I wish I were making this up. I wish this were an April Fools Day joke and I wish this was not happening in my home state of Ohio. A young man, Carrollton High School Senior Austin Fisher is being denied the chance to walk at graduation because he has missed 2 more days than allowable under the school board's attendance policy. The reason sickens me beyond belief. He has missed those days to care for his mother, who is fighting cancer. Follow me below the fluer-de-Kos to see how you can help.
According to the article on Yahoo this morning:
A 17-year-old varsity baseball player in Ohio is being banned from walking at his own graduation for racking up two too many unexcused absences. While those circumstances might be considered the fault of the athlete in most cases, Carrollton (Ohio) High senior Austin Fisher's case is a rather extraordinary one: His absences were all brought on by time he spent caring for his mother, who has spent the past six years battling breast cancer.
The school board policy prohibits any senior who has missed more than 14 days from walking with the rest of the senior class to get their diploma on-stage during the graduation ceremony. Austin has missed 16 days - two more than allowable. Did I mention that he is caring for a sick mother who is battling cancer for the last six years. Oh, and he is also holding two part-time jobs to help pay the bills. Let that sink in for a second. TWO freaking days??
The school board has denied his appeals and basically stuck to their "a rule is a rule" guns. A Carrollton High School alum, along with the senior class, has started a petition to force the school board to reconsider their stance and allow Austin to walk across the stage with the rest of his classmates and receive his diploma.
You can read the rest of the article here:
http://sports.yahoo.com/...
You can sign the petition here:
http://www.change.org/...
The comments and reasons for signing on the petition are worth a quick read also. I think my favorite was:
He should be the first to walk across the stage. Talk about setting an example for his classmates to follow. The whole senior class should boycott and not walk unless he is there to walk also.
Please take a moment to sign the petition to let this young hero participate in his own graduation.
I have to go to a meeting at 7:30, but will certainly catch up with comments later. I just thought this was too important to wait until tonight. Thanks :)
6:12 AM PT: School board reverses decision. Apparently the pressure worked and Austin will be allowed to "walk" during graduation ceremony. However, they now have decided he will not be able to attend prom instead? WTF? School Board - repeat after me - "WE WERE WRONG". That is all.....