A group of high school students have been suspended for skipping class to protest the war. Apparently, many of them are complaining, but the school board is standing firm:
“We’re sending a message out to students who want to do the same thing,” said Michael Cohen, spokesperson for the English Montreal School Board.
“We have nothing against the idea of them protesting the war. If they would have done this after school hours, it would have been fine.”
[ . . . ]
Frat, who has two kids at Lester B. Pearson, said the “demonstrators” were probably more intent on enjoying the balmy weather than denouncing George W. Bush.
They could have added a couple of points: firstly, most of these kids probably have no idea why they oppose the war, since it appears they don’t spend too much time in classrooms reading their history textbooks. They probably are protesting because their friends are, and they think it’s cool. Secondly, anything high school students do as an excuse to skip class isn’t exactly a protest, it’s just an excuse to get out of class. Maybe it’s a little more creative than the ones we used to use, but come on, we’re talking about high school here!
Note that if this had happened at Concordia, the CSU would be suing the administration as we speak.
To assume that all high school students have absolutely no idea about the political and global conflicts facing the leaders of our country is a great insult. Although I am no longer a high school student, I was one not too long ago. Sure, the halls may be filled with girls who flip their hair and boys wishing the girls would notice them but there are almost always a few in each school who have a genuine interest. I do not know what motivated these particular students, maybe you are correct in your analysis. But do not paint every student with the same brush.