Westfield High School seniors Ryan Angco and Tom Costello recently were suspended and barred from attending graduation after taking part in a "Star Wars"-style duel in the cafeteria. Readers of MassLive.com and The Republican react to Principal Ray Broderick's disciplinary decision.
WESTFIELD -- High School seniors Ryan Angco and Tom Costello recently were suspended and barred from attending graduation after taking part in a "Star Wars"-style duel in the cafeteria. This story followed other regional stories about seemingly heavy-handed punishments doled out to students for offenses such as the Connecticut teen who asked a girl to prom by spelling out his proposal with cardboard letters on an exterior school wall.
The mock duel, replete with plastic light sabers, earned Angco and Costello a standing ovation from classmates -- and a 10-day suspension from Westfield High School Principal Raymond Broderick, who claimed the boys "very easily could have hit another student."
Did Principal Broderick overreact? Should Costello and Angco get to graduate with their classmates?
Here's what online readers of MassLive.com and The Republican are saying:
01020ishome says:
Once again, a knee-jerk reaction by out-of-touch administrators. They're plastic light sabres! 'someone could have gotten hurt.' What bilge.
mishigan says:
This is what happens when lawyers scare the crap out of teachers and administrators. They have lost all common sense because someone may sue. Reinstate them NOW you cowards.
fun2rt says:
Instead of calling the school 'cowards' or a 'knee-jerk' decision, I think it takes a great deal of courage to make the tough discipline decisions. Allowing this kind of behavior to occur with the slap on the wrist will only challenge other students to push the envelope further in the future as clear limits are not set.
vert says:
Principal Raymond Broderick ... is simply afraid some parent will sue the school because their precious baby was traumatized by this. I hope the parents of these kids (Angco and Costello) sue the school for the emotional trauma of being barred from graduation. I think they have a good case.
sixdemonbag says:
School officials are really out of touch. So they crack down on this, yet shrug their shoulders when serious bullying occurs? Yeah, OK.
Do you have a comment you would like to share? Visit the most recent story here and join the conversation.