Suspended ROTC student feels wronged
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Springstead junior thinks five-day suspension wasn’t warranted for telling Muslim student to ‘take that thing off your head.’ SPRING HILL – Heather Lawrence loves being in JROTC, loves her Marine Corps dad and loves her country. On Wednesday, anger was the prevailing feeling in her heart when she noticed a student in another classroom had refused to stand during the Pledge of Allegiance. She also refused to recite it. Heather, a junior at Springstead High School, glanced at the other students in the room, all of whom appeared uncomfortable, she said. She saw her later in the day between class periods and told her, “Take that thing off your head and act like you’re proud to be an American.” The student, whom Lawrence could not identify, was wearing a hijab, a head scarf or garment traditionally worn by Muslim women. A teacher overheard Heather’s statement and told two other teachers. The incident made its way to Assistant Principal Steve Crognale, who called the 16-year-old into his office Friday morning, she said. He made her wait outside while he called her father, Mark Lawrence. Crognale told him the school was going to suspend his daughter for five days. “I said, ‘That is absolutely ridiculous,’” recalled Lawrence, who would not repeat the expletives used during the phone conversation. “I thought it was very unfair.” He asked Crognale to explain his justification for suspending his daughter. “He said it was based on the grounds that she made a threat,” said Lawrence, who threw up his arms and shook his head. He sat in his living room across from his daughter, who was dressed in her U.S. Army-issued uniform. She plans to attend basic training in the summer, return to Springstead for her senior year and pursue a career in the military. Read more » |
