 |
|
|
NEWS :
STORIES
The Columbia, S.C., chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union has stepped in to offer legal defense and advice to five Irmo High School students who protested the school's cancellation of an Indigo Girls concert due to the folk-rock duo's
The students were given eight-day suspensions following a class walkout last Thursday. Meanwhile, seven other advocacy groups -- the National Campaign for Freedom of Expression; the Massachusetts Music Industry Coalition; the National Coalition Against Censorship; Rock Out Censorship; Artists for a Hate-Free America; the New England Free Expression Network; and the Boston Coalition for Freedom of Expression -- released a statement on Friday that condemned the cancellations and praised the students who protested the action. "The students should be learning that the freedom of expression is the cornerstone of our nation's democracy," said David Greene, program director of the National Campaign for Freedom of Expression. "But sadly, the school leaders are demonstrating instead that the students' and the performers' fundamental liberties may be thoughtlessly disregarded." The ACLU, a civil liberties organization, was approached by a parent of one of the students on Thursday, according to Carl A. "Andy" Brumme III, ACLU staff counsel in Columbia, S.C. This happened after protesting students were held in a school conference room for two hours, pending administrators' investigation of the protest and contact with parents and guardians. When Principal Gerald Witt distributed eight-day suspensions to the students, as well as seven others who have not yet asked the ACLU for help, the ACLU took an even bigger interest in the case, claiming that the school was going above and beyond its standard policies on tardiness and skipping class, Brumme said. "The principal had spoken with [local newspaper] The State and told them that students who participated in the walkout would serve a three-hour detention on Saturday," he explained. "After about a half-hour of their protest, the students were asked by a teacher, 'Don't you think it's time to get back to class?', and they replied that they were not ready, that they still had some things to discuss." At this point, according to Brumme, the students were allegedly led into a conference room where they were held for two hours without being able to contact their parents. "When the principal told them they were being suspended for eight days for disobeying a teacher," Brumme continued, "they were shocked." According to District 5 School Board spokeswoman Jane Rish, the high school marks students tardy if they miss the first 10 minutes of class. After 20 minutes, they are marked absent and given a Saturday detention. "We are following our district guidelines with these students," Rish explained, "but the problem is they fall into four or five different categories of discipline." Though all 12 students were officially suspended for disobeying a teacher, District 5 School Board spokesman Buddy Price said on Friday that some students may also have been suspended for disrupting the educational process. Five of the suspended students have yet to accept the support of the ACLU. According to Irmo High School policy, students who are suspended have a chance to appeal the decision in a face-to-face meeting with their parents and the principal. Rish and Brumme said that these meetings took place Monday and that Principal Witt seems to have held his ground. The next step, should the students elect to appeal the decision, is a meeting with a district hearing officer. Should the suspensions remain in place, Brumme said, the ACLU is prepared to file suit against the school. "I've communicated numerous times with the school's attorney, and their position is that it's a discipline issue and not a First Amendment issue," Brumme explained. "At the moment, I'm trying to get a temporary restraining order against these suspensions, to put them back in classes while this process is going on." If the suspensions hold, Brumme added, the ACLU will file suit on behalf of the students to collect damages and attorneys' fees. "These students thought they were going to get detentions, and they are willing to serve them," Brumme said. "These suspensions, however, are a violation of the First, Fourth and 14th Amendments, mainly against freedom of speech and assembly." At Farragut High School in Knoxville, Tenn., where three students were given three-day suspensions following their involvement in similar Indigo Girls-related protests, teacher and concert organizer Jeff Callahan resigned as advisor for the school's student newspaper, The Crow's Nest. The concert was called off at this school soon after administrators learned of the Irmo cancellation. However, in this case, the principal cited the band's use of vulgarities in their lyrics -- rather than their sexuality -- as the impetus for the cancellation. "I think the decision speaks for itself," Callahan said. "But I do want to add that this fiasco with the Indigo Girls was not the reason why [I resigned]. My decision involved other things." Callahan did concede, though, that Farragut Principal Edwin Hedgepeth's last-minute cancellation of the concert was "the straw which broke the camel's back." Leslie Aldredge of the Shagg Network, the organization that booked the Indigo Girls' controversial swing through high schools and universities in the South, agreed with the assessment of the situation by Green, of the National Campaign for Freedom of Expression. Stating that she hadn't really anticipated such a controversy to erupt, Aldredge said she felt that the educators in this case are doing their students a disservice. "The fact that an amazing talent like the Indigo Girls was willing to do this on their own dime was an incredible gesture of goodwill and an opportunity for kids to be in touch with artists," Aldredge said. "I understand the conservative political climate, but I think we missed out on an incredible educational opportunity."
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SPONSORS
AD:
MORE FROM MTV NETWORKS
- Music
- Adele
- Beyonce
- Brad Paisley
- Christina Aguilera
- Country Music Videos
- Free Music Videos
- Jamey Johnson
- Justin Bieber
- Lady Antebellum
- Michael Jackson
- Music
- Pink
- Sugarland
- Taylor Swift
- Entertainment
- Celebrity Gossip
- Free Online Games
- Games
- Travel
- Gay Video
- Kristen Stewart Photos
- Lady Gaga Outfits
- NextMovie
- Movies
- Gay Movies
- New Movies
©2012 Viacom International Inc. All Rights Reserved.
VH1 and all related titles and logos are trademarks of Viacom International Inc.
VH1 and all related titles and logos are trademarks of Viacom International Inc.
