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Native American student denied diploma for wearing tribal feather

Somerville

Somerville

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This is bizarre and I think will cost this school a lot of money
Native American student denied diploma for wearing tribal feather

Chelsey Ramer, a Native American student, is being denied her high school diploma until she pays a $1,000 fine for wearing a tribal feather on her cap during her graduation from Escambia Academy High School in Atmore, Alabama.

The 17-year-old is a member of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians and wore the eagle feather to celebrate her heritage in defiance of the school's "no extraneous items" policy.

<snip>

Alex Alvarez, who is Creek, a former teacher of Ramer’s said parents and tribal council members had requested to speak with the school board to discuss the eagle feather but were denied. He wrote about the issue in his local newspaper, but the school did not change its position.
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The actions of the school board could be seen as not only racist but also religious discrimination.
 
Somerville said:
The actions of the school board could be seen as not only racist but also religious discrimination.
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Some people might see it that way but I think they would be wrong. She wasn’t singled out. It is a blanket rule against extraneous apparel and they weren’t making exceptions.

That said, the school should dismiss the fine and give her the diploma. According to the article, though, she never signed the agreement that was passed around promising not to wear such items. If that is true, the school is on weak ground.
 
Somerville said:
This is bizarre and I think will cost this school a lot of money


The actions of the school board could be seen as not only racist but also religious discrimination.
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I don't think so. I don't necessarily agree with the policy of the school, but it was a broad rule that didn't single her or other Native Americans out. I don't think is a racist or religiously discriminatory policy.
 
Unless her religion forces her to wear a feather I don't see how it's discrimination especially if she isn't being singled out. It's also not racist.

Although I don't see how they can force her to pay a $1000 fine over the ordeal. That's what troubles me.
 
Hmmm so graduating isn't "a feather in your cap?"

:2razz:
 
I was unaware that the Poarch Creek had a tribal feather.

Since the 1960's so many AMA types have adopted or stolen customs and cultures from other tribes and called them theirs.

I always get a laugh when I drive by the San Manuel Indian Casino. The San Manuel Indians are Serrano Indians considered to be mission Indians in Southern California. They were not warriors or hunters but gathers. They were egg corn eaters.

But this tribe borrowed from the plains Indians probably Comanche or some other southern plains tribe the war shield which no California Indians never carried. The war shield was never part of the Serrano Indians.
san_manuel.gif
 
She's part of the people that must be assimilated, so why allow her to do something this significant? If she were a hillbilly valedictorian trying to push through his bible thumper views on everyone else, a southern state would probably have no issue with this.
 
The headmaster was dismissed after the incident and the school board is aware that something wrong has been done to the Native American student. The former headmaster possibly violated the American Indian Religious Freedom Act which protects the traditional religious rights such as the use and possession of objects considered sacred. Wearing a tribal feather in a graduation ceremony is within the scope of this legislation and the student should be given the diploma without paying the fine.

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Betty Warren has resigned as headmaster at Escambia Academy (EA) and rumors about the reason for her resignation have made it all the way into the national press. In what one insider connected with the resignation called “irresponsible reporting,” various media outlets have attempted to paint the situation at EA as stemming from situation with a Poarch student, Chelsey Ramer, wearing an eagle feather at graduation against school policy. New Escambia Academy board chairman Ben Smith went on record as saying, “The incident with the feather had absolutely nothing to do with Warren’s resignation. The policy regarding what could and could not be worn in the graduation ceremony was in place and all the students were aware of it. It was the decision of the student to violate the policy.” The reasons that the board and Warren decided to part ways have not yet been made public, but the supposition that somehow a policy determined by the board and enforced by Warren should be the reason defies logic.
Warren resigns at EA – Not due to
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Somerville said:
This is bizarre and I think will cost this school a lot of money

Native American student denied diploma for wearing tribal feather

Chelsey Ramer, a Native American student, is being denied her high school diploma until she pays a $1,000 fine for wearing a tribal feather on her cap during her graduation from Escambia Academy High School in Atmore, Alabama.

The 17-year-old is a member of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians and wore the eagle feather to celebrate her heritage in defiance of the school's "no extraneous items" policy.

<snip>

Alex Alvarez, who is Creek, a former teacher of Ramer’s said parents and tribal council members had requested to speak with the school board to discuss the eagle feather but were denied. He wrote about the issue in his local newspaper, but the school did not change its position.​

The actions of the school board could be seen as not only racist but also religious discrimination.
Click to expand...

No, not racist nor religiously discriminatory. Just dumb and small-minded, and very likely criminal. As has been pointed out, this was over a general “‘no extraneous items’ policy” that did not single anyone or anything out on any basis of race or religion.

A diploma is not about conforming to some silly set of arbitrary rules pertaining to the graduation ceremony; it is about the academic achievement leading up to that ceremony. Ms. Ramer apparently met these achievements, and rightfully earned her diploma, before the ceremony even took place; and I can see no justification for her to be denied this diploma on the basis of events that occurred after she had rightfully earned it. Further, I think the attempt to coerce her into paying a “fine” of $1,000 before she may receive what is already rightfully hers amounts to fraud and/or extortion. In fact, I believe the $1,000 figure is right about the boundary that might make this crime a felony rather than a misdemeanor.
 
I see this as a student deliberately breaking school policy, the same as the valedictorian broke school policy by reciting an unapproved religious prayer.

The religious kid, however, did not get fined or have his diploma withheld. Although I have no problem with the school disciplining her, $1,000 and withholding her diploma is definitely overkill against this Native American student for her feather.
 
This is on the same levek of stupidity as the pop tart gun brew-ha-ha. These numb-nuts can't deny her fom getting her diploma. Just goes to show that education and intelligence aren't the same thing.
 
apdst said:
This is on the same levek of stupidity as the pop tart gun brew-ha-ha. These numb-nuts can't deny her fom getting her diploma. Just goes to show that education and intelligence aren't the same thing.
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Everyday there is some occurrence that shows this system to be broken and utterly stupid. Wouldn't it be nice if there was a choice? That education funds were actually attached to kids rather than administrators and teachers.
 
Fishstyx said:
Everyday there is some occurrence that shows this system to be broken and utterly stupid. Wouldn't it be nice if there was a choice? That education funds were actually attached to kids rather than administrators and teachers.
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All we hear from educators is that aren't paid enough. Stuff like this makes me think they'te way overpaid.

And, all we hear from the Libbos, is how we need to shutup and let the edicated folks make all the decisions.
 
apdst said:
All we hear from educators is that aren't paid enough. Stuff like this makes me think they'te way overpaid.

And, all we hear from the Libbos, is how we need to shutup and let the edicated folks make all the decisions.
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You shouldn't overgeneralize the stupidity of one teacher to teachers in general. There's stupid everywhere, no matter what the field.
 
When several of my fellow high school graduates decided to 'celebrate' graduation by doing something against school rules during the ceremony (and busted before they could accomplish it), they were not permitted to attend the ceremony, but got their diplomas mailed to them. The punishment fit the crime.

$1000 fine? Are they nuts?
 
GottaGo said:
When several of my fellow high school graduates decided to 'celebrate' graduation by doing something against school rules during the ceremony (and busted before they could accomplish it), they were not permitted to attend the ceremony, but got their diplomas mailed to them. The punishment fit the crime.

$1000 fine? Are they nuts?
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I agree. That's a pretty hefty fine for something that was relatively minor. Some law breakers don't even have to pay fines that big.
 
zstep18 said:
You shouldn't overgeneralize the stupidity of one teacher to teachers in general. There's stupid everywhere, no matter what the field.
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The profession should spend more time purging it's ranks of the stupidty, before demanding pay raises.
 
GottaGo said:
When several of my fellow high school graduates decided to 'celebrate' graduation by doing something against school rules during the ceremony (and busted before they could accomplish it), they were not permitted to attend the ceremony, but got their diplomas mailed to them. The punishment fit the crime.

$1000 fine? Are they nuts?
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I would tell them to stick their fine up their asses. I mean, really, what are they going to do?
 
Seems to me like the school board is making too much of this. First off, this feather is part of her heritage, and considering how important this can be to her, I think the board should have made an exception. I know that technically she broke the rules, and she shouldn't have, but this didn't have to occur. Oh and the $1000 fine is ridiculous.
 
GottaGo said:
When several of my fellow high school graduates decided to 'celebrate' graduation by doing something against school rules during the ceremony (and busted before they could accomplish it), they were not permitted to attend the ceremony, but got their diplomas mailed to them. The punishment fit the crime.

$1000 fine? Are they nuts?
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apdst said:
I would tell them to stick their fine up their asses. I mean, really, what are they going to do?
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They're going to withhold her diploma. Illegally. She had already earned her diploma before this dispute arose, and it is rightfully hers.

Really, I wonder where it is that they think they get the authority to impose such a fine, or to attempt to collect it. They are not a law enforcement agency nor a court. I very much doubt if there was any proper due process involved in their effort to impose this fine. $1,000 is a felony-level fine. I don't think any government agency at any level has the authority to impose such a fine without giving the subject of that fine a chance at a full trial by jury.
 
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Somerville said:
This is bizarre and I think will cost this school a lot of money


The actions of the school board could be seen as not only racist but also religious discrimination.
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These same morons, posing as academic administrators, probably were all wearing ties or earrings and can't get a grasp of the meaning of extraneous decoration.
 
Texmex said:
Seems to me like the school board is making too much of this. First off, this feather is part of her heritage, and considering how important this can be to her, I think the board should have made an exception. I know that technically she broke the rules, and she shouldn't have, but this didn't have to occur. Oh and the $1000 fine is ridiculous.
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I think the school board should have never passed this dumbass rule, to begin with.
 
apdst said:
I think the school board should have never passed this dumbass rule, to begin with.
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Nor do I think they had the authority. As I previously mentioned, $1,000 is a felony-level fine. This means that in order for it to be legitimately imposed, the violator would have had to be properly tried and convicted of violating a felony-level criminal law. To enact such a law, in most states, requires the entire legislative process carried out by elected representatives of the people; not a small group of appointed bureaucrats. This whole thing is solid digestive waste from a male bovine.
 
If she sues, she wins and it's the school board's fault. Each and every one of them should be ousted. They've done damage not only to the district budgetarily, but image wise AND they've pierced the illusory veil of authority admins and teachers could generally count on until the kids are graduated and gone.
 
Somerville said:
This is bizarre and I think will cost this school a lot of money


The actions of the school board could be seen as not only racist but also religious discrimination.
Click to expand...

unless they are selective in their application, I am unsure how a blanket ban can be racist or discriminatory.
 
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