U.S.A.
Everyone Else
Health
Science
Business
Technology
Sports
Video Games
Entertainment
Future
Humour
NEWS > U.S.A. > ILLINOIS STUDENT EXPELLED FOR WEARING SHIRT DEPICTING ROUND EARTH
ILLINOIS STUDENT EXPELLED FOR WEARING SHIRT DEPICTING ROUND EARTH
October 4 2009
Chicago, IL – There are few arguments as profoundly felt or vehemently argued as the one that revolves around the nature of life and the afterlife. Throughout recorded history has debate over the origin of the world and human life has raged with 
mysticism, religion, and most recently science all claiming to have the answers. Science has of course brought us closer to truly understanding how our physical world works and how it was created. That insight though has not brought the debate to a close and in some areas has actually amplified the passion circling the question of existence.
There has been no more fierce a battleground in the argument than in schools. With prayer and other religious practices either frowned upon or outright banned and concepts such as evolution being pushed out of the curriculum across the United States it’s likely the battle will go on for a long time to come. That battle reached a crescendo last week with the expulsion of a grade 10 student from a Chicago area school. His crime was refusing to remove a t-shirt depicting a picture of a round Earth after being threatened by school officials.
“I can confirm that the young man in question was indeed expelled for refusing to remove a t-shirt that we believed was inappropriate. The student had been disciplined a number of times yet continued to wear the shirt. This was an escalation of events that culminated with his being asked to leave the school premises until such time as he is willing to abide by the rules we have set down,” said Assistant Principal Katherine Hinton of Lincoln Park High School. “We want to make it clear that this expulsion was not because the student was wearing the shirt, it was because he was unwilling to abide by or requests and our rules. It is not up to the students to decide policy or what is right or wrong. Even if they are correct they have an obligation to abide by our rules without question. When he is willing to do that he will be welcomed back.”
Hinton also went on to note that the school and school board believes that wearing such a shirt could offend students who believe that the Earth is indeed flat. Hinton did not specify what version of the planet she believes to exist and added that schools should not engage in speculation.
“The theory that the Earth is round has been around for centuries and it was finally and officially confirmed when man went to moon and took pictures. That was pretty definitive proof that the planet is round but of course if the moon landing was falsified then that picture could be fiction as well,” said Scrape TV Legal analyst Gabe Hawthorne. “The real issue here is whether or not the student was actually flouting school rules or if the rules had been interpreted in way so as to put him in a no win situation. I have never heard of school or a school board having a ban on portrayals of spherical Earths before.”
Before the school year started all globes were removed from geography classes. All maps were also altered to remove the north and south poles, keeping in line with the flat Earth theory. It’s not clear if the school was actively promoting the largely debunked theory or if they were simply attempting to keep both theories on a level planet.
“Schools have a right to decide what is and what is not appropriate behaviour for their students and the law pretty much falls on their side when it comes to that. Schools are not necessarily the bastion of free speech that many people would like them to be, largely because they do need to protect the security of their students,” continued Hawthorne. “One has to wonder though how many people were at risk of being offended by a round Earth shirt but they know their school and their area a lot better than me so they may in fact be acting in the best interest of the school and the students.”
Two students were also expelled last year after claiming that Marilyn Manson was the Antichrist. It’s not clear how relevant that reference was either.
Mike Michaels, American Correspondent
NEWS > U.S.A. > ILLINOIS STUDENT EXPELLED FOR WEARING SHIRT DEPICTING ROUND EARTH
|
Scrape Store
