One student-protester sent to juvenile facility

Phoenix Staff Reports

February 07, 2007 12:48 pm

— One Hilldale High School student was taken to a juvenile facility Wednesday after refusing to stop screaming obscenities during a demonstration against the suspension of the school’s principal, police said.
Students have been demonstrating for three days after learning their principal, Dewayne Pemberton, was suspended last week.
Less than a dozen students were suspended for refusing to re-enter the school Wednesday. Students attended class each period, and answered roll call, but went outside to demonstrate after 15 minutes.
The exact number of students suspended could not be determined because Superintendent D.B. Merrill was “detained” and not available for comment, according to his office personnel.
After students were told they would be considered truant if they were outside the building, the protesters would leave class and sit in the hallways.
Leslie Echol, whose last name was Wolfe when she graduated from Hilldale in 1989, said when her son was suspended she reminded Superintendent D.B. Merrill the handbook said you have to have two detentions before being suspended.
“He said he declared an emergency situation and was doing away with that,” Echol said. “I don’t consider it an emergency situation if the kids don’t get out of hand. I believe kids have a right to exercise their freedom of expression and freedom of petition and the rights of parents to protect them as long as it’s done in a peaceful manner.”
She said she was told her son was not disruptive but needed to attend class.