The school administrators and at least one teacher at Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Virginia, apparently need a refresher course in the U.S. Constitution.
It seems they’ve forgotten that freedom of speech, including political speech, is a fundamental right in America guaranteed by the First Amendment.
In one of the more disturbing and disappointing incidents involving repression of political thought in schools, a teacher at Episcopal High reportedly referred to a 17-year old female student as a “little s---” for holding conservative views.
What’s more, the teen was allegedly bullied online by her peers, threatened with a disciplinary hearing, and faces expulsion from the 150-year old school.
Why? For the high crime of sharing mainstream conservative content from Turning Point USA and Prager University on her Instagram account, says the girl’s attorney Jesse Binnall.
“What’s really incredible, what started all this, is she decided to post sympathies for the family of David Dorn, a retired police officer who was killed by a rioter. And her classmates went crazy,” Binnall said.
Dorn, an African-American who retired from the police force with the rank of captain, was killed in August 2020 during the St. Louis riots. He was responding to an alarm at a pawnshop he had been hired to protect.
“They started attacking her, body shaming her, they attacked her for a prior interracial relationship...it was absolutely vile,” Binnall maintains.
According to the online publication Townhall, the girl is also facing backlash from Episcopal High and her peers for criticizing the school’s decision to invite partisan activist Ibram X. Kendi to speak at the school.
Kendi recently characterized Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett as a “white colonizer,” because she adopted two black children from Haiti.
Perhaps the most tragic aspect of the Episcopal High School case is not that the full fury of today’s cancel culture is once again raining down on a minor—the nation saw this before with Nicolas Sandman, another 17-year old.
The tragedy here is that it’s coming from the very institution that should be protecting this child from the bullying of her peers and repression of her First Amendment rights.
No doubt sensing a flood of criticism from the public and the media, Charles Stillwell, Head of School at Episcopal High released a statement to students claiming, “the situation is far more complex, and different than what is being presented” and "we do not discipline students for their political positions."
Binnall dismissed these assurances and demanded that Stillwell resign. The student herself also rejects the school’s contention that there is more to the story.
“In reality, the school is hiding behind the horror of its administrators’ actions, trying to use it as a cover by hoping that the school’s community and the public will believe that there must be more to this," he said. "There is not.”
Binnall isn’t optimistic about the treatment his client will receive at the upcoming disciplinary hearing.
“They are denying her any outside advisor or advocate at the hearing. She is limited to her school advisor or a faculty member, none of whom will advocate on her behalf or give her the impartial advice she needs or the emotional support she deserves before being put in front of a hard-left virtual firing squad.”
If you have $63,000 a year to spend on tuition, you too can send your child to Episcopal High School. They have very high standards. And they’re making it crystal clear exactly what those standards are and to whom they apply.
Fortunately, everyone is able to acquire an education on The Constitution and our Founding principles at no charge. Please visit ConventionofStates.com to learn more.
