"Tifton- At the Tift County School Board meeting Tuesday night, nothing about Hannah Smith and Principal Mike Duck was on the agenda, but you wouldn't have known it by the choice of clothing.
Students and staff piled in to support their principal, most of them wearing t-shirts with "We support Mr. Duck" printed on them.
This saga started when Mr. Duck disciplined several students for wearing clothing containing "anarchy symbols". In protest of what she saw as a violation of those student's "free speech" rights, 18 year old Junior, Hannah Smith wore a shirt to school that said Freedom of Expression on the front and Don't Drink and Drive on the back.
This may not sound like a particularly controversial message until it is understood that six years ago, the principal, Mr. Duck was arrested for DUI. Smith's shirt was thus meant to embarras Mr. Duck.
After Ms. Smith refused to remove the shirt, Mr. Duck suspended her for violation of the school dress code which states that clothing may not contain disruptive symbols.
Most of the students at the meeting supported Mr. Duck's decision "Because [they felt] that Mr. Duck was perfectly within his administrative rights to take disciplinary measures,".
Staff and students say their principal did the right thing. Smith wasn't at the meeting, but her mother did speak. Though most at the meeting were silently protesting against Ms. Smith, her mother thanked them, stating that, by wearing their protest shirts, they were "silently recogni[zing] what Hannah wants everyone to understand. You have the freedom of expression,"(Yeah, Right!)
HO-HO-HO LOOK AT YOU KNOW.
ALL wrong....Wrong I tell you!
I'M the Wiz--and Nobody Beats Me!
