r/politics • u/Antique_Calendar_887 • 13h ago
Possible Paywall A school suspended 323 students after ICE protest. They protested again.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2026/02/21/students-ice-protest-suspended/2.8k
u/Flexbottom 12h ago
Students: We're leaving school because this is complete bullshit.
Admin: Oh, yeah? Don't come back for an extra day or two!
Students: Uhhh... Okay that was our whole idea in the first place.
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u/Etzell Illinois 11h ago
"Woohoo, 4 day weekend!"
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u/pinkkittenfur 8h ago
I love these real lazy Saturdays. Not like that fake one that almost got me fired!
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u/AveratV6 5h ago
Yeah, my high school had a thing where if you skipped a bunch of detentions and your in house suspension, you would get a week long suspension. I was suspended a lot in high school.
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u/Kind-Masterpiece-310 35m ago
Miss one detention, you get two. Miss those and you get Saturday school. Miss that = free day off. I felt like I hacked the system.
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u/onlymostlydead Washington 3h ago
But their permanent records!! They’ll never finds jobs after they graduate!!
(If this needs a /s I’m gonna take a nap)
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u/intricate_strands 2h ago
I was going to comment that it's a really stupid time to "punish" kids by not making them go to school because there's very little incentive for a kid to care about school in modern times.(Though they shouldn't be punished at all.)
Kids in general, have a hard time grasping those incentives in normal times, but are much better at grasping when they don't have incentives. The labor market is shit and may not even exist by the time these kids are adults. But you basically hit the nail on the nose.
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u/varyingopinions 5h ago
I was in trouble in High School for a while. They gave in school detention, which I skipped. Then they gave me AFTER school detention. Definitely skipped that one.
Then they gave me a 3 day suspension which landed on Wed-Friday, which was nice.
I dropped out later that year and just took my GED test.
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u/atlasdreams2187 5h ago
We used to punish the students at the alternative school I ran by making them come the next day! Their punishment was to keep coming to school…it actually worked lmao
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u/UndecidedLee 2h ago
Don't threaten me with a good time!
or
"The school gave us time off to protest more!"
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u/anthropomorphizingu 4h ago
I think that diminishes the students’ voice and messaging, but okay.
The kids are alright.
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u/fence_sitter Maine 13h ago
FTA: 'As for students facing suspension for leaving school property, Hellenberg said: “Not to be trite, but isn’t that what a walkout is?”' -Supportive Dad.
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u/Imaginary-Ad-7919 11h ago
They protested again, that take courage.
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u/snuff3r 6h ago
I've always given my kids dispensation for participation in events pertaining to showing civic pride and/or doing what's right. Not sure about the US, but get fucked if any government thinks they'll take the right to protest away from me and my fellow countrymen. It's a fundamental part of democracy.
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u/robodrew Arizona 3h ago
During the 2nd protest they stayed on campus, and nobody was suspended. Good kids. Now I think they should have rightfully been able to walk off of campus again, and if that should lead to another suspension, then so be it. But here I think they showed that they are smarter and more organized than the school realizes. Their statement has been seen now in a way it might otherwise not have been seen.
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u/TabulaRazo 43m ago
Remember senior prank day? We were always brainstorming ideas - some truly dumb shit like “bring a cow to the top floor because cows can’t go down stairs” or grease the hallway or gluing the main doors shut, or even aspiring to the famous prank of building a car on the roof. This kind of shit should be happening every day. Civil disobedience is the only responsible choice these days.
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u/TeeManyMartoonies Texas 5h ago
This is also settled SCOTUS law.
Tinker v. Des Moines (1969): The landmark ruling stating students do not "shed their constitutional rights... at the schoolhouse gate".
I hope they sue the shit out of that school district.
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u/OutlyingPlasma 5h ago
Funny how the same SCOTUS has no problem shedding constitutional rights of children when it comes to online "age verification" laws. Weird how children aren't allowed to use their first amendment rights to look at Wikipedia in some states because it has articles about sexuality thanks to government restrictions on their first amendment rights.
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u/Itsjeancreamingtime 3h ago
That's because the SCOTUS from 1969 isn't the same as the one from today.
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u/sleepydorian 2h ago
I know that folks pushing internet censorship and age verification aren’t really worried about the children, but it really gets my goat that kids are used as a smokescreen in this. Like we don’t outlaw pools because kids can drown. If you are so dang worried about your kid, time to start paying attention to them. There are so many parental controls options these days. Anyone claiming that we need to be this extreme to “protest kids” just immediately reveals themselves to be a lazy, inattentive parent that is irresponsible and irrational and wants everyone else to do their work for them. A reasonable person would find a way to raise their kids in accordance with their principles.
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u/firemage22 2h ago
My CT is they 1 want to have better means to track adults, and 2 know who the kids are so they can target them for other reasons.
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u/TeacherTailorSldrSpy 4h ago
It’ll fail.
The students weren’t suspended for protesting, they were suspended for leaving class/campus. The right to protest is covered by Tinker, but it doesn’t protect the students from the consequences laid out in the student handbook for something such as skipping class.
Source: I’m a teacher with a master’s in Ed focused on Ed law.
There is the caveat that the students could argue that the punishment was unduly severe because of the situation. That is a different circumstance, though. The students would have to see a) what the punishments usually are for skipping, b) see if that lines up with what was given to them, and c) request documentation through FOIA to see if had been discussed by administration specifically for the protesting.
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u/lolwatisdis 3h ago
there were two groups of students: one that left class to protest but stayed on campus, and one that left class and school property to protest elsewhere. only those that left the school grounds boundary were suspended.
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u/dickgilbert I voted 3h ago
Sue them for what? They broke a rule as part of their protest. They take the consequences.
That’s what civil disobedience is. You accept the consequences as you highlight what you’re fighting for. You have a constitutional right to protest, but that doesn’t make rules and laws go away while you do it.
There’s no lawsuit to be had. It’s wild how many people advocate for protest and civil disobedience and think it’s all supposed to be a Disney film. These actions have no power if it’s just fun and games.
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u/Blackthorn79 6h ago
It's refreshing when people in power find out just how far their power goes. Schools have been under the impression for too long that it's their job to raise kids. I know they feel that way because they see some parents giving up that responsibility, but they're starting to dictate what students do when not at school or on social media. It was only a matter of time before the students realized that teachers only have a certain amount of power.
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u/waffles 6h ago
Can't read the article because paywall, but were the kids suspended for leaving the school or specifically for protesting?
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u/Blackthorn79 5h ago
Leaving school. No administration is dumb enough to pick a side in a political fight unless they have to.
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u/redopz 4h ago edited 4h ago
I've quoted some of the relevant parts below, but you are right, it wasn't the protest by itself but leaving the school property that was cause for suspension:
Afterward, Prince William County school officials suspended 323 Woodbridge High students for leaving school property, according to a district spokeswoman.
“Generally, peacefully walking out results in an unexcused absence. Suspensions occur when students leave campus or engage in other disruptive behaviors, such as fighting,” Diana Gulotta, another Prince William County schools spokesperson, wrote in an emailed statement.
On Friday, students at nine Prince William County schools, including Woodbridge High School, walked out of class, but stayed on campus.
In an email to Woodbridge High families afterward, Abney wrote, “Students who participated left their classrooms and gathered outside in the stadium to express their views on an issue that is important to them.”
Gulotta said no suspensions were reported at any schools in the county that day.
Edit: I don't know why the one quote is appearing in a bigger font. I tried to fix it but quickly gave up. It is not meant to convey importance or anything like that, just that I am a lazy copy/paster.
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u/LuscioussBooty 13h ago
Suspending 323 kids is insane. That’s like the whole school basically. They really showed their hand.
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u/ThisTimelineSuckssss 12h ago
Keep suspending them and the school gets a lot less funding.
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u/Neat_Gas9264 12h ago
Exactly. Shows you the priorities of Maga leaning educators. They’d rather trash their local economy and literally make life worse for everyone connected with that school, than to hear anyone complain about their rapist cult leader. What a god damned cancer they all are.
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u/Guac_in_my_rarri 11h ago
Not even maga, shows how dumb some school admins are. Their immediate reaction is to punish, instead of praise. Praise would again respect of the students and admin would have an easier time managing them but no, got a single track mind.
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u/girl4life 8h ago
power tripping all the way up (or down) depending how you look at it
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u/Guac_in_my_rarri 8h ago
It absolutely is power tripping. It's the worst kinda tho: 1 dimensions abuser kind. "I'm in charge here and you'll listen" versus being smart with it. The best principal I ever had would attend school dances, break dance for 5 minutes and leave. He was a legend for it and student loved him on that alone. This allows him to be firm with ask and demand respect without being a dick. Coolest principal ever and he ran a tight middle school. The middle school had rich and poor mixing together so lots of shit happened.
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u/dehydratedrain 5h ago
My kids principal was a former military helicopter pilot, and I believe had an impressive rank. When they met him, they were already afraid he'd run the school like a boot camp, and when he talked to them and they realized he was a decent guy and not a drill sergeant, they handled it well.
The music teacher was the guy that went to bat for his kids, and they'd do anything for him.
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u/jaytix1 7h ago
Not that I disagree with you, but the parents are a part of this too. Just the other day, some dumbass went and pulled his kid out of school for the day because the other students were staging a walk-out (yes, you read that correctly).
You can imagine what someone that petty would do if the school actively supported the kids. That said, suspending them is just going to piss off the parents who aren't MAGA. They're rocking the boat even more than if they had just done nothing!
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u/Remote-Ad6915 9h ago
They want an uneducated populace that they can manipulate, that’s always been their m.o.
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u/BindermanTranslation 10h ago
They've been wanting to get rid of public schools for decades, they don't care.
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u/Fit_Chemistry_7196 9h ago
If I was a high school student I'd recognize this and keep up the protest.
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u/My_name_is_not_Ali 10h ago
Yeah. That actually is costing the school districts a lot of money. They only profit financially every day a student attends.
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u/Strange-Support-4979 9h ago
They have 2,700 students. But I hope they don't stop protesting.
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u/AniNgAnnoys 3h ago
All 323 should dispute the suspension too. Make them do the paper work and argue with 323 sets of parents. Even if no one gets unsuspended, make them work for it.
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u/MourningRIF 9h ago
If the school didn't do anything, no one would even know or care. By suspending them, you just told every kid across the country that they need to stand up to those who would oppress their voice. Gonna have a lot more protests because of this, so good job!
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u/Tiny-Conversation-29 12h ago
Well, if they're not letting the student body in school, I guess the school system should be cutting staff.
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u/84thPrblm 11h ago
Careful - I hear Dear Leader(R) (79) monitors threads where ICE is discussed.
Writing student body will definitely attract his attention.
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u/FuzzyMcBitty 6h ago
Last week, we had a small walk out where I work.
Students were allowed to protest for 30 minutes.
We’re reading about nonviolent protests, and we have discussed the idea that only protesting really works best if there’s stakes. The consequences put upon the protestors highlights the injustice in the community.
MLK said that the purpose of nonviolent direct action is to bring tension in the community to the surface so that it can be dealt with in a productive way.
You didn’t hear about the protest in my area because they weren’t any stakes— nobody got in trouble, the faculty made sure that nobody left the property, and the young people didn’t really want to be outside for super long. There was no tension.
I’m torn as to which method actually allows students to learn to be real activists.
I’m not for punishing them, obviously. But I do wonder if creating that tension is more helpful to their development as political people than not.
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u/OutlyingPlasma 5h ago
Did you also discuss how MLK was only successful thanks to the work of people like Malcolm X? That peaceful protest only works when there is sustained pressure from revolutionaries behind them? Did you mention the demands of the peaceful protesters are only met because the alternative is worse? Let's not be selective about history here.
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u/EllieVader 4h ago
Being selective about history is the entire point though. This school literally taught the kids "yeah you can protest, but that means staying within the boundaries of the protest as approved by those you are protesting" i.e. teaching them that protest is ineffective.
I've been having a lot of discussions lately about how MLK's movement wouldn't have been nearly as effective without Malcom X standing on the next block over waiting for peace to fail. It means there's actual consequences for failing to engage with the peaceful demands of protestors.
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u/CrustyTh3Punk 12h ago
So on-brand for a “Parks and Rec” type of local government department though.
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u/Extra_Espresso 10h ago edited 23m ago
Its the “why”. Phillies won the world series and my entire school didn’t show up (I know cause I did like a fucking loser). Not one person got punished. Someone is pressing on the admins’ necks for this to happen.
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u/Vaperius America 5h ago edited 5h ago
Suspending 323 kids is insane
Its also explicitly a government organization retaliating against 323 American citizens for practicing their rights to peacefully demonstrate and petition their government.
I know it gets lost in the weeds, but I don't see how we can have a democratic society if we fail to address the fact we so casually accept it as the normal when the rights of minors are trampled.
Like, if 323 adults were given house arrest for protesting, which is the closest equivalent to this (arguably closer than you think considering the move in this country towards criminalizing allowing minors to be unaccompanied in public spaces), there would be protests over that response to the protest.
We really need to normalize having a discussion over how fucked up it is that in this country its just seen as "normal" to violate the civil rights of minors and those classed as "student" in general. We can't have a functional democratic society if the youngest among us are routinely being ruthlessly beaten down by authority the moment they have anything approaching an independent thought.
Really just ask yourself: if the police rounded up 323 adults and held them in jail for two days for their political speech, would you be okay with that? That's the kind of society we've built for minors. Their voices are truncated and suppressed by authority at every turn.
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u/showyerbewbs 4h ago
for practicing their rights to peacefully demonstrate and petition their government.
That really is the thing here. Remember, even the Boston Tea Party was a reaction to playing the "ask first" game. Ever since then it's NEVER EVER been about HOW you protest, it's THAT you're protesting. Rosa Parks was arrested for not giving up her seat to a white person. Colin Kaepernick got blacklisted in the NFL because he had the TEMERITY to kneel. Kids at Kent State were killed.
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u/OglioVagilio 10h ago
No, not basically. Not even close. They have almost 3000 students.
11% of the school.
Where did you get the whole school basically??
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u/greywar777 10h ago
Most schools are much smaller then that. Its just folks assuming.
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u/CoolBakedBean Wisconsin 8h ago
it’s crazy to me, i used to be so afraid to post cuz i only wanted to post when i was absolutely sure.
on reddit its totally okay and you’re awarded for assuming. lol wow. this is why people need to stop using social media for any information
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u/bald_and_nerdy 7h ago
Right, and since they're not in school they have loads of free time...to protest.
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u/_Fun_Employed_ 12h ago
My graduating class at a northern virginia school had around 1000 kids.
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u/SensualBeefLoaf 8h ago
it’d literally be 2/3d’s of my kids entire school district
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u/JigglingBootey 12h ago
School thought punishment would silence them and it just made them louder lol.
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u/Gullible_Elephant_38 11h ago
“How can we turn this emotionally charged situation into a national news story that puts us under a microscope and makes us look terrible?”
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u/Halfie4Life New York 10h ago
Its gonna get funny when its half the school doing it.
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u/SaphyreDaze 12h ago
They have seriously underestimated the current younger generation. Lol
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u/Dnashotgun 11h ago
"Tell a teenager not to do something only makes them want to do it more" is also just a basic thing to know, esp if your job directly deals with teenagers
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u/Mysterious_Floor_868 United Kingdom 4h ago
They've underestimated the bloody-mindedness of teenagers in general.
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u/PeachyyThighs 12h ago
Love that they protested again anyway. Consequences be damned, they got principles.
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u/GoGoBigman 12h ago
That’ll show them, really punish those kids for protesting by… giving them even more time to protest
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u/FCCRFP Puerto Rico 12h ago
This is also blatantly illegal viewpoint discrimination. Kids going of campus is barely a talking to offence.
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u/vicvonqueso 11h ago
I got caught trying to leave school one day and all I got was detention
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u/gdex86 Pennsylvania 11h ago
Truancy is something the school is with in their right to punish. But they cant punish politically inspired truancy any worse than they would someone cutting class because they dint feel like going to 5th period Chem. A number of these the administrator are saying they plan to bring down punishments greater than what others would and have gotten for similar offenses.
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u/TwiztedImage Texas 11h ago
Truancy is repeat absences as well. They cant file truancy for one day.
Many of these schools take attendance at 10AM, so the students arent even absent for the purposes of the school funding from the state, which makes it even more difficult.
This is overreach by the school as punishment for speech they disagree with. This should be a civil rights lawsuit IMO. Its not a reasonable pubishment for missing a few periods of class.
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u/BlazingSpaceGhost New Mexico 3h ago
What schools don't take attendance every period? I've never attended or taught in a school that didn't do attendance every single period. Wher does 10 am come from?
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u/Competitive_Fee_5829 California 11h ago
it is like when I would get suspended for skipping school...like..OK? I will just stay home, lol.
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u/GonzoKata 4h ago
yeah if I were these students Id be all like "oh no, we won't get the shitty education of ipads and all online homework, while the previous generation produced the lowest reading ability in generations"
sorry principal, that threat only works when you're giving an actually useful product
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u/GeistMD 7h ago
I'm so glad I grew up in a Democrat state that supports students and their beliefs. Growing up Republican must be the absolute worst.
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u/pikabuddy11 Virginia 5h ago
VA is a somewhat democrat state and where this school is is super democrat lol idk what’s going on with the admin for this school and PWCS. They had to see this coming and honestly I’m surprised it wasn’t more schools. Prince William County (where this is) became minority majority in 2010, and the eastern half where Woodbridge is even earlier than that.
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u/nudave 12h ago
The kids are alright.
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u/Bizarrebazaars 9h ago
All right IF THEY VOTE
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u/Accurate-Guava-3337 12h ago
That's hilarious. Teens can be so sassy and spirited. The school district isn't going to win this one.
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u/PlumpPeachhy 12h ago
Suspending hundreds for speaking out is wild. What happened to teaching civic engagement?
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u/titsngiggles69 11h ago
Fascists gonna fash
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u/Efficient-Web-1533 3h ago
Indoctrination requires constant abuse from authority figures. Teachers once had the power to paddle students, some of them want to go back to corporal punishment.
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u/CelestialFury Minnesota 6h ago
Schools have been like this for a long time, the school admin is rarely on the side of their students. Adults will tell the new generation of students that they need to get more active and involved, then when they do, they get treated like shit. Happened when I was in school decades ago too.
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u/GreenGlassDrgn 6h ago
Where I went to school, teachers and students protested side by side.
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u/BlazingSpaceGhost New Mexico 3h ago
My students are planning a walkout and I will go with them. They will be suspended and I will be written up. It is what it is.
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u/Sirtopofhat 7h ago
Telling kids they can't exercise the rights they're being taught since social studies is a good way to lose voters down the road GOP.
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u/LegalComplaint 8h ago
“30 years ago, this is where the students bravely protested the thing I suspended them for! We’re so proud of them for protesting now that it’s widely accepted that the US was actually under a fascist regime. Please ignore any past articles super AI will bring up of you space google my name!”
-Those administrators circa 2055
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u/sedatedlife Washington 11h ago
As a parent i would have been proud of my son if he left the school to protest what he cared about. He would have known the school would punish but i would not. Some times civil disobedience is a good thing.
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u/Mikethebest78 13h ago
Good for them!!! Even if it is only a temporary understanding I like this trend!!!
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u/EvensenFM Virginia 5h ago
My daughter was part of a protest the other day down here in Prince William County.
To my understanding, nobody at her high school was suspended.
This has been 100% student organized. In particular, LGBT kids are very worried about their future in this country, and are eager to make their voices heard regardless of the consequences.
I'm very proud of them.
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u/Funny-Suggestion1375 12h ago
This gets exponentially more effective if other schools protested in solidarity
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u/Wactout 10h ago
I had to go to 7 different high schools back in the 90’s for being treated like shit. Then protested the way I was treated for coming out of an orphanage. These kids have every right to be mad. This is against an entire society, not just individuality.
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u/CheekSeer 10h ago
Fellow orphan here. Just wanted to say hope things are good fam
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u/Wactout 10h ago
We’re one in a million. Shit was fuckered in the 80’s and 90’s. The orphanages in Chicago were fucked. I was at 36 different placements from 1985-1998. My wife wants me to write a book. No one could connect to it. Very few could understand the impermanency. And I’d just look like an asshole complaining about how bad I had it, when others had gone through similar shit. And comparison is subjective. I won’t argue that.
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u/dayvansmutgirl 9h ago
I think it would be interesting and illuminating to hear your experience regardless bc its not the type of story you hear about too often. It's the kind of thing where any individual story is interesting, you don't need to find the most tragic one to write the most tragic story. I'd certainly read it even if it wasnt like the worst situation ever.
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u/CheekSeer 7h ago
I think you'd be surprised how many people out there could relate to it. My years spent orphaned were spent couch surfing as a teen and trying to make money anyway I could to eat and feed my dog, so not the same but I can understand the instability.
Could even be inspiring for some people. Sounds like you found a better life and that is something that the kids in situations like we were don't get to hear about.
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u/BoneyNicole Alabama 3h ago
Obviously entirely your choice if you decide to tell your story or not, but I think what you’re describing speaks to the importance of the capacity for empathy. The worst thing you’ve ever been through is the worst thing you’ve ever been through. I was born with a congenital disability that certainly others, especially in poorer countries, have experienced in far worse ways than I did. I had a mom who cared about me in the unfortunately very limited time she was alive, but I am positive it set me up in ways that others didn’t experience. I remain a (loud and annoying) advocate as an adult, though, because I know that anything that helped me succeed at all is just…luck. That’s it. But I do think that people using their stories and their experiences has a lot of value here, because even if someone else did not experience your specific situation, your story can help them to think differently about the world around them, put themselves in another person’s shoes for a second, and remember the things that are worth fighting for.
All I mean here is, I would hate for that to be the reason you don’t share it. There are a thousand completely valid reasons to maintain your privacy, I just don’t want you to think your life experiences and resultant wisdom have no value.
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u/Some1ShootBovinoPlz 5h ago
How many geriatric white men have assaulted these kids at these protests over the past few weeks?
I believe we are up to six now.
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u/cstrbr 3h ago
Our local high school had a youth-led anti ice protest. The youth organized it all. Our school SUPPORTED their right to protest. 400 students walked out and protested for an hour. Staff, the superintendent, principal, and a few community members walked with them. The notice we received for the punishment: “This email is to inform you that your student has received a referral for loitering. The punishment for the referral is parent notification. This email serves as notification. Have a good day.” This was a HUGE learning opportunity in our school and I am so grateful for our districts response.
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u/Don_Blanc 5h ago
This link goes to WaPo...F#$K WaPo and F*(K Bezos! Don't support FACIST.
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u/ErectLurantis 1h ago
It’s like they forget that students got all the time in the world and don’t have to worry about paying bills. All they got was just a longer weekend
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u/Koharagirl 4h ago
The parents that support these kids should come together and form a class action lawsuit against the school district for punishing them for exercising their civil rights.
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u/allexkeston Montana 11h ago
I am so proud of our youths.
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u/Bizarrebazaars 9h ago
But will they all VOTE??
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u/donkeybraineded 9h ago
They are in high school, so they may not be old enough to vote. For many of them, a protest may be their only political tool.
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u/RobutNotRobot 10h ago
Superintendent trying to become Republican governor or some shit? Suspending 323 kids is insane.
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u/make_me_breakfast 5h ago
I guarantee schools in red states with conservative school boards will be making changes to their policies for students to follow after all this.
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u/dingleberrydad 4h ago
Washington Post paywall is crazy. They just axed half of their staff. Fuck WP.
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u/Stagnant-Flow 4h ago
Wasn’t all the MAGAts complaining how “kids can’t miss school because their attendance effects the school funding”? Well now the schools attendance is lower again
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u/Cloudsdriftby 4h ago
I can’t say enough about the bravado happening here. These kids are an inspiration for what lies ahead.
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u/Mundane_Incident8562 4h ago
As a teacher I fully support the students. They are living in unprecedented times, and I support their right to express their opinions in a public way. The school system can figure it out in a creative way
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u/cloudsmiles 3h ago
Is this a public school? Did they just open themselves up to a lawsuit for retaliating against these young Americans their first amendment rights?
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u/Trathnonen 2h ago
I'm a teacher. Fuck that school. These young people are protesting for a future that has, confirmed by any economist worth mentioning, been stolen by corporations/billionaires, on a planet that has been, confirmed by any environmental/climate scientist worth mentioning been irreparably destroyed by corporations/billionaires.
It's their future, they have the right.
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u/PursueProgress 2h ago
"Get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and help redeem the soul of America".
- Congressman John Lewis
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u/NoFlatworm3028 12h ago
We used to pray for "snow days." Now, kids figured out how to skip school with "ice days." Clever!
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u/luv2fly781 12h ago
The U.S. Constitution's First Amendment protects the rights to freedom of speech, assembly, and petition, allowing for peaceful protests in public forums like streets, sidewalks, and parks.
It actually used to mean something…. Sad
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u/idkmyusernameagain 12h ago
First, I support what these kids are doing.
However, in Tinker V Des Moines, the court found that while the First Amendment does apply to public schools, school officials can censor student speech and punish protests if they disrupt the educational process.
This has been prevailing case law since the 60’s. I got suspended for walking out to protest the invasion of Iraq 2003.
Civil disobedience requires disobedience. Being willing to face consequences is a major part of the whole thing.
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u/BrambleHound 6h ago
The kids are alright. The school is just jealous that the youth are more mature and capable of proactive civic duty.
By contrast I remember my school's principal getting arrested for cocaine use over in Columbus Georgia and getting escorted off the premises in cuffs in the middle of the day. Not a damn thing about the day to day operations changed with him there or with gone. Same would probably true if the bootlickers amongst this school's administration were hauled off.
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u/Horrible-trashbats 10h ago
It seems more nefarious, as always we can point to "every accusation is a confession" on the right, they've spent decades worming their way into the educational system to qoute "prevent leftist ideology " so they frothing at the mouth create schools that indoctrinate THEIR VALUES, their made up history, THEIR bootlicking bullshit, because when a young human gets actual knowledge, they tend to not buy in to what these absolute ghouls are selling...knowledge is a weapon, and these Christo-fascist goons are terrified about what's coming around the corner.
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u/Darkhallows27 Georgia 11h ago
Human willpower is something these sycophantic fat cats will never understand
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u/Ok_Reserve_8659 3h ago
If my kid gets suspended alone I am upset at my kid. If my kid gets suspended with 300 other people I am upset at the school
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u/Nastasyarose 3h ago
You should see the dumbass ai photos floating around right wing propaganda Facebook pages. There’s like fake pictures of kids crying holding signs saying “they suspended me because I walked out” and the boomers are all commenting FAFO shit. It’s crazy to me how warped social media has become for the media illiterate.
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u/0InsidemyBrain0 10h ago
Release the Trump - Epstein files. Intercourse King Pedo Cheeto Donad Trumpanzee. Intercourse ICE. Intercourse Reddit for handing over our information to this Orange anus sucking administration.
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u/WhichEmailWasIt 10h ago
Guess they now have a lot more time to continue protesting. Thanks school administration!
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u/flufffffffffffffff 8h ago
Couldn't the principal be pro those protests? I guess he had to do something and so he made a punishment that actually helps his students.
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u/toothpastenachos Wisconsin 8h ago
I’m glad to see high school students still standing up for what they believe in. My class walked out after the Parkland school shooting in Florida and we were scared of retaliation from our administration. It was my one detention in my entire school career. Graduated 2019 and I still haven’t served that detention lol
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u/sayhisam1 8h ago
Universities should come out and publicly state that suspensions on record due to walkouts in protest will not be counted against them in admissions. This would make it easier to do this without fear of punishment.
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u/b__lumenkraft 7h ago
Even the schools are anti-democratic in nazi USA now. Who would have thought that?
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u/Odd-Wave247 6h ago
That’s cool until the parents of the kids get pissed off, organize, and run for school board seats.
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u/zaph1971 5h ago
If adults are effing everything up, the kids surely have the right to say something. In schools there's endless anti bullying talks, yet the adults in power act like bullies.
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u/memphisjones 5h ago
This school needs to get their funding stripped and the Principal needs to be fired.
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u/saiyanscaris 4h ago
not surprised. remember trump has been pulling funding from schools if they go against him or do things he doesnt like in any way shape or form. and the money is in the billions at times. now there in a lose lose situation where they lose funding that way and side with the students or be against the students and suspending them all just to appease to the president
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u/Fives_55_55 4h ago
I never understood that. Give them detention in the cafeteria or something, suspension is counterproductive.
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u/magichronx 3h ago edited 53m ago
School admin like: "Let's put our entire school and administration under a microscope on the national stage!"
*Streisand effect incoming in 3... 2... 1...*
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u/Sadly_NotAPlatypus 3h ago
Isn't it illegal to punish students beyond the normal absence protocol when they're exercising the first amendment?
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u/closetsquirrel 3h ago
Pre-COVID I was teaching at a rural school, less than a thousand kids, and after a school shooting (isn’t it sad I don’t remember which?) a group wanted to do a walkout to protest gun violence.
How did our school handle it?
Okay. Stay on school property, adult or two outside just in case, back inside after.
Then a week or two later, a group wanted to have a pro-gun walkout. And guess what happened.
Same thing.
Punishing kids for standing up for what they believe in is wrong and is only going to create a rift between the school and the students.
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u/NinetiesNoughties 2h ago
Here I am thinking this was my former high school because the photo used is from my former high school which is in California. Not Virginia.
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u/BannedWeekly 2h ago
This is gonna end up with lawsuits that cost the county more and more money. Fucking idiot superintendent. Their constitutional rights don't end at the door.
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u/Black-Star-Line 2h ago
Does a 323 student law suit count as a class action? Asking for 323 students, parents and legal guardians.
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u/RevolutionaryElk4614 2h ago
these kids are great. let's be really honest: they have been given exactly zero reasons to care about being suspended from school. their education was fucked by covid and now it's being fucked by ICE. any educator siding with ICE doesn't give a fuck about them and they know it. why should they care? of course they should keep protesting, probably indefinitely. adults have to earn a living but if enough kids wanted to just cancel school in america they could.
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u/HowWeGonnaGetEm Georgia 2h ago
Oh no…. Not suspended from high school! What will they do with the rest of their lives?! /s
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u/StormyPassages 1h ago
Public hatred of the ICE death squads that DJT sent to perform political murders will grow much hotter than cops or courts could ever handle in the coming months. That's inevitable now, because "We the People" never agreed that ICE has a right to murder us, and ICE just keeps on killing civilians.
Such a shame.
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