Amherst Regional High School on a cold Monday
The following documents were, technically, not public documents since they involve employee performance. But the privacy exemption in Public Documents law was enacted to protect the employee -- not the governmental institution.
In his four page response to the written charges used at the "hearing" 2/4/14 the school employee (who works with his hands) took issue with a number of key points. First and foremost he did not use the N-word, the one that ends in "r" and has six letters.
He used the 5 letter version that ends in "a", just to illustrate the version of the word his son used with a black friend as a term of endearment.
And -- even more important -- he asked permission before using the word within earshot of Dean of Students Mary Custard, "an African American woman".
School officials, however, seems to have no trouble using both versions of the N-word in their 2 page indictment.
The father, who I will call George (but that is not his name) reports his son did use the term "fucking bullshit" because by that point, after a week of bullying, he was extremely frustrated by the lack of response school officials had brought to bear.
To recap: George went to Dean of Students Mary Custard on Wednesday January 22 after his son had a "confrontation" with three black students the previous day.
Being a polite ex-Marine George did not just barge into the office and grab a seat. He asked Ms. Custard's secretary if it was okay to speak to her and after she checked with Ms. Custard the answer was "yes".
He remained standing the whole time because Ms. Custard never invited him to sit down.
That day was the only time the N-word (short version) was ever mentioned. George was justifiably disconcerted when he learned Ms. Custard had contacted all the other parents (one of whom works in the schools, but not so much with his hands) to get their side of the story.
That same day during an "evacuation" George (who is after all a school employee) did end up in the Middle School auditorium where he spotted his son, who was now hanging out with the same black friend he posted the congratulatory note to on Facebook using the short version of the N-word.
His son did point out the three kids who were bullying him, but at no time did George make an attempt to interact with them.
On Thursday January 23 George once again very briefly discussed his son's precarious situation with Ms. Custard and once again asked the secretary who asked Ms. Custard if it was okay for him to speak with her.
At no point was he told to "make an appointment."
Friday January 24 was the day the verbal abuse escalated to the physical. One of the kids laid a hand on George's son. Again he went back to see Ms. Custard, again he asked her secretary first for the okay. Only this time he brought his union rep as a witness.
And that witness will verify that George did not point his finger at Ms. Custard or act in a threatening or discourteous manner. Yes, while leaving her office his irate son did say "fucking bullshit," but George did reprimand him, telling him to "calm down" and "watch your language."
George, his son and union rep then went to Principal Mark Jackson's office but ended up talking with Assistant Principal Michael Thompson who promised to set up a meeting for Monday January 27 (the day the school closed because of the "threat" posted to Facebook Confessions site).
George never said Ms. Custard was "biased" but his son certainly thought that was the case. Mr. Thompson told George's son to go to an early lunch and if there are further problems with the three belligerent students he should seek out an authority figure.
Well that did not work, as the pre-lunchtime encounter was the worst yet.
The kid who got physical with George's son stormed out of the school that morning. George's son went from the High School to the Middle School and then drove over to Northampton to pick up his mother from her place of employment.
The mother returned to the High School and was seen by Ms. Custard (amazingly, without an appointment).
In fact it was the mother who suggested the three kids antagonizing her son and school officials all sit down together on Monday January 27 to try to make peace.
That of course never happened because the "threat" posted to Facebook the week before finally appeared on Saturday night, January 25 and was spotted by School Superintendent Maria Geryk the following night.
She called the Chief of Police and Amherst Town Manger and with the help of I.T. Director Kris Pacunas George's son was identified around 3:00 AM, Monday morning.
In a panic Amherst Regional High School was closed, and state and federal authorities swept the school building for bombs and/or guns, neither of which were found. Police now agree George's guns were never out of his elaborate lock up and so were never smuggled into the school.
George's son received a 12 day suspension for the Facebook "threat," use of the "N-word" and making a scene in the school hallways. But George managed to keep his job, although he was suspended without pay for three days for those three visits to Ms. Custard, totaling less than 15 minutes.
And he now has a a blemish in his personnel file, which had been spotless.
The Schools never reported the bullying incidents to the police, and the three students who directed their ire at George's son received no suspensions.
Perhaps it's time for the Regional School Committee to provide additional oversight on this sorry affair.
58 comments:
Unless someone brings this up in public comment the school committee will not have any questions about it.
If memory serves that was the way the parent brought attention to Stephen Myers, the pedophile Principal, propositioning her son back in 2001.
Is it correct that the next School committee meeting will be on Tuesday, February 25 at 7:00pm and that it has been moved to the Town Room of Town Hall?
"Rude, offensive, reprehensible. The use of these words, even in conversation, is intolerable and unacceptable."
Methinks this is handwringing, an attempt to insinuate and discredit the father. Not sure now the situation was to be handled in Ms. Custard's office, without using that word, given that it's use is apparently central to the incident. But glad to have the school's position on the words "nigger" and "nigga" clarified.
Has the student body been informed?
"But George managed to keep his job..."
Wouldn't have 6 years ago.
(you're welcome, "George")
-Squeaky Squeaks
Larry,
You made the following statement:
"That day was the only time the N-word (short version) was ever mentioned. George was justifiably disconcerted when he learned Ms. Custard had contacted one of the other parents (who works in the schools, but not so much with his hands) to get their side of the story."
I have to take it that this means that at least one of the three kids bullying George's son work a white collar job at the schools?
So this is also a story of status and privilege since the white collar workers child did not get in any trouble but the blue collar guy gets bullied by the administration with a threat of being fired.
It is great to see Kathy Mazur got both sides of the story before writing her letter to George. (sarcasm)
It is clear she only took in one side of the story and used that to threaten George's family.
She has no business being in HR, no less a director. Her actions make her look incompetent, vindictive, irrational, and down right cruel.
Maria should have her head on a platter. Get rid of her now before she causes any more problems.
Welcome to "Peyton Place," as the drama unfolds. Who will be the real winner, in this neverending story?
Sound's like a perfect idea for a soap opera Larry, you should write for TV.
So this is also a story of status and privilege
Worse, it appears to be punishing a blue collar employee for not having the vocabulary of a white collar employee -- of not thinking of an approved euphemism. That's every bit as unjust as disciplining a teacher for not having the HVAC knowledge of the person hired to run the boilers.
the white collar workers child did not get in any trouble but the blue collar guy gets bullied by the administration with a threat of being fired.
This is where the blue collar guy realizes that he will get no justice within the system and goes outside it. This is where he comes back with his gun(s)and we know where that goes.
If he's a proficient marksman (which a Marine would be), you have a much higher body count. If he knows anything about IEDs, which our Marines unfortunately do, he'd know how to fabricate one.
Larry, you know what I initially thought, and I'd appreciate you not sharing that as I don't want to give ideas to anyone with such inclinations. Likewise, I won't be specific but you could level the building and/or kill everyone in it with the right combination of things that anyone can legally purchase in the valley.
That letter wasn't just inflammatory, it was incendiary! I don't think Maria made the decision to close the school. I think someone in law enforcement told her to do it, and I think it was a wise decision. (I'm saying "law enforcement" in a very vague capacity here -- not just APD/MSP but various Federal entities.)
If the bomb squad guys had either read Custard's letter or heard about it, I suspect they were thinking what they would do had they been on the receiving end of it -- and not liking their answers. I have no doubt they took this quite seriously.
"someone with more authority than police" told [Kurt] to "knock it off now." Yes -- that's fairly accurate. I have friends who work for some of those agencies and I have a pretty good idea of exactly what would be said..
Larry, this is disturbing to anyone who is a student of history -- if a group no longer believes that they will be able to redress their grievances within the system, they go outside it.
This is the sort of thing that gets a white supremacist group established -- and you do not want that...
This report does not surprise me at all. My kids went to ARHS when Custard was the athletic director. She was condescending and rude in my two meetings with her (which coincidentally were to address bullying by members of the the athletic staff at that time). Come to think of it, she never invited me to sit down either.
I'd blame Custard more than anyone else. Her presence and demeanor are divisive and she is a bully herself. I believe that Custard is a holdover of the bullying culture created by Gus Sayer years ago and is only still working for the town because of her status as an "untouchable."
We are paying these people's salaries and deserve respect. I really hope this finally gets Custard sacked.
The real issue is still Maria Geryk. She needs to go and all of her cronies need to go with her. Poor leadership works its way into the rest of the system. Ms. Custard is not qualified for her job but neither is Ms. Geryk.
Ed, get some help. Man, are you messed up or what?
Where did Amherst come up with all these NITWITS in the school system?
The people of Amherst should demand answers from the School Committee members. After all these nitwits work for them.
And, George you need a good lawyer!
"If he's a proficient marksman (which a Marine would be), you have a much higher body count. If he knows anything about IEDs, which our Marines unfortunately do, he'd know how to fabricate one."
Ed, you scare me that you always think that the alternative is extreme violence. That's not healthy.
My guess is this is where the story ends, because the regular print media, the Gazette and the Republican, won't know what to do with it from here.
Oh I don't know, they have been trying to get more digital recently.
Now that the School's 2-page letter has become a public document, they can quote from it.
Why don't the Gazette or MassLive carry stories like this? Is it political or they just don't have the journalists to cover them?
Little of both.
A newspaper thrives on access to sources.
If you piss off a major institution they tend to retaliate by cutting off access.
I hope George gets a lawyer and sues the school system.
It sounds to me like someone should tell this story to the District attorney and see if some criminal investigation needs to be done. Something is amiss and no one is doing anything to get the proper people involved. I will make an inquiry over there today.
Here's a list of MassLive reporters twitter accounts (I can't find their emails on the site):
http://www.masslive.com/connect/
Most of them follow them.
But come to think of it I should tweet the link again, as it was during non prime time I originally tweeted it last night.
Maybe it's because this is not as big a story as all you myopic people think it is.
Ironically I was just wondering where the "Stepford Wives" rah-rah school supporters were ...
I am one of the "Rah Rah Stepford School Supporters" :) and I have a big concern about how this whole affair was handled and continues to be handled. There appears to be something rotten in Denmark here.
"My kids survived ARHS and all I got was this lousy t-shirt said... "
That's funny, because both of mine went to top colleges and now have great jobs. Hooray for Amherst schools!
"[DOCTOR] Ed, you scare me that you always think that the alternative is extreme violence. That's not healthy."
Did Dr. Ed make the decision to close the school?
Was it Dr. Ed who was driving the MSP Bomb Squad truck in the manner that Larry described it being driven that day?
Was Dr. Ed one of the people speaking at the Team Maria meeting that night?
WELL?????
Folks, I don't believe I've ever even seen a MSP Bomb Squad truck, let alone driven one.
I'm quite certain that Team Maria doesn't ask my advice prior to making decisions, nor does the Amherst Police Department, and that I wasn't the person(s) acting on my fear of extreme violence.
Dr. Ed doesn't have the authority/ability to shut down Amherst High School. Seriously folks...
OTHER people thought this -- and thought it a realistic enough possibility to take significant action (i.e. closing the school) on the basis of it.
Published reports indicate that it was Maria G who believed that blog posting indicated the potential for extreme violence, it's Maria G whom you should be labeling "mentally ill" -- if anyone.
Oh, Maria G. and the APD command, MSP and whatnot -- I'd actually like to see someone declare them all mentally ill because it'd be just like when they accused the Governor's wife of being a witch -- that's what motivated the Governor to step in and shut down that little mess in 1692.
Why not go for broke and try to "pink slip" President Obama? I'm sure that the Secret Service would be really impressed....
Folks, this "Ed is Crazy" CRAP -- which is what it is, unmitigated bullbleep -- has gotten to the point where it is actually humorous (in a macabre sort of way). To those who actually know something about mental illness, these allegations are to the point where they are becoming mutually exclusive.
It's like saying that someone is concurrently both anorexic and morbidly obese -- you can't be both at the same time, although you can be neither.
Or as it was pointed out to me "while you are a few pounds heavier than I'd like to see you, you are neither anorexic nor morbidly obese" -- that it was mathematically impossible for my weight to both below one number while above a higher one.
He, and enough people -- all appropriately licensed & credentialed, have told me that I'm sane for me to believe them. (In his case, his credentials are from Harvard. Just sayin...)
In addition to explaining how these spurrious allegations were mutually exclusive, it was also pointed out that the fact I took them seriously enough to confirm them to be unfounded was yet another indication of my sanity.
In other words, even though I rationally believed them to be nothing more than hateful ad hominums, the fact I verified it indicated that I truly was rational and hence sane. Or something like that.
And I wasn't the person driving the Bomb Squad truck....
Ed, get some help. Man, are you messed up or what?
If you have a mental health license, please post the number so I can report you to the appropriate authorities. In either case, STFU.
I think they should have to fully explain how Ms. Sadiq knew who the kid was. Someone should be disciplined for sharing that confidential information. Anyone reading your blog can make a good guess as to who the "white collar" employee is.
Imagine if this was the other way around.
Imagine a Black woman who worked for the schools in a similar blue-collar job, and her Black daughter was being bullied by four White girls, one of whom was he daughter of a professional employee of the school system. Imagine that Mary Custard was George Custer, a White male.
(NB: "girl" is being used to designate "child aged 14-17 and student in the high school." "White" and "Black" are used (and capitalized) pursuant to the APA style guide.)
Imagine that the Black girl was friends with a White girl -- which the other White girls didn't like. Imagine the Black girl used a word that the White girls use all the time, but which they didn't want her to use because she was Black. That the issue was not the word but that she was Black and using it.
(Folks, this is right on back to when we had two drinking fountains and the rest of segregation -- do you not realize that? Does it not concern you?)
The Black girl is bullied and assaulted by White girls who wish to keep her in her place and make an example of her -- to terrorize the other White girls into not doing something like this.
The Black Mother/Employee goes to George Custer -- something which (in theory at least) is a right that any parent has -- I think that both DESE & DCF would be really upset to learn that parents concerned about the wellbeing of their child don't have the right to do this.
The Family Medical Leave Act has a "small necessities" provision that essentially requires an employer to give a parent time off for meeting with school folk regarding a child -- hence no matter how difficult Custard wanted to make it for George to meet with her, no matter how much it interfered with his work schedule, the school would be required to change his work schedule to facilitate the meeting. This isn't optional.
So the Black woman meets with Custer and gets a three day suspension from her job in a letter which states that she committed the offense of not showing proper deference and respect to a White male -- that explicitly states that Custer is White.
What do we honestly think would happen next?
At the very least, there would be exceptionally vocal protest if not outright rioting and bloodshed. If it was even possible for the schools to open the next day -- and I don't think it would be -- the US Dept of Justice would be in town and the schools would be in Federal Receivership inside of a week.
It would be like Boston in the 1970's when Judge Garrity was running the schools -- a Federal Judge in Springfield would be telling Team Maria what they must do and they'd be in jail if they didn't.
If the Civil Rights laws protect everyone, then when it's the other way around, isn't it equally wrong and doesn't justice demand that something be done about it?
Some could argue that this situation indicates that White males no longer have civil rights and that is scary....
And why should White males defend the civil rights of women & minorities if they don't have the assurance that their own civil rights will be respected? That's more scary....
Five other things:
First, this is a First Amendment violation:
"Rude, offensive, reprehensible. The use of these words, even in conversation, is intolerable and unacceptable."
FMLA says that George was there on his own time, he's there as a citizen and not an employee. The government does not have the right to ban words. The issue in _Chiplinski v. NH_ was not that he used a word (fascist), or even how he used it (calling the police chief "a damn fascist") but that he did so in a manner to incite a riot.
2: This is a civil rights violation -- Custard, et al violated George's civil rights -- read the Mas Civil Rights Act.
It would be one thing if he were addressing racial slurs *at* Custard, saying "You ----er" in a manner clearly addressing it to her as an individual. (Although unless he was also doing it in a manner threatening violence, I think even that would be protected speech.)
He's factually reporting -- to the appropriate school administrator -- what his son said. That's protected speech, any governmental sanction for exercising his constitutional/civil right of free speech constitutes a civil rights violation....
Third, if Custard gave him permission to use the word, and she already knew what it was, that means that no one should trust Custard -- for anything. This is "entrapment."
This is just like a police officer telling you to do something and then arresting you for doing it -- the law is clear on that sort of thing...
Fourth, Where the hell is the ACLU on this?!?!?!?!? Bill Newman, if you want me to have a scintilla of respect for you, you need to be responding to this one.
Fifth, this is libel.
If Kathy Mazur (a) wrote that George used the "er" version of the word in his meeting with Custard and he didn't, and (b)"published" that libelous document by sending a copy to a third person (which she did via the copy to his supervisor) -- well that constitutes "libel."
Hate me all you want people, those issues remain valid and I'd be concerned about them.
Harvey Silverglate often makes a point to the effect of if you permit the procedural rights and Constitutional protections of someone else to be ignored -- even if you like the outcome in the particular circumstance -- those rights & protections won't be there for you in the future when you might need them.
He was discussing UMass and his point is valid -- even though UMass currently leans to the left, it didn't always -- in the 1960's & 1970's, it once leaned equally far to the right. One example he cites is when Angela Davis wasn't permitted to speak on campus -- his point is that even though UM currently leans to the left, the left needs to worry about what will happen to them when the tide eventually turns and they aren't in control of things anymore.
The people who led the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s openly state that they had two things on their side: "God and the First Amendment."
If Mary Custard is permitted to make the First Amendment irrelevant, then it won't be there to protect her in the future, should she ever need to use it. Someone really ought to explain that to her....
Anon: 2:29
I think it is great that your kids did well. They sound hard working and motivated. I am curious if you don't mind answering. Did you have to do any tutoring, Kumon, etc. Did your kids only attend classes at Amherst and not the colleges? Did they play sports, Do you or your partner if you have one have advanced degrees beyond a bachelors. Did you and or your partner also go to good schools.
Not to discount your kids success, they earned that. But did the schools give them a boost to do well or was it you and or your partner and all of your hard work that propped up the Amherst schools. Just curious.
Larry,
Thanks for covering this story. I don't think this family would have ever gotten their side out if not for you.
Mazur's letter was such a biased one sided letter. She should be ashamed. Maria need to let you go. She does not have the professionalism required for that position. No company would ever hire someone like her.
Whoever fed Mazur the information on the incidents should also be let go for their over the top bias. How can both stories be true. The letter from Mazur is so different from the Narrative of the father.
Can we assume the Sadiq family is someone involved. There name keeps popping up. Did they leak information or have a child or child's friend involved.
The whole thing needs a third party investigation, and not someone hired by the schools.
If I had to guess I'd say that letter was proof read by one or two people before it was sent out.
To Rich Hood, Kip Fonsch, Katherine Appy or any school committee member.
This needs to be investigated. You need to protect the rights of the student and their families. You need to ask why in a public forum, with names withheld, why did the 3 bullies get off without punishment.
How can you profess to act in the interest of students if you don't come to this families aid.
The kid was bullied. The father, like any good parent asked for help. No one did anything in a timely manner. The victim goes punished and the father gets a 3 day suspension for standing up for his kid.
If you can't take this up during a regular meeting and not at an executive session, then please resign. Any lack of response on your parts is a complete violation of your duties as SC members.
Protect these people, they need it. Step up, NOW.
Anon at 2:29
I think to anyone paying attention our schools are undergoing some pretty big changes compared to 5-10 years ago. There is a massive drop in enrollment accompanied by a huge increase in numbers of kids with free and reduced lunch status. The old days of offering huge variety of courses is quickly passing and the luxury of having the student body consisting largely of middle and upper class kids is gone. The question is how will/is the administration dealing with these changes...and how successfully. consider your kids lucky to have passed through the system when they did...
The whole thing needs a third party investigation, and not someone hired by the schools.
I always thought that the Federal Grand Jury would start at UMass -- it may start here and go there....
"To Rich Hood, Kip Fonsch, Katherine Appy or any school committee member.
This needs to be investigated. You need to protect the rights of the student and their families."
HAAA!! LMAO
The school committee is a neutered group that acts like they have a purpose but simply answers to Ms Geryk. Get real. The entire system is screwed up and a major change needs to happen in Amherst to solve the problems that the school system currently faces.
"Thanks for covering this story. I don't think this family would have ever gotten their side out if not for you."
Kudos to Larry but think of the wrath now that Geryk and her crew have been exposed through this letter. This poor guy will not go down easy now that the axed has been sharpened even more.
is this about Trolling?
Trolls just want to have fun
In two online studies (total N = 1215), respondents completed personality inventories and a survey of their Internet commenting styles. Overall, strong positive associations emerged among online commenting frequency, trolling enjoyment, and troll identity, pointing to a common construct underlying the measures. Both studies revealed similar patterns of relations between trolling and the Dark Tetrad of personality: trolling correlated positively with sadism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism, using both enjoyment ratings and identity scores. Of all personality measures, sadism showed the most robust associations with trolling and, importantly, the relationship was specific to trolling behavior. Enjoyment of other online activities, such as chatting and debating, was unrelated to sadism. Thus cyber-trolling appears to be an Internet manifestation of everyday sadism.
from Personality and Individual Differences Link here http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0191886914000324
Sounds like someone we know
Hey members of the ARPS School Committee, here is your chance to prove Wally wrong. Come on you know you want to do the right thing. Take a chance.
Ed, do you know Bill Elsasser, the guy who wanders the streets of downtown Amherst -- sometimes on his hands and knees, in traffic -- meticulously cleaning up every speck of litter?
Do you think only a licensed mental health professional could figure out that he has some issues?
As for the doctor who gave you a clean bill of mental health -- have you shown him all of your blog comments, including the ones describing violence?
How is Custard going to wiggle out of not following the bullying guidelines and protocol we have been told were in place? Pointing the finger at someone else doesn't distract that she didn't do her job.
Bill Elsasser, the guy who wanders the streets of downtown Amherst -- sometimes on his hands and knees, in traffic
I'm sure that someone will address appropriate concerns if I'm ever crawling across the street in the face of oncoming cars.
Less than that, please take a flying f*** to the moon -- suggesting that your political opponents are mentally ill is the oldest psychological warfare trick in the book.
The people promulgating this "Ed is Crazy" Crap have been so prolific with it that those inclined to trust their own judgment will do so and those who are blind lemmings will continue to be that. Whatever.
At this point, it's humorous in a macabre sort of way. People are really afraid of me, they see me as a serious threat to their corrupt fiefdom and genera; incompetence -- and I'm actually surprised that they do.
There are a lot of things really rotten in Amherst, and the fact that they are worried about me actually to my credit.
Now comparing me to Bill Elsasser, is that the absolute best you can do? If you are going to maliciously smear my reputation, can't you at least do a decent job of it and find some truly crazy & dangerous psychopath to compare me to???
My bet is that we will not hear a peep about this from the School Committee.
They were neutered a few years ago.
What is really depressing is that after all of what Larry has printed about this subject and the clear need for someone to investigate, this will all be forgotten about in a month or so. The bullies, both student and administrators, will have gotten away with it. Amherst will be just a little more hypocritical and disappointing to many. I would like to Thank in advance Maria Geryk, Mark Jackson, and the entire School Committee for not doing the right thing.
I encourage anyone who wants to see the school committee be forced to further investigate the lack of action of our school administration to student bullying well as the questionable one sided discipline policys for employees to attend the next school committee meeting and voice your concern. Anon 9:09 is correct. If this isn't pushed and the masses lose interest, it will continue to happen time and time again. This isn't the first time and unless we act, it won't be the last. The school Administration plays by their own rules. It's time to take back our schools.
Anon: 10:14
You are completely correct. Someone needs to stand up. It seems that most of the people who would stand up in public left town. Don't know if anyone is left to do anything anymore. They all seem to afraid or to focused on their own problems to bother. Staying under the radar seems the order of the day. Very unfortunate. Maybe someone will prove me wrong. That would be very nice indeed.
The School Committee should appoint an independent Special Prosecutor to investigate the (mis)handling of this
important matter.
I'm sure if subpoenaed, "George" would happy to show up and tell his side of the story.
Larry, is "George" aware of the state whistleblower law? A law which is supposed to be posted in a place where all public employees can see it and which is supposed to be explained to them as well, but I digress....
I don't have the time right now but if no one else posts it, I'll go find it and do so. He needs to read it. SOONEST!
(And those working for Eddie Hull and/or Enku Gelaye and/or Harry Rockland Miller and/or Madeline Peters might want to read it as well....)
Here is the link to the agenda for Tuesday night: looks as though citizens/public gets ten minutes at very beginning of a pretty packed agenda. See you there:
http://www.arps.org/UserFiles/Servers/Server_926729/File/Agenda%20of%20February%2025,%202014.pdf
Here is the link to the agenda for Tuesday night: looks as though citizens/public gets ten minutes at very beginning of a pretty packed agenda
I'll tell you how it will go: Ten minutes of hysterics about the evils of racism and that will be all -- I wouldn't be at all surprised to see Herr Jackson run out the clock himself.
I've seen it happen before -- it's a quite fascist strategy of only recognizing your supporters and then cite your pressing workload to preclude anyone else from offering a dissenting view.
It is also a standard practice in the mental health profession -- the therapeutic lie. Appy & Geryk are from this field. Don't expect them to have time for anyone but their supporters to speak.
The inherent flaw is that they get to pick whom they wish to hear speak, regardless of who was there first, or which side is there in greater numbers. It's quite fascist.
And if the MSM, the Gazette in particular, falls for this tactic, it will be time for folk to start having a chat with their advertisers, it's time to start playing hardball because the other side has been for a long time....
Ed,
I'm no fan of the administration but when it comes time for public comments I have never seen them not give everyone their requested 2 minutes of glory. Now if people are to afraid or unwilling to step up on this subject that is a completely different matter. Either way in a public forum the admin pulls out all the stops to look accommodating, open, and welcoming. I'm under no illusion they will take any action against the bullies but they are always willing to listen.
I just realized the Feb 25th School Committee meeting is an Amherst School Committee meeting - only dealing with elementary schools. Not the appropriate place to comment on the goings on at the high school. I'm sure people can still comment...but the commenters will be asked to attend a Regional meeting to repeat their comments as that is the proper venue.
I have never seen them not give everyone their requested 2 minutes of glory.
I have.
Neither Maria Geryk or Dr. Appy chooses who speaks during public comment - it is the chair, Kip Fonsh.
Wait and see...
Interesting student feedback info regarding Mary Custard...
http://www.ratemyteachers.com/mary-custard/1284983-t
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