"People who had scholarships were afraid of losing them."
- Christopher Eckhardt
"The counselor asked if I wanted to go to college, and said that colleges didn’t accept protesters. The vice principal asked if ‘I wanted a busted nose’. He said seniors would not like the armband. Tears welled up in my eyes because I was afraid of violence."
- Christopher Eckhardt
Source: Des Moines Public Schools
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“I didn’t wear mine that first day because I still wanted to talk it over first.” John Tinker and the suspended students first attempted contacting the school superintendent to discuss policy change. The superintendent declined, considering the students’ protest unimportant.
“After that, I felt clear about what I was going to do the next day.” |