Pubdate: Tue, 26 Jun 2007 Source: StarPhoenix, The (CN SN) Copyright: 2007 The StarPhoenix Contact: http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/letters.html Website: http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/400 Author: Randy Burton REALITY CHECK NEEDED IN WAWOTA Just when you thought Saskatchewan was becoming part of the modern world, along comes a story that turns the clock back 40 years. If it were the '60s, a story like Kieran King's would not be considered unusual. Today, it just sounds like reefer madness has struck the school system in Wawota, a leafy town of 600 in the southeast part of the province. King is the 15-year-old who was suspended from school for three days and lost the chance to write his Grade 10 final exams because he had the temerity to question what he had been told in school. Following a presentation on the dangers of drug use, King did some research on his own into the relative dangers of alcohol, tobacco and marijuana. He concluded that cannabis might be the least hazardous of the three, and shared his opinion with some of his fellow students. One of them complained to principal Susan Wilson, who called King's mother to complain. His mother, Joanne Euler, explained that A-student Kieran is a bit of a computer freak who compulsively researches everything. However, he doesn't smoke or drink, and he certainly doesn't push drugs to other kids, she said. In spite of this, the principal warned that "if he talks about it again, I will be calling the police." When his mother relayed this to Kieran, he felt his right to free speech was being trampled on. He responded by calling the Saskatchewan Marijuana Party, who helped him organize a mini-demonstration. They planned a school walkout for free speech for June 12, but just before it was about to happen, the principal declared no one could leave. Students who tried found the doors barred and teachers there ordering kids back to class. King and his younger brother, Lucas, escaped the dragnet and joined a group of about five protesters with placards and a megaphone across from the school. The principal called the RCMP and ordered a lockdown, ostensibly to ensure the safety of the students. The boys' mother was called to the school and told they were suspended for three days. The RCMP then conducted a "threat assessment" on Kieran in the company of school counsellors. School officials justified this by claiming that he had promoted marijuana as an alternative to alcohol about a half dozen times over the previous year. How this qualifies as a security threat remains to be revealed but, in any event, no one had ever told his mother about it. Like any chain of dominoes, this one didn't end there. Kieran wanted to write his final exams early because he was off to China for the summer to teach English. Because of his suspension, he was unable to do so, meaning his 80 per cent average is more likely to be in the 50s. His mother has appealed to the school board to allow him to write the tests later. Unfortunately, this story confirms many of the worst stereotypes about Saskatchewan. So far, no one at Wawota School has been able to produce any evidence that Kieran King was actually promoting drug use. Secondly, you have to wonder if anyone would have complained had he been arguing that beer is actually a pretty good health food, or that smoking bans are an infringement on civil liberties. In cases like those, it's easy to imagine that the authorities would merely smile, nod and look the other way. Any mention of the Demon Weed, however, is met with a good deal more skepticism. In Wawota, it would appear that freedom of speech extends only so far as the school principal's value set will allow. The school's response can only be described as hysterical. Locking down the facility and calling in the RCMP is something that is normally reserved for occasions when there is a real and present danger to students. No one is going to take it seriously if the principal uses it every time some kid starts spouting a cause. As for the Marijuana Party protesters, they looked about as threatening as the cast from a Muppets movie. I know this because they posted portions of their demo on YouTube, an event that featured a disjointed conversation with a school official and a screaming match with a profane nurse about the meaning of free speech. The whole event would have made for a very interesting social studies class, had the school not simply decided to declare the entire topic unfit for discussion. Of course, the national news media doesn't see it that way. Toronto's Globe and Mail covered the story for three days running last week, and the issue has sparked unflattering editorials across the country. So once again, the Land of Living Skies makes a name for itself as the Home of the Knee Jerk Reaction. We really do need to get a grip. - --- MAP posted-by: Derek