Punish Lyons Township HS Protesters Who Walked Out: Residents

LA GRANGE, IL – Some residents in the La Grange area expressed concern after hundreds of students walked out of Lyons Township High School in February to protest ICE.

In response to those inquiries, Principal Jennifer Tyrrell said the rules in the student handbook govern such situations.

She did not indicate what punishment would be given.

According to the handbook, students who cut class will be issued one hour of detention for every period missed.

The high school is closed this week because of spring break, so officials were unavailable for comment.

In any case, school administrators are often reluctant to provide information on specific discipline, citing student privacy laws.

In an email to parents about the protest, Tyrrell said the school doesn't support student walkouts or demonstrations during the school day. She said the students in question would be marked absent and considered in violation of the handbook's rules.

On Feb. 17, 600 high school students marched out of class to rally against ICE, officials reported. This made up about 15 percent of the student body.

Many other suburban schools also saw walkouts.

Emails to Lyons Township High School were obtained through a public records request.

After the protest, resident Nicholas Cisek told Tyrrell in an email that he was disappointed that students who walked out were permitted to return to school and finish out the day.

"I'm hoping that there are some kind of consequences for ditching school while some kids stayed in school," Cisek said. "I'm afraid you guys left the door open for this kind of thing to happen frequently now."

He suggested students write an essay or hold a healthy debate on the issue.

"Storming out of school is not really a solution," he said.

Mary Ziemba, a parent of a freshman, said she was concerned about the disruption to the school day. She feared the walkout would set a precedent.

"As a parent, I send my child to school with the expectation that instructional time will be protected and that the learning environment will remain focused and structured," she said.

Another resident, Vanessa Uhler, said she wanted the school to stick to its rules with the walkout. She wanted discipline for violators.

She also alleged that teachers were pushing their political viewpoints on students.

"This has been well known for a long time at LT that the kids can tell by teacher statements which way the political spectrum they lean and that papers that they write have to lean in that direction," Uhler said in an email to the principal. "Otherwise, they will be graded differently."

In response to Tyrrell's public statement, parent Labinot Avdiu indicated his support for her. The message, he said, gave his family "great peace of mind."

"Our family is reassured to know that under your leadership, LTHS will uphold a non-political stance, respect diverse opinions, and prioritize learning through a discipline-based approach in accordance with the existing school rules as outlined in the student handbook," he said in an email.