Disciplined over school protest?

Inter-Lakes High School superintendent rebuffs questions about walkout

By THOMAS P. CALDWELL, LACONIA DAILY SUN

MEREDITH — School authorities are offering no further comment about a student walkout on Wednesday, including answering questions about a report that they are disciplining the student responsible.

The walkout, staged to honor the memories of the students killed in the Valentine’s Day shooting in Florida, and to protest Congress’s lack of action on calls to ban assault-type weapons, took 17 minutes out of the school day, after which the students returned to classes.

Calls to High School Principal Patti Murphy on Wednesday to find out how many students participated went unanswered throughout the day, until Superintendent Mary Moriarty sent out a brief press release, stating that, while it was not a school-sanctioned activity, the students were well-behaved and the school administration had been able to put measures in place to ensure student safety during the walkout.

The event arose from an email one student sent to the entire student body, calling for a peaceable protest between 12:30 and 12:47 p.m. The next day, there was an unconfirmed report that the school district is punishing the organizer.

Other questions arising from the event are how well the school’s emergency planning helped to meet the challenge, once the administration learned of the plans for students to be outside the building; whether the experience will help the district plan for a nationwide call for student action in March; and whether administrators see it as an opportunity to teach students the proper methods for planning such an observance, including notifying them so they could better coordinate the security measures necessary to ensure student safety during the event.

Repeated attempts to reach Moriarty for comment yesterday eventually resulted in an email from Marilyn Martell: “Mrs. Moriarty has asked me to confirm that you received the press release she sent yesterday in regards to the student's walk-out. She has indicated that there is no further comment beyond the information contained in the release. If you did not receive the press release please contact me and I will send it to you immediately.”