Two Mississippi high school students were maliciously expelled after they were photographed making supposedly gang-related hand gestures, even though the kids had no idea that simply holding up three fingers--an homage to their football jersey numbers--was a gang gesture. Fifteen-year-old Dontadrian Bruce, a student and football player at Olive Branch High School in Olive Branch, Mississippi, was photographed by his science teacher for a project. He instinctively raised his thumb and two fingers to represent his football jersey number, three. What he didn't know was that the Chicago-based Vice Lords gang uses the same hand gesture--and that he had unwittingly violated district policy against gang-related paraphernalia in schools….
When Assistant Principal Todd Nichols [what do assistant principals do?] noticed the picture, he promptly suspended Bruce and accused him of being a "gangbanger." [Let me guess. I bet Mr. Nichols attended some lavish education conference, say in Las Vegas, where school administrators learned to identify gang signals.]
Desmond Davis, a friend of Bruce's, was also suspended for the exact same offense. Davis' older brother also wears the number three….Even more shocking: After three days, the suspensions morphed into expulsions. Bruce and Davis were told not to return to school for the rest of the year….
Many in the community were outraged. Even Bruce's former football coach said there was essentially zero chance that the teenager was involved in gang activity. The outrage paid off, and following media coverage, both boys were invited back to school after a 21-day suspension….[It's too bad the assistant principal wasn't expelled, but in public education, that simply doesn't happen.]
Robby Soave, "Outrageous, Malicious Expulsions for Mississippi Teens," The Daily Caller, March 10, 2014
When Assistant Principal Todd Nichols [what do assistant principals do?] noticed the picture, he promptly suspended Bruce and accused him of being a "gangbanger." [Let me guess. I bet Mr. Nichols attended some lavish education conference, say in Las Vegas, where school administrators learned to identify gang signals.]
Desmond Davis, a friend of Bruce's, was also suspended for the exact same offense. Davis' older brother also wears the number three….Even more shocking: After three days, the suspensions morphed into expulsions. Bruce and Davis were told not to return to school for the rest of the year….
Many in the community were outraged. Even Bruce's former football coach said there was essentially zero chance that the teenager was involved in gang activity. The outrage paid off, and following media coverage, both boys were invited back to school after a 21-day suspension….[It's too bad the assistant principal wasn't expelled, but in public education, that simply doesn't happen.]
Robby Soave, "Outrageous, Malicious Expulsions for Mississippi Teens," The Daily Caller, March 10, 2014
No comments:
Post a Comment