Respond to AZ school suspending student for drawing a picture of a gun

[JKimball]

I'm starting this thread in the Activism forum for people who are interested in doing something about the student who was suspended in Arizona for drawing a picture of a gun.

You can get the details from the thread started by skers69 in general discussions:

http://thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=297623

Here is the school info:


7655 S. Higley Rd.
Queen Creek, AZ 85242
Phone: (480) 224-2400
Fax: (480) 224-2420

Principal is Mrs. Karen Martin

LarryS found an email address for the community relations contact for the Chandler Unified School District:

[email protected]

Here is a copy of my letter:

Dear Terry Locke,

I understand you are the community relations contact for the Chandler Unified School District. I just wanted to let you know that I was very disappointed to read that the principal of Payne Jr. High School, Karen Martin, suspended a student for drawing a picture of a gun. You can read the article at the following link: http://www.kpho.com/news/13943838/detail.html#

It is shameful that this irrational paranoia of guns amongst school teachers and administrators has led to such a ridiculous suspension. I consider this a blatant violation of this student's first ammendment rights. Where is the reasoning behind this? What good can possibly come of it? Should students feel free to express their thoughts? Or should they be made to feel like any expression of thought that doesn't please their teacher makes them a bad person and can get them into trouble?

I hope you will forward this letter to those who can take action to fix this injustice.

Thanks,

Jonathan Reynolds

 

[Robert Hairless]

May I suggest that one way to hold these people's feet to the fire is to insist that they apply this policy consistently by enforcing it.

A good way for the school to start would be search everyone entering the building for Masschusetts commemorative quarters, a coin that prominently displays the image of an easily recognized militiaman holding a firearm. That firearm was the assault weapon of its day.

All Massachusetts quarter dollars should be confiscated and any administrator, teacher, or other employee carrying one ought to be suspended without pay for a period of five days for each Massachusetts quarter dollar found on the employee's person. For the sake of consistency, that suspension could be reduced to three days if the offending employee's parent appears in person at the principal's office and appeals successfully.

Vendors and delivery people should be searched too and any of them found with these dangerous quarters should be barred from the school for a five-day period for each quarter unless, of course, that person's parent makes a personal appearance before the school principal and makes a successful appeal.

These searches should be carried out daily, of course, throughout each school year.

Slightly less difficult would be the excision of all firearms images from every book in the school library and all textbooks. The traditional method of such censorship uses a razor blade, which is a relatively inexpensive tool. The school's official censor should be alert to the many images of firearms that might be overlooked because up until recently Americans were relatively sane and recognized that firearms are useful instruments. For example, the school's censor should remove the image of the Iwo Jima memorial because Marines depicted in it carry M-1 Garand rifles slung over their shoulders.

In school's today the motto "Uncommon valor was a common virtue" might best be revised to "Uncommon stupidity and bias is a common virtue."

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