After posting pictures of North Paulding High School’s hallways, two students have been suspended.
At least two students have faced severe punishment after uploading images showing how their school is responding to COVID-19. The photographs of the crowded hallways act as proof that North Paulding High School has failed to take the required precautionary measures.
This is the first day of school in Paulding County, Georgia. pic.twitter.com/fzdidaAABM
— 🇯🇲Black🇭🇹Aziz🇳🇬aNANsi🇹🇹 (@Freeyourmindkid) August 4, 2020
The above image clearly reveals that there is no social-distancing and that the majority of students are not wearing face masks. According to Buzzfeed, another student – 15-year-old Hannah Watters – had also uploaded an image and a video on Twitter. The following image was captioned: “Day two at North Paulding High School. It is just as bad. We were stopped because it was jammed. We are close enough to the point where I got pushed multiple go to second block. This is not ok. Not to mention the 10% mask rate.”
Subsequently, Watters faced a five day out-of-school suspension for breaking the school’s code of conduct.
Buzzfeed reported that Watters explained that she was accused of breaking 3 rules:
The policies I broke stated that I used my phone in the hallway without permission, used my phone for social media, and posting pictures of minors without consent.
Following Watters’ suspension, the school’s principal Gabe Carmona warned students that anyone who criticized the school online could face discipline.
What is more, despite having several students and members of staff test positive for COVID-19, the school explained that students will be expelled if they do not attend.
In addition to this, the school declared that wearing a face mask was a “personal choice” rather than a mandatory requirement. The school’s failure to provide a safe environment during the pandemic has outraged both students and staff; as a result, one of the school’s teachers recently resigned, citing fears of contracting the virus when classes began.
While Watters understands that she broke school rules, she believes her suspension was excessive. For this reason, her family plans to object and challenge this punishment.
