March 11,2018
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Nice to see the $105,000,000 school budget not go to waste and of coarse its always a please seeing adults use children for political purposes . The #NationalSchoolWalkout initiative is promoted by Women’s March Youth Empower. The national walkout is to take place March 14 at 10 a.m. for 17 minutes—one for each person who killed on the Marjory Stoneman Douglas campus on Valentine’s Day. Per the group’s web page, other participating high schools in Bergen County include Hackensack High School, Paramus High School, Lyndhurst High School, Fusion Academy in Englewood, Paramus Catholic High School, Ridgewood High School, Emerson Junior/Senior High School, Tenafly High School, Cresskill High School, Pascack Hills High School in Montvale, Northern Highlands Regional High School in Allendale, and Mahwah High School.
God Bless the victims and their families
But this is:
A cog in the wheel of Liberal Progressive indoctrination
Where should a Ridgewood public schools student go to receive instruction at that time rather than engage in sixties-radical-type freak-flag-flying no-account vapid politically-motivated brainless-community-organizer-inspired hooliganism (probably with practically the entire tenured faculty, the whole school board, and our sainted district superintendent)?
Of course not of coarse.
Lighten up, Francis 4:08pm…
This was entirely student led. The administration went along with it but it was based on student leaders who came forward to organize and push the issue.
yea right
Name the student leaders 9:43am. Or accept the conclusion that, most likely, irresponsible adults are the ones foisting this politically-motivated foolishness upon Ridgewood students (and their parents).
Don’t like that students are exercising their constitutional rights then get out there and form your own counter protest.
Hey is there right, it falls on the freedom of speech.
RHS administration is endorsing (enforcing?) a “17 minutes hate” (see Orwell’s 1984) dressed up as a KumBaYa moment.
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Who’s to say that, after the predetermined 17 minutes of blatant virtue signaling on the “front lawn”, they’ll obediently return to class, Gorman old boy? Stripped of responsible supervision (“We are aware…”), perhaps they will choose to adjourn to YOUR office and refuse to leave until YOU agree to resign. Will you oblige?
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No student has the right to “walk out” of class without disciplinary repercussions. You are complicit in this misbehavior as a principal who thinks he is entitled to suspend the rules as long as the “cause” is sufficiently politically correct. We will remember this outrageous surrender of adult authority
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Hey, hell, why not bring an enormous rainbow flag out to the “front lawn” protest? Just say it was meant to “display solidarity” with the victims of the Pulse Nightclub shootings.
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What’s next week’s school-endorsed walk-out “cause”, Principal Gorman? A demand for a parking garage for student parking? Where does this end?
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March 12, 2018
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Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s), Students, Faculty, and Staff:
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We are aware that many RHS students will be participating in the student-led national walkout on the one-month anniversary of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting. On March 14 at 10:00 A.M., students will assemble on the front lawn of the high school to participate in speeches, songs, and a moment of silence. After 17 minutes, they will return to the building to resume class. The event is organized by Students Demand Action, a newly formed club at RHS. The students will pay tribute to the victims of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and express their desire for safer schools.
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Simultaneously, another newly formed student-led group will assemble in the Campus Center to advocate for safer schools and Second Amendment rights.
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If a student does not wish to participate in these assemblies, he or she may remain in class with the teacher or, if on a free period, in the building with designated faculty members.
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Students involved in the walkout will not be penalized for their actions provided they follow RHS school rules, act in a respectful and dignified manner, and return to class after the event is held. We ask parents to speak with their children about the walkout and the issues pertaining to school shootings.
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We are working with the Ridgewood Police and Fire Departments to ensure everyone’s safety and have security measures in place for this day. With that in mind, we want this event to solely be one by and for the students. We ask for all outside groups and parents to respect their wishes and not visit RHS during this time.
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Sincerely,
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Thomas A. Gorman, Ed.D.
Principal
9.43. Are you serious? This was all coordinated. Administration friendly parents started it and had a few students (who have nothing else to do expect trying to show off at anytime) raise their voice to make it look like it came from the student body. I bet majority of students don’t even care but they can’t say no for fear of being called out names.
9:43 – Why did the administration not say “School if for studying, if you want to march, feel free to do it after school.”????
We should be recognizing and congratulating the students for exhibiting their civic mindedness. Next step for the students is to be sure to register to vote when you turn 18 and make sure your voice is really heard. Well done RHS.
These protests are student-led. Most of the students involved are minors; I’m shocked that adults on this blog would ask them to be named. Also, note that students are also allowed to attend the counter-protest, or not protest at all. That seems like a perfectly reasonable compromise.
12:01 – school is for learning.
Is Boyd Loving available to record this event?
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The police and fire department personnel Principal Gorman is summoning “to ensure everyone’s safety and have security measures in place for this day”. Will they be used solely to assemble barricades and prevent public access?
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What is the name of the faculty member assigned to supervise this newly-formed “Students Demand Action” club?
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What trustees of the Board of Education, what district administrators, what members of the faculty, what members of the Village Council, police or fire department brass will be in attendance, given that ordinary members of the public are specifically banned?
Wikipedia:
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The Two Minutes Hate, from George Orwell’s novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, is a daily period in which Party members of the society of Oceania must watch a film depicting the Party’s enemies (notably Emmanuel Goldstein and his followers) and express their hatred for them for exactly two minutes.