A North Carolina high school boy was suspended for three days because he used the term “illegal alien” on a vocabulary assignment.
Leah McGhee’s 16-year-old son, who attends Central Davidson High School in Lexington, was given a list of vocabulary words by his teacher, one of which was the word “alien.” She said her son was trying to clarify exactly what the term referred to, asking, “Like space aliens or illegal aliens without green cards?”
The Carolina Journal procured an email that said another high school boy was offended by the question and reportedly threatened to fight McGhee’s son. The teacher notified the assistant principal, which led to the school’s administration deciding the question was offensive and disrespectful to Hispanics in the classroom.
“I didn’t make a statement directed towards anyone; I asked a question,” McGhee’s son stated. “I wasn’t speaking of Hispanics because everyone from other countries needs green cards, and the term “illegal alien” is an actual term that I hear on the news and can find in the dictionary.”
“Because of his question, our son was disciplined and given THREE days OUT of school suspension for ‘racism,’” Leah McGhee declared. “He is devastated and concerned that the racism label on his school record will harm his future goal of receiving a track scholarship. We are concerned that he will fall behind in his classes due to being absent for three consecutive days.”
According to the school district’s student handbook, “schools may place restrictions on a student’s right to free speech when the speech is obscene, abusive, promoting illegal drug use, or is reasonably expected to cause a substantial disruption to the school day.”
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The handbook also notes, “A student must be provided with an opportunity for an informal hearing with the principal before a short-term suspension is imposed. The principal or designee may hold the hearing immediately after giving the student oral or written notice of the charges against him or her. At the informal hearing, the student has the right to be present, to be informed of the charges and the basis for the accusations against him or her, and to make statements in defense or mitigation of the charges.”