Keep Fighting

 

My suspension got cut one day short as you might of noticed. Yesterday Mr. Quick left a voicemail on my cell saying Madren had reconsidered my suspension (for the anti Madren memos).

 

In fourth period today I was called up to Madren's office and among the first words out of her mouth were “If I had a white flag, I'd be waving it right now.” Now I'm not sure if enough people contacted the people at central office to get them to have a talk with her, or if the people I talked to at the NC-ACLU contacted her, or the student protest finally got to her, but I would bet it was the hundreds of memos that blanketed the campus that finally got her attention. She told me she had read the later memos and realized that there were some problems at the school and she wanted me to help her work them out. In the course of a day I went from a loon passing out flyers about what was wrong with our school to the leader of the group that will hopefully be changing the school for the better.

 

Among the things we decided in our little 45 minute pow-wow was that a large majority of the student body was being left unrepresented by the student council. To change this we came up with an idea to bring one representative from each cap group into a mass democratic meeting to decide what needs to be done to change the way this school works so that we may see a happier tomorrow. And what is to be discussed at this meeting will be determined by the issues you pick. I've been left with the task of collecting the school's gripes and formulating a survey based on them to be handed out in cap for you to fill out and let us know what you think are the major issues at SAHS. Find me at any time between classes to give me your complaints so we can go ahead and get started on making the survey. Any rules you don't like? Tell me about them (or one of my representatives who will be walking around campus taking complaints). Think something is unfair, tell us that too. The answers to the survey will be discussed, and with any luck changed, at the first meeting of cap representatives.

 

So, for the moral of our story, there was once a goal of bringing order back to our school and it started with 23 memos I printed at home. Then I was suspended and there was a protest because of it. While I was suspended I used the internet to research my rights and send emails to important people. Meanwhile at school my supporters copied their memos and passed them to their friends and eventually, what started with 23 memos got the entire student body in an uproar. Thanks to supportive parents and teachers we got our message beyond the school walls and to the people who needed to hear it. And through all of this I have heard that news about this has even made its way to ears in South Carolina. And now the dream that started with a rebellious writer and 23 memos has brought enough attention to the cause that things are actually going to change.

 

So, if anyone ever tells you not to stand up for your rights because you'll only get in trouble (by the way, my suspension is fully repealed and will not go on my permanent record) and you will never get your point across, tell them their wrong. It happened in North Carolina and it can just as easily happen anywhere.

 

For more details visit: myspace.com/loveatpointblankrange

myspace.com/sroatsahs

 

 

good luck and keep fighting,

Matt Kernodle