Last week in Glendale, Ohio, a judge ruled that suspension from school is a completely appropriate punishment for a black twelve-year-old who participated in a staring contest with a classmate.
The boy (who has not been named) was suspended from St. Gabriel Consolidated School for several days last year, after a white girl's parents reported the prolonged eye contact left their daughter feeling "fearful." He was also forced to write an apology note for "intimidating" his classmate.
The boy's parents, understandably, thought this was an overreaction on the part of the school, and filed a lawsuit seeking to have the suspension erased from his record. Judge Patrick Dinkelacker decided on October 4th to deny the claim.
Black students in many parts of the country are far more likely to be suspended for issues like dress code violations, being late to school, or talking back to a teacher than their white peers. In fact, there's evidence this pattern begins as early as preschool.
This combination of zero tolerance policies and racial discrimination in schools has to end. The student in this case did nothing wrong, and should never have been suspended in the first place. If the other student was truly uncomfortable with the situation, the school could have addressed it by pulling the children aside and talking about it.
Sign now to ask Judge Patrick Dinkelacker to reconsider his recent ruling and remove this suspension from the 12-year-old boy's record!
