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The ban on her right to return to the school having been lifted,<ref name=verdict/> Sierra returned to Sissonville High in August 2002.<ref name=hafen>{{cite news |first=Josh |last=Hafenbrack |coauthors=Smith, Carrie |title=Teen anarchist leaves Sissonville |work=[[Charleston Daily Mail]] |date=[[2002-09-13]] |accessdate=2008-03-22 }}</ref> In her first week back at the school, she was harassed, mocked and insulted by other students. Previous principal Forrest Mann having resigned from the school system following the controversy,<ref>{{cite news |first=Anna L. |last=Mallory |title=Ex-principal at Sissonville hired as adviser at Hoover. |work=[[Charleston Gazette]] |publisher=Daily Gazette Company |date=[[2006-03-23]] |accessdate=2008-03-22 |quote=Mann retired from the school system in 2002 after his decision to suspend then 15-year-old student Katie Sierra}}</ref> his successor Calvin McKinney identified Sierra's "questionable attire" – a t-shirt of [[punk rock|punk]] band [[Anti-Flag]] – as a possible trigger of her negative reception.<ref name=hafen/> Although she had secured a sponsor for the anarchist club, McKinney did not grant his approval, citing the need for a lengthy legal confirmation process. After attending Sissonville High for five days, Sierra dropped out of the school.<ref name=hafen/>
The ban on her right to return to the school having been lifted,<ref name=verdict/> Sierra returned to Sissonville High in August 2002.<ref name=hafen>{{cite news |first=Josh |last=Hafenbrack |coauthors=Smith, Carrie |title=Teen anarchist leaves Sissonville |work=[[Charleston Daily Mail]] |date=[[2002-09-13]] |accessdate=2008-03-22 }}</ref> In her first week back at the school, she was harassed, mocked and insulted by other students. Previous principal Forrest Mann having resigned from the school system following the controversy,<ref>{{cite news |first=Anna L. |last=Mallory |title=Ex-principal at Sissonville hired as adviser at Hoover. |work=[[Charleston Gazette]] |publisher=Daily Gazette Company |date=[[2006-03-23]] |accessdate=2008-03-22 |quote=Mann retired from the school system in 2002 after his decision to suspend then 15-year-old student Katie Sierra}}</ref> his successor Calvin McKinney identified Sierra's "questionable attire" – a t-shirt of [[punk rock|punk]] band [[Anti-Flag]] – as a possible trigger of her negative reception.<ref name=hafen/> Although she had secured a sponsor for the anarchist club, McKinney did not grant his approval, citing the need for a lengthy legal confirmation process. After attending Sissonville High for five days, Sierra dropped out of the school.<ref name=hafen/>



==Reaction to controversy==
The controversy over Sierra's suspension and the subsequent trial drew local, national and international media attention. Initial reaction to Sierra's actions from the local media was scathing. This was later attributed by Sierra's lawyers and Dan Radmacher – editor of the ''Charleston Gazette'' – to Principal Mann's repetition in his comments to the ''Gazette'' of Jacob Reed's statements concerning Sierra's message.<ref name=teenarchist/><ref name=rad>{{cite journal |first=Dan |last=Radmacher |title=Who were the real sophomores in the Katie Sierra case? |journal=[[Charleston Gazette]] |publisher=Daily Gazette Company |date=[[2002-06-12]] |accessdate=2008-03-22 }}</ref> The ''[[Charleston Daily Mail]]'' called Sierra's "thoroughly egocentric exercise" of her [[constitutional rights]] "tiresome."<ref>{{cite journal |last=Walker |first=Jesse |authorlink=Jesse Walker |year=2002 |month=February |title=Club Anarchy: Why high school sucks |journal=[[Reason (magazine)|Reason]] |publisher=[[Reason Foundation]] |accessdate= 2008-03-22 |quote=The local Charleston Daily Mail praised the decision, arguing that "Americans cherish the freedoms guaranteed them under the Constitution, but the thoroughly egocentric exercise of those rights becomes tiresome."}}</ref> Sierra claims that callers to local radio stations "wanted to shoot me in the head. They wanted to send me to another country."<ref name=saxton/> Conversely, national and international observers were supportive of Sierra and sharply critical of the actions of the state. John Tinker, of ''[[Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District]]'', pledged his support for Katie, personally emailing Sierra to encourage her and offered to attend further court proceedings. Sierra reported, "he said he'd be in the front row of the courtroom..."<ref>{{cite news |title=John Tinker pledges support for pro-anarchy teen |url=http://www.freedomforum.org/templates/document.asp?documentID=15460||work=First Amendment Center/[[Associated Press]] |date=[[2001-12-01]] |accessdate=2008-03-22 }}</ref> [[United Kingdom|British]] political writer [[George Monbiot]] descried Sierra's treatment, citing it as an example of state [[persecution]] and the erosion of [[civil liberties]] in the United States,<ref name=monbiot/> while [[progressivism|progressive]] journalist [[Amy Goodman]] characterized it as evidence of "a new [[McCarthyism]]."<ref>{{cite interview |last=Sierra |first=Katie |url=http://www.archive.org/download/dn2001-1211/dn2001-1211-1_64kb.mp3 |interviewer=[[Amy Goodman]] |title=“When I Saw the Dead and Dying Afghani Children On TV, I Felt a Newly Recovered Sense Of National Security. God Bless America” &shy High School Suspends a 15-Year-Old Student for Anti-War T-Shirt" |callsign =[[Democracy Now!]] |date=[[2001-12-11]] |program=War and Peace |accessdate=2008-03-22 }}</ref> A [[New York University]] drama project investigating post-9/11 America composed a theater piece, ''United We Stand'', inspired by Sierra's actions.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Graeber |first=Laurel |date=[[2002-07-12]] |title=Family Fare |journal=[[The New York Times]] |publisher=[[The New York Times Company]] |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B06E0DD1330F931A25754C0A9649C8B63 |accessdate= 2008-03-22 }}</ref> Sierra was one of the "heroes" of [[Pulitzer Prize]]-winning author [[Dale Maharidge]]'s ''Homeland'', an examination of the [[mind-set]] behind the United States' post-9/11 [[jingoism]] and suppression of dissent.<ref name=sfgate>{{cite journal |last=Canfield |first=Kevin |date=[[2004-08-08]] |title=Emblems of a nation of discontent and dissent |journal=[[San Francisco Chronicle]] |publisher=[[Hearst Communications Inc.]] |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/08/08/RVGAV7V7BB1.DTL |accessdate= 2008-03-22 }}</ref> Portraying her as an unconventional and "good-hearted kid," Maharidge reported that Sierra took a [[telemarketing]] job following the cessation of the controversy: "She was supposed to make two sales a day. The first day, she made five sales, and continued at that rate. When I again talked with her in the winter, she was living in a dorm and attending [[Marshall University]] in West Virginia. She was happy and her only complaint was that the classes were too easy."<ref name=sfgate/>


==Beliefs==
==Beliefs==

Revision as of 02:05, 10 April 2008

Katie Sierra in the Land of the Free by Carlos Latuff

Katie Sierra (born 1986) is an American anarchist and anti-war activist who was controversially suspended from high school in October 2001 for opposing the bombing of Afghanistan.[1] At the age of 15, she was engaged in anti-war activism at her school, Sissonville High School near Charleston, West Virginia, wearing clothes with handwritten messages objecting to perceived U.S. militarism, racism, sexism and homophobia. When she applied for permission to start an anarchist club at the school, she was denied by the school's principal, and attempts at publicizing the club led to her being suspended from school for three days. Incendiary comments by the principal and the members of the school's board of education were reported in the press and provoked a controversy that garnered national and international media attention.

After verbal and physical assaults by Sierra's fellow students, her mother withdrew her from the school and, with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union, they initiated legal action against her headmaster and the school board. Initially unsuccessful and subject to various setbacks, these efforts eventually succeeded in overturning the school's decision not to allow the club, although the propriety of other actions by the school was upheld. Sierra briefly returned to Sissonville High in August 2002 before again withdrawing over peer harassment after less than a week. The actions and attitude of the school toward Sierra were sharply criticized in the media for what critics perceived as censorship and McCarthyism, as a dark sign of post-September 11th American society and its conception of freedom of speech. Sierra later went on to study at Marshall University in West Virginia.

Biography

Background and suspension

Sierra was born into a military family; her father fought in the Vietnam War and was later a civilian employee of the military, in which two of her brothers also served.[2] As a child, the family moved around frequently; prior to attending Sissonville High School in Pocatalico, West Virginia, a community near Charleston, Sierra had attended eleven schools and lived in Panama, New Mexico, Ohio and Kentucky.[3][4] Although described as a "good student with no history of behavioral problems",[4] she soon became embroiled in a controversy at the Charleston-area high school. On October 23 2001 Sierra asked the school's principal, Forrest Mann, if she could start an anarchist club at the school, after reading about the subject on Infoshop.org.[5] Among the possible club activities she mentioned were reading and discussion groups and community service, while flyers for the club also proposed starting a zine (called the Anny[5]) and a chapter of Food Not Bombs, a hunger charity. The club's manifesto declared "[t]his anarchist club will not tolerate hate or violence…It is our final goal to dispel myths about anarchism, especially the belief that anarchy is chaos and destruction."[4] Without reading Sierra's literature, Mann refused to grant permission for such a club in the school, and had to ask Sierra several times to return to class when he would not explain his decision.

To my students…the concept of anarchy is something that is evil and bad.

— Headmaster Forrest Mann, quoted in The Guardian[6]

Sierra attended class wearing t-shirts with handwritten political slogans, a practice she claimed to have adopted long before the September 11, 2001 attacks: among the messages written on the t-shirts were "Against Bush, Against Bin Laden" and "When I saw the dead and dying Afghani children on TV, I felt a newly recovered sense of national security. God bless America."[6] Reading the back of Sierra's t-shirt, fellow student and aspirant U.S. Marine Jacob Reed allegedly told her, "If you don't like this country, then fucking leave", and subsequently received detention.[4] The day of the incident, Mann summoned Sierra to his office and told her she would no longer be allowed to wear the shirts, and claimed that Sierra had violated his prior orders by making flyers for the club available to other students. Mann suspended her for three days, on the charge of disrupting the education of her fellow students.[4] Sierra then contacted the American Civil Liberties Union, who agreed to take up her cause. After a meeting between Sierra, the ACLU, Sierra's mother and Mann, the issue was considered settled.[4]

Escalation

On October 29, the day of Sierra's return to school, a meeting of the school's board of education was held which discussed the events of the previous week. Although some board members were initially helpful, comments turned hostile towards the end of the meeting, with Sierra being told "[t]his isn't something funny or cute…[y]ou're talking about overthrowing the government", and having her actions characterized as "like you stood up and waved a Japanese flag on Pearl Harbor day."[4] In reference to Sierra, president of the board Bill Raglin asked "[w]hat the hell is wrong with a kid like that?" and board member John Luoni accused Sierra of committing treason.[7] Sierra fled the meeting in tears. The following day, The Charleston Gazette published comments by Mann to the effect that the messages on Sierra's t-shirts included "I hope Afghanistan wins" and "America should burn."; Mann later claimed he had been misquoted, and that he had taken his information from Jacob Reed.[4] Students spit on Sierra's mother's car at Sissonville High, and her friends' parents wouldn't give her rides home from school.[8] Threats, taunting, jeering by her fellow students escalated into physical assaults, and Sierra's mother pulled her out of school;[9][10] the threats would ultimately cause Sierra to flee the town.[10]

It's truly a shame we have to take money away from students who want to learn in order to defend these costly and time-consuming frivolous lawsuits…[w]e have a dress code. If you have a problem with that, you can go to a private school or to another county.

School board member John Luoni[2]

The ACLU filed a suit on Sierra's behalf on December 9 2001 against the school district and Mann, but the suspension was immediately upheld in the Kanawha County circuit court.[2][4] Sierra's pro bono lawyers claimed that Mann was responsible for disruption, and that he could have taken the opportunity to teach his students about tolerance and constitutional rights instead of making misleading and incendiary comments in the media.[4] The defence countered by saying constitutional rights did not apply equally to adults and students, with the latter not having the same latitude with regards to freedom of speech. Judge James Stucky rejected Sierra's request for a preliminary injunction on November 2, citing her voluntary withdrawal from the county school system,[11] but scheduled a jury trial for her lawsuit for June 24. Stucky ruled that that the disruption Sierra caused at school overrode her right to free speech,[9] and told that he could not guarantee her safety at Sissonville High School.[12] The West Virginia Supreme Court voted 3-2 on November 27 against considering Sierra's petition to prevent the lower court from "continuing to deny her freedom of speech."[6]

Motivated by boredom and antipathy towards the "backward…narrow-minded…racist and sexist" residents of Charleston, Sierra ran away from home on April 8 2002.[13] Accompanied by a 24-year-old friend, Holly Elizabeth Taylor, she hitched rides with truckers to Raleigh, North Carolina. There, the self-proclaimed "road sisters" took in a concert by Tanya Donelly, whose attempts to convince them to turn back were futile. Although Sierra successfully eluded the police, Taylor was discovered by Sierra's mother and a private detective she had hired, forcing Sierra to continue alone to South Carolina where she stayed with a friend. Her mother and the private detective tracked her down after tracing her phone calls to friends, and they returned to West Virginia. Commenting on the escapade, Sierra declared "You're never free. You're always trapped. This is a corrupt society. I'm paranoid to even use the phone anymore."[13]

Trial and return to Sissonville

Katie went to school with an open mind hoping things would be different…I knew in the back of my mind that things would not be different because of the attitudes of the students and the faculty. I had my fingers crossed that it would be a better year.

Mother Amy Sierra[14]

The ACLU lawyers decided to drop their suit on June 5 that year after learning that Sierra had moved out of her mother's home and intended on traveling through Oregon, and therefore would not be present at the trial date.[15] A day later, they reversed their decision after consulting with Sierra's mother, who had to file the suit on behalf of her daughter, who was a minor at the time.[15] The subsequent trial lasted five days, attracting Court TV, coverage in several Japanese major newspapers and television shows,[16] and a gallery packed with supporters of both sides.[17] At the trial, Sierra's former English teacher Jean McCutcheon testified that Sierra's activities at Sissonville High had caused a "simmering feeling", and that she had counseled Sierra that it was a "terrible time in history" to start a club such as the one proposed.[18] Jacob Reed, the student who had been detained for his comments to Sierra, testified that the "only reason" for Sierra's actions was that she "wants attention", and queried as to why Sierra was opposed to what was "pretty much payback".[18] On July 12, the court ruled that Sierra had been justly suspended and forbidden to wear the t-shirts, but had been improperly denied the right to start a club.[19]

The ban on her right to return to the school having been lifted,[19] Sierra returned to Sissonville High in August 2002.[14] In her first week back at the school, she was harassed, mocked and insulted by other students. Previous principal Forrest Mann having resigned from the school system following the controversy,[20] his successor Calvin McKinney identified Sierra's "questionable attire" – a t-shirt of punk band Anti-Flag – as a possible trigger of her negative reception.[14] Although she had secured a sponsor for the anarchist club, McKinney did not grant his approval, citing the need for a lengthy legal confirmation process. After attending Sissonville High for five days, Sierra dropped out of the school.[14]


Beliefs

Sierra is an anarchist-pacifist who is opposed to all violence and advocates "a peaceful revolution."[4] In the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks, she was taken aback by the wave of "flag-waving", increasing patriotism and "blind, unthinking"[5] advocacy of war on the part of her fellow students, who she believed ignored existing problems such as racism and homophobia. At the time of the controversy, she voiced her belief that people in Sissonville High were permitted to talk about how they felt about certain things, so long as there were others who agreed with them.[5] She denies being anti-American,[4] and that anarchism implies support for terrorism (propaganda of the deed),[21] countering that it is an anti-authoritarian and non-violent philosophy.

As like any war I think it's wrong. I don't believe in fighting and last time I checked war is included. I don't know or have an answer for the war, but I do know that killing people is not right. I think our country is just too lazy to think of another solution.

— Sierra in interview with Infoshop.org, December 10, 2001[5]

Further reading

  • Maharidge, Dale (2004). Homeland. New York: Seven Stories Press. ISBN 1583226273.

References

  1. ^ Fuentes, Annette (2004-06-30). "Whose Homeland Is It?". In These Times. Institute For Public Affairs. Retrieved 2008-03-22. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ a b c "Student files lawsuit over anarchy club". West Virginia News/Associated Press. 2001-10-31. Archived from the original on 2001-12-10. Retrieved 2008-03-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ Bissett, Jim. "Democracy isn't always pretty". The Dominion Post. {{cite journal}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |month= (help)
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Teen anarchist sues school principal". Court TV. Courtroom Television Network LLC. 2002-09-17. Retrieved 2008-03-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ a b c d e "Infoshop Interviews - Katie Sierra". Infoshop.org. Archived from the original on 2007-04-19. Retrieved 2008-03-22.
  6. ^ a b c Monbiot, George (2001-12-18). "The Taliban of the west". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 2008-03-22. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ Colby, Michael (2001-11-07). "School Girl Gets the Boot for Anti-War Opinions". CounterPunch. Retrieved 2008-03-22. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |month= (help)
  8. ^ "West Virginia: Anarchist Teen Pulled From School". Associated Press. 2001-11-27. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ a b Wax, Emily (2001-12-09). "The Consequences of Objection". The Washington Post. The Washington Post Company. Retrieved 2008-03-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ a b Crumm, David (2004-09-04). "Author finds anger spreading across America". The Providence Journal. Knight Ridder Newspapers. Retrieved 2008-03-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ "Teenage anarchist to seek only $1". Associated Press. 2002-06-22. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ Eyre, Eric (2001-12-06). "'You have some decisions to make,' judge tells Sierra". Charleston Gazette. Daily Gazette Company. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ a b Eyre, Eric (2002-04-18). "Teen back home after hitchhiking to South Carolina". Charleston Gazette. Daily Gazette Company. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ^ a b c d Hafenbrack, Josh (2002-09-13). "Teen anarchist leaves Sissonville". Charleston Daily Mail. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  15. ^ a b Stirewalt, Chris (2002-06-20). "Lawsuit Will Continue without Katie Sierra". Charleston Daily Mail. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  16. ^ Stone, Greg (2001-11-29). "Anarchy story a hit in Japan". Charleston Gazette. Daily Gazette Company. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  17. ^ Messina, Laurence (2002-07-13). "Katie Sierra gets mixed verdict in suspension case". Charleston Gazette. Daily Gazette Company. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  18. ^ a b Stirewalt, Chris (2002-07-11). "Katie Sierra Focused on Rights". Charleston Daily Mail. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  19. ^ a b "Teen anarchist sues school principal". Court TV. Courtroom Television Network LLC. 2002-08-27. Retrieved 2008-03-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  20. ^ Mallory, Anna L. (2006-03-23). "Ex-principal at Sissonville hired as adviser at Hoover". Charleston Gazette. Daily Gazette Company. Mann retired from the school system in 2002 after his decision to suspend then 15-year-old student Katie Sierra {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  21. ^ Saxton, Michelle (2001-11-01). "Student loses bid to form high school anarchy club". Associated Press/South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Tribune Company. Archived from the original on 2006-12-06. Retrieved 2008-03-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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