Student Suspended For Saying This Simple 2-word Phrase

A high school student in North Carolina received a three-day suspension after using the term “illegal alien” in a vocabulary assignment.

The word “alien” was on a list of vocabulary words that Leah McGhee’s sixteen-year-old son, who attends Central Davidson High School in Lexington, received from his instructor. She stated that her son was asking, “Like space aliens or illegal aliens without green cards?” in an attempt to define the word precisely.

The Carolina Journal obtained an email revealing that another high school student felt insulted by the inquiry and threatened to fight McGhee’s son. After receiving a report from the instructor to the assistant principal, the school administration determined that the question was derogatory and insensitive to the Hispanic community in the classroom.

“I asked a question; I didn’t make any discriminatory remarks,” McGhee’s child clarified. “I was not talking about Hispanics since, as far as I am aware, the word “illegal alien” is one that I actually hear in the news and can look up in a dictionary, and everyone from other nations needs green cards.”

“Our son received three days of school punishment for “racism” and other consequences due to his query,” Leah McGhee said. “He is heartbroken and worried that the racist mark on his academic record would interfere with his ability to get a track scholarship in the future. We are worried that after missing three days in a row, he will regress in his lessons.

The district’s student handbook states, “Schools may apply restrictions on a student’s right to free expression when the speech is vulgar, abusive, encouraging illegal drug use, or reasonably predicted to cause a considerable disturbance to the school day.”

The manual also stipulates that the principal must provide the student with an opportunity for an informal hearing before applying a temporary suspension. After notifying the student verbally or in writing of the charges against them, the principal or their designee may call a hearing right away. The student has the right to attend the informal hearing, to know the charges against them and the circumstances surrounding them, and to express arguments in support of or opposition to the charges.