Ennis Students Miss Prom Because Of Protest

I think this is a little too much:

Students at Ennis High School lost out on more than a few assignments by joining students across the country protesting proposed changes to U.S. immigration policies.

Some missed the prom.

About 100 students left the high school, junior high school and sixth-grade center Thursday, said Pete Bibby, president of the district’s school board.

Punishment was a suspension from school Friday and any weekend school activities, including the dance, he said.

“This is not about people not being able to express themselves. We all have rules that we have to follow, and you break the rules, you pay the consequences,” Bibby said, pointing out that students could have attended protests Saturday.

That’s not the point. The point is that, to get noticed, sometimes, you have to break the rules. I’m not supporting walking out of class, but I do support peaceful protest.

What is so stupid about this is that the district forced students to select from (a) making an important impact statement and (b) attending one of the most important social events of their high school lives.

I agree that schools have the right to “punish” the protesters, within reason. I do not think causing them to miss the prom is punishment that fits the crime. How about a session of Saturday school? Or, better yet, assign them a report on the topic they protested. How about some constructive discipline as opposed to “Oh, sorry. You aren’t going to the prom.”

I’d venture to say that more than a few expensive prom dresses and tux rentals went unused Saturday night in Ennis, and that there were some pissed off parents, too. A couple of years ago, I remember reading something about some students who did something and were told they could not go to the prom as a result. As I recall, the school got sued over that, and the students and their parents won. Too bad someone didn’t file a Writ of Mandamus against Ennis ISD, or seek a TRO restraining the district from stopping the kids from going to the prom.

Where are the leaders of the movement that led to the protest? Why aren’t they stepping in to help out the kids—who, I dare say, got the protest movement most of its media attention?

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