In attempting to be positive, sometimes it is also necessary to take a stand. That is what I am doing today, and I hope you will join me.
I read a post on my sister's news feed today that made me sick to my stomach. Apparently, as a cruel joke, some students at a high school in St. Louis, Missouri decided to nominate a mentally challenged young lady to the Homecoming court. If she received a nomination, they planned to throw eggs at her and quack at her during the parade. Despite some parents and faculty members knowing about this, nothing was done to stop the perpetrators in their quest, and they managed to succeed in getting enough votes for said young lady to get nominated. Fortunately, her parents were smart enough to realize that this was not a normal or expected turn of events. They have expressed their grievances to the principal and school board. A meeting to determine actions towards the perpetrators is set to take place.
Now excuse me for a minute while I get up on my soapbox: WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE? I find it difficult to believe that they have not gotten wind of the anti-bullying initiatives that have been sweeping the country over the last several years. I also mistakenly thought that our society had finally evolved to the point where it was understood that bullying is counterproductive to the educational process and also in direct violation of basic human rights to an equal educational opportunity. At the very least, this young lady deserves the right to get an education without dreading going to school every day. Her principal, teachers and fellow students have all received failing grades in Social Justice and Common Decency.
An email and phone number were posted to the school in question, so I put my fingers to work and drafted a letter to the principal:
I am appalled and outraged at the events that have occurred at your high school recently. I was under the impression that bullying was FINALLY being eradicated from schools across our nation. Perhaps you haven't heard of this initiative, but it has been going on for a while now. Basically, what this means is that schools are standing up to bullies and telling them that their abuse will not be tolerated any longer. Every student deserves to have a fair and equal education without feeling belittled, inferior, or otherwise fearful or uncomfortable about going to school.
Homecoming is a privilege, not a given right. As I'm sure you are aware, Penn State was recently punished for their lack of humanity towards fellow human beings, and your students deserve to have something important taken away from them. These individuals, whether there were two, twenty or two hundred involved, have taken away one of their classmate's dignity, and that should not be rewarded with a parade, crowns, and a dance. You are responsible for the welfare and well being of each and EVERY ONE of your students; shame on you for allowing this kind of behavior to occur on your watch. I hope that you will stand up to these ignorant individuals and restore order to your school.
I hope that this young lady knows that there are plenty of folks out there that are shocked and outraged by this turn of events. And angry enough to STAND UP to the social injustice that is taking place right before their very eyes. If you would like to add your voice, here is the information I have copied from the father's Facebook post:
If you think that homecoming should be canceled at this school this year please send an email to the principal at tsauvage@mvr3.k12.mo.us or call: (636) 271-1414
Here is the link to the local news story that has been picked up as a result:
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kmov.com%2Fnews%2Feditors-pick%2FParents-Students-threatened-mentally-challenged-daughter-after-being-elected-Pacific-HS-homecoming-queen-171035161.html&h=TAQFbjsWv
Finally, here's an appropriate song dedicated to this strong and courageous young woman and her family:
Beautiful by Christina Aguilera
http://youtu.be/eAfyFTzZDMM
Stand up and fight the good fight,
Selina
Amy, Rickie just posted this update on Facebook:
ReplyDeleteJust an update, after interviewing with the media today the news people that have spoken with the school officials said that the superintendent is investigating the situation with our daughter and would have a solution lined up by the end of the week. Not exactly the answer we hoped for but at least they are still trying to work on the issue. I will post what they decide when I am informed by them. Our family is doing pretty good considering everything, and our daughter just wants to go back to school as soon as she can and we are still hopeful that is possible because that is what she wants. I can never thank you enough for your support. Its possible my faith in humanity can be restored because I have heard from many over the last 24 hours that are just as outraged as we were, and the few that feel like this should be swept under the rug and not dealt with a severe punishment are exactly the people we feel the punishment is for...sending a message that, even if you weren't involved in any of the alleged plots, if you heard anything about it you should have spoken to an adult, and that adult should have come forward, even if they thought they could put a good spin on the situation, the parents of the child should be called immediately even if there is only speculation NO MATTER WHAT!...Finally, I didn't expect to be a voice for bullied kids but if that is the path God has chosen for me I won't back down.
http://www.kmov.com/news/editors-pick/Parents-Students-threatened-mentally-challenged-daughter-after-being-elected-Pacific-HS-homecoming-queen-171035161.html
ReplyDeleteThis is the link to the news story from the local affiliate.
Here's the latest update from Rickie.
ReplyDeleteHere is where we are now...after talking with the principal tonight his main focus is to find out who WOULD have done something with eggs and who WOULD have quacked...and he would like us to "out" the good people in this to help him find them. If they knew something they would have told us, unless he has some investigating technique that would interrogate them better than us? I am not hurting the people that helped us! I am more concerned with what did actually happen. What needs to be the focus is Who voted, Who knew about it and didn't tell, Who suspected something and didn't tell, and who told an adult and that adult didn't act? All of those people should be the focus. Lets deal with the act that did get executed. I do NOT believe that after a small group of kids started a bad thing that the rest of the landslide voters secretly got together and voted for good without telling someone. That is a ridiculous notion to me. One of those kids would have tooted their own horn if that was the case and word would have gotten to a faculty member! They all got caught and now some of them are back peddling! That is what kids do. If the administration can not see that then they are not smart enough to be mentoring kids. They want to blame this on a select few they say started it to be scapegoats for the entire student body. And while I do believe it started somewhere I do not believe that the first person that jumped in the lake is to shoulder the blame for the rest of the voters that jumped in the lake after them...God help the innocent fool that this whole thing is going to get pinned on by the school! It seems they would rather ruin one kids life than to cancel homecoming. Ruining a life is not our intention, teaching a lesson while getting justice for my child is our goal. Canceling homecoming would teach the lesson that doing, or standing by and watching has consequences, and it certainly would not ruin anyone's life. To cancel homecoming is not a tragedy...but obviously it would leave an impact.
From the Tanner Family:
ReplyDeleteWe wanted to let everyone know that we appreciate their support during this difficult time. The school has assured us that the guilty parties in this tragic occurrence have been disciplined and will continue to be disciplined as the investigation into the incident is ongoing, and they are working with us to make sure that our daughter and the other students attending Pacific High School are happy and safe. Our daughter did attend school today. She felt that it was a good first day back. Our daughter has asked us to tell you to continue to pray for her and her family, and the kids that have to live with what they have done. She is sure they are sorry, she forgives them and she hopes everyone else will forgive them too. We will not be asking the school or others for any further punishment for the kids involved with attempting to hurt our daughter. We would rather have the community, parents, and school embrace this opportunity to mentor all of these kids, teach them about compassion, and guide them into being happy, caring adults. As apart of the healing process for our daughter and the other students she has decided to participate in the homecoming festivities. The superintendent and police chief have assured us that every precaution will be in place to provide a safe and enjoyable experience for all of the students, including our child.
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/education/high-school-pranksters-who-targeted-girl-are-identified/article_27cb61c8-ed6e-5204-8288-13e8bd5b3887.html
ReplyDelete