Now That's a Civics Lesson!

Hello my Dear Friends. First, on this Memorial Day, let me say God Bless the brave men and women who gave their lives to protect us and our freedom. Their service to this great nation should not and will not be forgotten. Now, let me tell you a little story about freedom, or the lack there of, in the Cicero-North Syracuse School District. That school district's 2013-2014 budget was rejected by voters. Probably because the proposed tax increase was too high but that's another discussion. This story is about a C-NS senior who exercised his First Amendment Rights and was taught an interesting lesson for it. C-NS senior Patrick Brown tweeted suggestions on where the school district could cut it's budget. He used the hashtag #ShitCNSshouldcut. OK, he used a curse word, bad boy. He was suspended from school for 3 days. Not for the curse word, for using a cellphone in class and, are you ready..."For inciting a social media riot that disrupted the learning environment". A what? Yes. A Social Media Riot! Apparently so many people used that hashtag that it began trending on Twitter! Some people call that "going viral" but in the Cicero-North Syracuse school district it's apparently called a RIOT.  Well, if he incited a riot, then he should be denied 3 days of education in his senior year, right? I mean A Riot! People could have been injured! I assume a social media riot is akin to typing "fire" on a crowded netflix site. It doesn't end there. Another student, senior Jamie Roberts, Tweeted that a certain teacher to be fired using the same riotous hashtag. She was suspended for 5 days and told she would not be allowed to attend her senior prom! Apparent in C-NS, calling for a teacher to be fired is considered a THREAT! That's why her punishment was so severe. By that logic, my now saying that Cicero-North Syracuse School Superintendent Kim Dyce Faucette should be fired for allowing the First Amendment Rights of her students to be violated, would be construed as a threat. Well, there it is sister, come and get me! I hope I don't start another virtual riot! For those in charge of the C-NS school district, "virtual" is an adjective meaning existing in essence but not actual fact. If those words are too big for you, it means "not real". Also, calling for someone to be fired is not a threat. It's an opinion. Remember when people, even young people, used to have a right to those? So, these two students, who have never been in trouble before, will suffer their punishment. They will be denied a few days of their education during their senior year and Jamie will be denied the memory of her Senior Prom. I guess it's all worth it so we can all learn a very important Civics Lesson. You're freedom of speech, apparently, is limited. Lesson Learned! Nice job C-NS. You're students are now prepared for the world.
Po