepted the sanction as a consequence of their action -- an orchestrated departure from class 20 minutes before the end of the 10:28-11:58 a.m. period. Civil disobedience, they noted, sometimes results in arrests or exposure to tear gas.
  
  Senior Rosie Steffy, 17, one of the organizers of the walk-out, which mirrored youth protests across the nation, said most students accepted the "harsh punishment" in order to stand up for their convictions.
  
  "We're appalled and ashamed of our government's actions against Iraq," she said. "It was a higher priority."
  
  Freshman Kayleena Pierce-Bohen, 14, said she had spent her day of suspension in the library, reading about Iraq and the war, and later listened to KPFA. "I wanted to be able to have some input against Bush invading Iraq against innocent people," she said.
  
  Explaining the school's response, Simpson drew a distinction between cutting classes -- typically punished by detention or a four-hour supervised class on Saturdays -- and the walk-out, which he said disrupted lessons. He said if the walk-out had gone unpunished, students might well routinely abandon class for a variety of causes.
  
  The protest could have been done outside of school teaching hours, he said. He also pointed out that the school, which has 1,540 students, had held two rallies -- including one at lunch break on Nov. 20 -- where an array of views were aired.
  
  "It wasn't enough for us to extend the olive branch of a rally," Simpson said. "They wanted to make a statement and were willing to be suspended."
  
  Still, he acknowledged that he had received 300 e-mails from people across the country recently, mostly objecting to the punishment.
  
  Steve Fabian, co-chair of the American Civil Liberties Union in Sonoma County, said Petaluma High School was the only place in the county where students were suspended. He said other schools in the county gave students unexcused absences or imposed a Saturday detention. Under the state education code, Fabian said, suspension is supposed to be used as a last resort once all other tools have been exhausted.
  
  Several students watching the peace activists Wednesday said the morning protesters were misguided and didn't have all the information. They said the issue was getting overblown at what they characterized as a liberal and supportive campus.
  
  But protester Shepherd Bliss of Sebastopol said the suspensions were grossly unfair.
  
  "We're here to give them praise," he said. "It is clearly a punishment and an attempt to socialize them so that they learn that the government and school controls them. They should be allowed direct action."
  
  http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2002/12/05/BA25271.DTL
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  Yes, obviously unfair. When I was in HS, in the last Iraq war, I ditched school 3x for demos, and never got in a whit of trouble.
  
  These are brave kids, exercising their convictions, as the prinicpal noted, but it does seem harsh. What do other kids who get caught playing hooky at 7-11 get as punishment? Back in my day, it was certainly not a full day's suspension.
  
  
  I wonder if these kids know the Amy Ray song...
  
  "I know the kids, are still upsetters, cause rock is cool, but the struggle is better... go, go GO!"
  
  Yay for youth uprising. They're the ones who will be fodder for the war, anyways.

  • 3:14 pm
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