Posted on 06/04/2006 10:16:46 AM PDT by Excuse_My_Bellicosity
For Maquisha Cosey, vice president of Thornton Fractional North High School's class of 2006, graduation day is not one she'll soon forget.
And not for any of the sentimental reasons.
It's the day that Cosey, who was listed on Friday's graduation program as the leader of the pledge to the flag, was arrested and charged with criminal trespass and disorderly conduct after trying to participate in the ceremony despite being denied entry for being late.
"I know that this shouldn't have happened to me. It shouldn't happen to anyone," says the graduate.
Instead of celebrating her big day, she spent the evening at the Calumet City police station being fingerprinted and photographed because Principal Dwayne E. Evans, the Cosey family claims, was angry someone had let her into the ceremony after the doors were locked.
It was also her 18th birthday.
"I don't have all the facts yet," District 215 Supt. Robert Wilhite said Saturday. "I have a meeting scheduled for Monday morning with the staff of Thornton North to sort this all out."
Wilhite says he was told Cosey was arrested for "screaming and yelling in the gymnasium long after the graduation was all over." Court papers, with the principal listed as the complainant, allege she "knowingly and intentionally acted in an unreasonable manner and provoke[d] a breach of the peace by continually yelling and screaming and threatening the school staff during the graduation proceedings."
But Cosey, a member of student government who says she never had a discipline issue in four years of high school, denies that, saying, "That's just not my character."
Evans could not be reached for comment.
It all started when Cosey arrived at the high school in Calumet City two minutes before doors were scheduled to be locked. Invitations had clearly stated no one would be allowed in to the 6 p.m. ceremony after 5:55 p.m., and students had been instructed to arrive at 5 p.m.
That Cosey was late, she and her parents aren't disputing.
'I started crying and begging'
When Cosey came running to the door, a member of the faculty told her she could not come in and then locked the doors.
"I started crying and begging, and knocking on the door. My parents were begging them, too," Cosey said. But Assistant Principal Ray Williams told Cosey, her mother Roberta Cosey and stepfather Patrick Hill they'd have to go to the overflow room where everyone who arrived after 5:55 p.m. was sent, the Coseys said.
"We all were very upset. We understood about us, but we kept saying, 'At least they could have let her in,'" said Roberta Cosey. "My daughter was so hurt. I felt her pain. Walking across the stage is a one-time opportunity. You can't get that back."
Cosey said as her parents tried to reason with Calumet City police stationed outside entrances, she walked around the building and peered through windows at the ceremony.
Hauled off in police car
When it was almost over, a parent inside saw her pressed against a window in cap and gown and motioned her to a back door, where the parent and a police officer let her in and told her to take her reserved seat, even though she'd missed participating, Cosey said.
When faculty saw her in the gym, the dean of discipline, David Shrader, tapped her on the shoulder and said she would be dealt with afterward, Cosey said.
And as students filed out, Cosey, who is heading to Baker College in Muskegon, Mich., to study physical therapy, was corralled by police. She says Evans then asserted he wanted to press charges.
Cosey was hauled off in a police car, her parents unaware until told by her friends and other parents.
"At the station, they fingerprinted me and took a picture of me and everything," Cosey says, tears flowing. "Then I heard my principal's voice. ... He said it wouldn't have killed her to miss her graduation. But it wasn't his graduation. He can't tell me what it meant to me to not be part of it."
She posted $100 bond and has a July 17 court date -- the day she's due in Muskegon for orientation.
Welcome to the land of Zero Tolerance polices in public schools. Don't deal with parents send kids to jail and give them a criminal record. Stuff like this drives me insane.
Does sound diverse and from a random letter generator.
you're bad...that's EXACTLY what I thought after post # 3
As I said...Calumet City, and you don't know squat about the area. Next will be a big lawsuit.
It's amazing how some FReepers knock the MSM and then turn around and use it to back up their arguments.
Maquisha Fruit $1.59 a lb. This week only
"Zero tolerance versus common sense and decency."
And of course, you believe that rag of a MSM newspaper, the Chicago Sun-Times. Get real.
With that logic, why respond to anything in the news?
I don't know the situation, I was not there. Yet, my hunch is that the principal is probably in the right. If everyone was already seated, or if the graduates were scheduled to march in to the usual music, this young lady was late enough to disrupt the ceremony. What's so tough about being on time to your own graduation?
Seems to me the principal was likely protecting the intregrity of the ceremony.
"Mr. Dwayne Evans, a little man far too impressed with his position in life."
Perfect! You hit the nail on the head.
You can bet on it. The "Penguin" would have made sure that they were on time.
I suppose that is the problem with a "professional police force". Given a choice
Case 1. Make money by prosecuting indiduals guilty of minor stuff that is punished with fines, where the guilty are normally honest people.
Case 2. Lose money prosecuting violent crime against violent felons, where the guilty resist arrest, have diseases, and work in groups to counter the police.
The police justify their funding by Case 2, but would love to spend their time on Case 1. Bait and switch.
Yes, let the girl in late, so everyone can see her. Next year, see how many come in late, still wanting to graduate. While we're at it, no reason she should have to wear the same color cap and gown as the rest, let her wear purple and green (or red, green and black, perhaps). Maybe the school should just hold a "drop in" graduation over the weekend, and let students come and pick up their diplomas when they like.
/sarcasm
Graduation IS a special time, and it is important in the life of a graduate. Almost special enough to arrange to attend on time--almost, but not for everyone.
Didn't she know when the graduation started?
I just wonder why she was late.
It sounds like a real sad story. And yet, I'd really like to get ALL the information. Like, how much yelling and screaming and acting out was there? How late did they arrive? And why? What is the other side of the story? Often, when there is a 'pathetic victim' there is more to the story than meets the eye.
"With that logic, why respond to anything in the news?"
So let me get this straight. You believe everything you read in the papers? New York Times, Boston Globe, L.A. Times? Chicago Sun-Times?
You're confused.
Look at her first name.
No.
But they coulda let her in and the parents go to overflow. Tough call.
I will pray for your children and anyone unlucky enough to depend on you in a tight spot where some unbendable rule fits every situation. BTW you a lawyer?
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