[Peace] Fwd: [Amasong-singers] NCB: Students in Berwyn, IL, to be expelled for anti-war protest

[Barbara kessel]

Subject: Fwd: [Amasong-singers] NCB: Students in Berwyn, IL, to be
expelled for anti-war protest
To:
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Jay Mittenthal <mitten at life.uiuc.edu>


>Over 37 and possibly up to 70 high school students at Morton West
>High School in Berrwyn, IL currently face either expulsion or
>suspension over an Antiwar Sitin on November 1, 2007.
>
>A petition by SDS is started
>here:   http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?mortonw
>
>More info is
>here:  http://chicago.indymedia.org/newswire/display/80059/index.php
>
>Over 70 students participated in a sit-in against the Iraq War on
>All Saint's Day, Thursday, November 1st. It began third hour when
>dozens of students gathered quietly in the lunchroom at Morton West
>High School and refused to leave. The administrators
>and police became involved immediately and locked down the school
>for a half hour after class ended. Students report that they were
>promised that there would be no charges besides cutting classes if
>they took their protest outside so as not to disturb the school day.
>The students complied, and were led to a corner outside the
>cafeteria where they sang songs and held signs while classes resumed.
 >
>Despite a police line set up between the protestors and the student
>body, many other students joined the demonstration. Organizers say
>they chose November first because it is the Christian holy day
>called the feast of All Saints and a national day of peace.  They
>wrote a letter and delivered it to Superintendent, Dr. Ben
>Nowakowski who was present at the time, stating the
>reason for their protest.
>
>Deans, counselors and even the Superintendent tried to change the
>minds of a few, mainly those students with higher GPA scores to
>abandon the protest. The school called the homes of many of the
>protestors. Those whose parents arrived before the end of
>school and took their students home, or left before the protest
>ended at the final bell, received 3-5 days suspension.  All others,
>an estimated 37 received 10 days suspension and expulsion papers.
>Parents report that Nowakowski stated those who are seventeen will
>also face police charges.
>
>Parents who are frantically trying to spare their child's expulsion
>flooded the school yesterday to file appeals on the matter. So far,
>Superintendent Nowakowski has held firm on the punishments. They are
>expected to find out the results of the appeals on Tuesday. Parents
>and students report and the school's videotape shown to some of the
>parents confirms that the students were non-violent in their action.
>
>The protest came on the heels of a recent incident on October 15th,
>when a student reported hearing that another student had a gun on
>campus. The story of the eyewitness was deemed unreliable and the
>school was not locked down. Later that week
>(October 19), the Berwyn police, acting on a tip arrested one of the
>youths originally questioned for gun possession and he
>allegedly confessed to carrying an unloaded semi-automatic handgun
>that day. All these issues, plus the expected announcement of
>whether uniforms will be established in the school should make the
 >next Board of Education meeting on Wednesday at 7:00pm at the Morton
>East campus very well-attended.
>
>See the link below for the Superintendent's statement on the matter:
> www.jsmortonhs.com/news/contentview.asp
>
>For letters or phone calls of support, please see information below:
>
>Dr. Ben Nowakowski, Superintendent
>District 201
>2423 South Austin, Cicero, IL 60804
>bnowakowski (at) jsmorton.org