I just read your previous post, comrade. You’re far stronger than you give yourself credit for, and that strength will help you get through this. Know that each and every one of us here thinks that you’re an amazing person that gives us hope for the next generation. Your strength will carry you through this conflict, and every conflict you face in the future.

i know things are super tough for you right now comrade, but i just want you to know that your situation and what you’ve done is incredibly inspiring. everyone here is proud of you and rooting for you. continue to keep us updated.

In a just society, someone who give any shit about the world around them should be rewarded and praised as an academic setting is supposed to produce open-minded and courageous thinkers.

Bring evidence and any documentation in your defense such as text messages, emails, and etc.

Know your rights regarding freedom of speech, protesting, and walkouts at school.

If your school administrators give you shit, you have every right to seek higher channels.

Some Law Information:

I am not a lawyer, but this should help, I took some media law classes.

Tinker v. Des Moines:

The Supreme Court, in a 7-2 decision, held that schools can only restrict student speech if it would “materially and substantially disrupt” the operation of the school or interfere with the rights of others. This standard, known as the “substantial disruption test” or “Tinker test,” remains the primary legal benchmark for evaluating student speech cases.

School are a Nonpublic forum:

In a nonpublic forum, authority figures may restrict contents of speech, as long as the restriction is reasonable and the restriction does not discriminate based on the speakers’ viewpoints.

https://firstamendment.mtsu.edu/article/public-forum-doctrine/

https://canons.sog.unc.edu/blog/2022/11/17/responding-to-first-amendment-audits-examples-of-forum-determinations/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forum_(legal)

Viewpoint Discrimination:

Viewpoint discrimination is against the first amendment.

https://firstamendment.mtsu.edu/article/viewpoint-discrimination/

Time, Place, and Manner Regulations:

This reflects regulations on speech depending on when, where, and how the speech was conducted. This is content-neutral (also implied to be viewpoint-neutral), this means that these regulations can not be used just because someone disagrees with the speech being conducted.

https://firstamendment.mtsu.edu/article/time-place-and-manner-restrictions/

Other Information:

https://www.aclu.org/news/free-speech/can-schools-discipline-students-protesting

https://www.aclu.org/news/free-speech/students-rights-speech-walkouts-and-other-protests

https://www.nyclu.org/resources/know-your-rights/your-rights-student-protester

Do you go to a public school? And have you considered just attending class anyway and forcing the issue? I suspect they are hoping to make all these issues quietly disappear, but that plan depends on your cooperation.

They’re going to try to intimidate and dissuade you in anyway possible.

Know your rights as a student and pass that knowledge onto your friends. It must be very overwhelming being the only one to organize, so maybe try to find likeminded people who can share the weight with you. I would try to find teachers that are in agreement with what you’re doing, along with staff and whatnot. You already have the support of students, so try to remember that. It might be time to work on some pamphlets to spread knowledge and info, I would also use it as a way to voice what’s been going on with the school admin.

I’m pretty sure they are not allowed to keep you from class.

There is no conflict to be resolved, you are exercising your freedom of speech. I think their worries are more along the lines of being responsible for the students even outside of school. From experience, the schools mostly care about the possibility of lawsuits…

edit: Also, do you have a support system? I read your previous post and you mentioned SA. From one survivor to another, I know how difficult it is, especially if you are alone. I would look for support groups near you. Im proud of you, ok?

Assuming you decide to meet with them, here’s some things that occurred to me.

1. Have you been documenting the things they’ve said to you? Are they communicating in digital/written formats? Having those receipts will be useful if you decide to try to take this show more public, or to threaten it.

2. You are in a tough spot, they have the power to keep you off the premises and the legal right to do so as I understand it. (Edit: talked to my partner, I understood wrong, there’s a good chance they’re bluffing apparently). However you have something they want, and that they can only get from you. They want this to blow over, you can figure out what that means to them and bargain with them about it. It almost certainly doesn’t mean headlines where a promising high school senior isn’t allowed to attend graduation because of their political views. Take their offer to ‘resolve the conflict’ seriously, I strongly suspect they want this to go away in the least obstructive way they can get it.

These people also weren’t born yesterday, there’s a reason they’re doing the same thing to you that they did to your friend- getting you alone makes it easier to get someone in a key position to flip on important demands. Meeting with them is an opportunity for both sides to try to get what they want in a less confrontational way, and the admin folks have experience talking young people into the correct position. If you agree to meet you will want to have a game plan with your parents and clear red lines you are not willing to cross, guiding principles to keep you from getting derailed in talks. But think hard about what those lines are, because if you get totally boxed out of campus and away from the people you’re helping organize that’s not really a win for you. Some things might need to be compromised on for the sake of bigger goals.

3. Assuming these people are mostly liberals, they see themselves as valuing speech and civic participation. They believe they want to train the next generation to be conscientious involved citizens. Exploit that belief. You want to express yourself. You have strong political beliefs. There is almost certainly some version of group expression they would accept, if/when you meet ask them what they think is an appropriate way for students to advocate for their political views. Show you’re interested in getting your views out there and that you are willing to assess the merits of different ways of doing that.

If their proposal is not acceptable to you, allude diplomatically to points 1 and 2: You can make this a bigger problem for them, or you can make this go away less painfully for them. Are there alternatives you would accept as a win? Advocate for those, try to propose actions that keep the people you’ve organized on side but will be more tolerable to the admin if they won’t budge.

4. As difficult as they are being, you will get further if you seem like you’re operating in good faith and being reasonable. Insist on things that you can pitch to liberals, appeal to values you know they believe themselves to hold. They have cards here, they have the more or less unlimited capability to keep you off premises. You have cards too, play well and I think you can negotiate something, which will demonstrate you’re serious to the admin and also make them less afraid of you and what you might do because you’re behaving in a way they understand.

Good luck, comrade. I join everyone else here in admiring your work and commitment.

You’re far stronger than most. You have all the reasons to feel overwhelmed. Keep in mind the most important thing right now, which is your well being. You’re not a veteran, grey-haired militant yet. You’re a kid. You must survive to fight another day.

You must trust your organisation. If the other students aren’t organised enough to be called an organisation yet, be patient. If no one steps up right now, be patient. You must learn that trying to do everything by yourself, putting the world on your shoulders, is a deviation. Let go of it. The fight must be collective. Don’t take individual responsibility for a collective fight.

You’ve done great. Be proud. You have a revolutionary duty to care for yourself right now. We’ll need you in the future.

(Also, as another tip: We don’t lie to fellow comrades or the masses. We absolutely may lie and deceive our adversaries. Evaluate whether this is useful.)

I went back and read your previous post and I am in awe of how strong you’ve been. How much you’re being targeted currently is a testament to how successful you’ve been.

How much training have you had on organizing? I also don’t say this to be critical, but just as observation; It seems from a cursory reading that you either did not anticipate the extent to which the administration would go in response to your actions or you did not put your organizer(s?) through an inoculation process. Please correct me if I’m wrong about that. I know there’s only so much detail you can include in a single post. It’s also tempting to think “If only I’d done more” when you’re already putting in so much work.

I don’t know much about student organizing and its standard practices. I’m more familiar with labor organizing. But I do see you working incredibly hard to breathe life into something that others are more just participants in and I recognize that dynamic. It’s very common while organizations are just starting to get momentum and I’ve been there. Labor organizing has an advantage of being well documented and having a well-established playbook on both sides. Because of that, inoculation is less a process of looking forward and more a process of looking back. Maybe that’s not so true with student organizing?

Regardless, I’m sorry you’re facing such a traumatic and unfair circumstance. I hope you find a way to make your organizing sustainable and healthy for you as it often chews straight through those who take it on.

You are such a badass. Seriously. Read the other post, and this one. Whatever you do, I know it will be the right thing. Don’t feel intimidated by the liberals, they will always side with negative peace, rather than fighting for positive peace. “

1. If peace means this, I dont want peace:

   1. If peace means accepting second class citizen ship I dont want it

   2. If peace means keeping my mouth shut in the midst of injustice and evil, I dont want it

   3. If peace means being complacently adjusted to a deadning staus quo, I dont want peace.

   4. If peace means a willingness to be exploited economically, dominated polically, humiliated and segregated, I dont want peace.\

In a passive non-violent manner we must revolt against this peace.
Jesus says in substance, I will not be content until justice, goodwill, brotherhood, love yes, the kingdom of God are established upon the earth. This is real peace. Peace is the presence of positive good.”

MLK

Is there anyone else who could share this burden of organizing and agitating? Like even if there is two of you, it’ll twice as hard for the admin to persecute

Whatever occurs, I wish you the best of luck going forward. You’ve done well already.

Just so I understand properly, you are being barred from attending class until you agree to no longer walkout of class in support of your principles? 🤔

Anyway, my (very limited) understanding of First Amendment protections for high school students is that they exist, but are not as strong as for college students or adults generally. The relevant landmark decision is from Tinker vs Des Moines, which basically says the administration can indeed infringe on students’ First Amendment rights if the exercise of those rights results in a “substantial disruption.” I imagine how difficult or easy it is for the administration to argue that a planned walkout results in a “substantial disruption” varies regionally, but is probably easier now in the current environment than it ever has been historically. That said, the case also did assert that “silent” protests like the wearing of armbands is not a “substantial disruption,” so perhaps there are still things you can pursue without fear of persecution.

Either way, I would like to echo the sentiments of respect and admiration for you and all you have done already, sympathy for what you have and had to endure, and hope for you now and in the future.