"You know you love Kok"

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=1675&dept_id=18171&newsid=11714407&PAG=461&rfi=9

A student election at Chichester High School turned ugly last Friday after a candidate for senior vice-president was suspended for trying to launch a write-in campaign. It got downright nasty Monday when sympathetic students decided to show their election-day support for the banned candidate.

Six more students were ultimately suspended for what school officials saw as "insubordination." Some students and parents, in contrast, are calling it a "ridiculous" product of the school’s zero-tolerance policy -- not to mention undemocratic.

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Either way, Justin Loretto got to sleep late Tuesday morning. The ninth-grader received a one-day suspension Monday for refusing to remove a makeshift shirt label supporting Eric Kok, an 11th-grade student who was barred from running for senior vice-president based on a disputed election technicality.

"I don’t know why it would have upset them so much," said Loretto, who was lounging around his house Tuesday morning, catching up on his reading.

The school’s student handbook says a candidate for office must have a cumulative grade-point average of 2.0 or higher, according to Kok, whose cumulative GPA is about 2.2. At some point prior to the election, the requirement was apparently raised to 2.5, which made Kok ineligible for the position. (The student handbook is posted on the Chichester School District Web site and states that the minimal cumulative GPA needed to participate in sports and extra-curricular activities is 2.0.)

So Kok tried to run a write-in campaign by hanging a few homemade posters around the school, asking students to write his name on the ballot. School officials responded by confiscating the posters last Friday, escorting Kok off the property and suspending him until after the election.

"I think they just took it way too far. They could have just took the posters and said I can’t hang posters or whatever, but they just had to suspend me on the spot," said Kok, who acknowledged that he has not always been a "model student." Because of his past, Kok believes he was shafted by the school administration.

Principal James Donnelly said Tuesday he had "no comment about any discipline issues that pertain to any students. I can’t comment on that. It’s confidential."

Chichester School District Superintendent Michael Golde was unaware of the situation. "Even if I were, I wouldn’t be allowed to comment," he said.

Because Kok’s name is pronounced "Coke," some teachers may have interpreted the messages as a reference to cocaine. The labels worn by students were:

"Free Kok. Join the Movement"
"You Know You Love Kok. Vote Kok"
"Kok, stay firm!"
"Dont come a knocking when the Kok is a rockin"
"Give us kok!"
"Kok, hard on... school politics"
"Kok stands firm... on school"
"Got Kok?"
"We want Kok!"

Some parents say the crackdown on their children was a case of disciplinary overkill and a violation of their freedom of speech. Kok’s parents, Jack and Barbara, are meeting with school officials this afternoon to get to the bottom of the story.

"Some of the students taped signs on their shirts and I think that really rubbed the administration the wrong way. But so what? It’s high school," said Jack Kok. "It seems they take that stuff way too seriously and hide behind the zero-tolerance rule."

Eric Kok took advantage of his suspension Tuesday afternoon to help paint a friend’s house and make some cash on the side. Though heavy-handed, Kok said school officials’ reaction to his supporters was somewhat predictable.

"If (students) rebel like that and support a person who got in trouble," he said, "that makes them really mad, just really peeved."

Discuss.

Discuss what?

Yeah, stuff like this happens alot.

Its no big deal- a few feeling got hurt.
Your in their school, your their bitch. Do what they want.

You have very limited civil rights in High School.  I always found some of this BS infuriating.  I had my own run ins with administration over consitutional issues when I was in High School.  There is no recourse.  You are their slave until you escape.  

Such a good model for the real world.

the only answer is bring a gun to school and kill everyone.

[videoholic]

FUnny how they are saying the teachers are bitching because his name was pronounced like Coke and people thought of it as cocaine.

Well judging by:
"Kok, stay firm!"
"Kok, hard on... school politics"
"Kok stands firm... on school"



They certainly aren\'t talking about cocaine.


I liked this line from the writer....

"Because of his past, Kok believes he was shafted by the school administration."

ya went waaaay over there heads typical. This is why only 1st grade and 2nd grade teachers actually have an impact on our youth because there are young enough to still "get it"

Reminds me of my school just more extreme. This is just rediculous. I bet they are suberbians (burbies). Who could give a shit about something as trivial as supporting a candidate that really should have the ability to run. I bet that kid was black. heh j/k

My school despite some rules is so free and liberal that it get kinda crazy sometimes. You should see what people wear etc. Its a messed up world. I cant imagine my generation (or around mine) running the country. Hello the Dark Ages...vol2 *shrugs*

Originally posted by Cyrus
ya went waaaay over there heads typical. This is why only 1st grade and 2nd grade teachers actually have an impact on our youth because there are young enough to still "get it"

that\'s why I love working with my kids, they are 1st and 2nd graders.  You really get a feeling that you can make a difference, as it isn\'t \'too late" to help them.

Kid\'s these days are so screwed up its not even funny. I look at my bro\'s graduating class and thinking damn they are immature, and far worse than we ever were.

^^^People probably said the same thing about your class.

The more things change...

**** it.

My school, and all schools are ****ed. The next generations will be too. The past of ours, and the past of theirs, on and on were all " ****ed ".

Lol, i found that quite funny


i need to grow up

[videoholic]

Originally posted by mjps21983
Kid\'s these days are so screwed up its not even funny. I look at my bro\'s graduating class and thinking damn they are immature, and far worse than we ever were.

Originally posted by Black Samurai
^^^People probably said the same thing about your class.

The more things change...

School is no different today than it was when I was in school.
Or my dad was in school.
Or his dad.

Kids are doing the same damn things.  It\'s just in the past it was just part of growing up.  Now it\'s immaturity and craziness.

Yes kids graduating today are immature little a-holes.  But so were we.

Originally posted by videoholic
School is no different today than it was when I was in school.
Or my dad was in school.
Or his dad.

Kids are doing the same damn things.  It\'s just in the past it was just part of growing up.  Now it\'s immaturity and craziness.

Yes kids graduating today are immature little a-holes.  But so were we.

Your grand dad was posting pornography back in the day?

Damn. Must have been one crazy guy to do that back then.