A 12-year-old student was allegedly sent home from school after he refused to change his T-shirt that said, There are only two genders.
Liam Morrison, a seventh-grader at Nichols Middle School in Middleborough, Massachusetts, said he was taken out of gym class on March 21 and met with school staff who told him people were complaining about the statement on his shirt and that it made them feel unsafe, They told me that I wasn't in trouble, but it sure felt like I was. I was told that I would need to remove my shirt before I could return to class. When I nicely told them that I didn't want to do that, they called my father,
He offered his explanation during a Middleborough School Committee meeting on April 13.
I was told I was targeting a protected class and was a disruption to learning.
Who is this protected class?
Are their feelings more important than my rights?
I do not complain when I see Pride flags and diversity posters hung throughout the school. Do you know why? Because others have a right to their beliefs, just as I do.
I was told that the shirt was a disruption to learning. No one got up and stormed out of class.
No one burst into tears.
I am sure I would have noticed if they had.
I experience disruptions to my learning every day. Kids acting out in class are a disruption, yet nothing is done. Why do the rules apply to one yet not another?
I have learned a lot from this experience. I learned that a lot of other students share my view.
I learned that adults do not always do the right thing or make the right decisions.
I know that I have a right to wear a shirt with those five words.Even at 12 years old.
I have my own political opinions and I have a right to express those opinions. Even at school. This right is called the First Amendment to the Constitution.