Posted on 04/01/2005 8:59:43 PM PST by jimboster
The owner of a McDonald's restaurant in the Hyde Park neighborhood scrapped a policy Thursday that required Kenwood Academy High School students to sit in a separate area from other customers, after a student protesting the policy was handcuffed by Chicago police and taken back to campus. Catherine Smith, 15, was two bites into her Chicken Selects Wednesday when a security guard ordered her and her friends to move because they were sitting in a "non-student" area, she said. "I paid for the food just like everyone else and I'm not leaving," Smith responded. The security guard then called Chicago police. Undercover officers approached Smith and said she was trespassing and resisting arrest. They handcuffed the honor student, led her out of the popular student hangout, placed her in a squad car and took her back to campus, Smith said. Administrators decided to take no disciplinary action against Smith, who is considered a model student. She was allowed to return to class, Assistant Principal Elizabeth Kirby said.
(Excerpt) Read more at chicagotribune.com ...
The kid's mother is an idiot as well.
If it were me back in high school, I'd be outraged. Since it's Chicago we're talking about- I don't care.
We happen to have a copy of that call to the police:
http://www.dslreports.com/r0/download/791234~195d5cd4dd2e6d70a9a66181288c35f6/911tape_1.zip
The moral of the story is, don't harass a minority honor student whose mother is "an administrative assistant with the Center for the Study of Race, Politics and Culture at the University of Chicago" and whose aunt is "a political science professor at the University of Chicago."
That's asking for trouble. They should have picked a loud, fat, white male to handcuff.
I love that tape. Especially the part about "Aren't you here to protect me?"
At what point should the owner have said to herself... "Wait... This isn't fine dining for adults! This is a freaking McDonalds!"
I had a fight with a guy that owned a pizza joint when I was in high school. I forget why he wanted me out of there, it had to do with my being a punk high school kid I guess, but I was still eating and I told him to go... you know... hehehe
He grabbed me, and we ended up duking it out right there, and kinda fought to a draw,
After that, we actually became friends though, believe it or not.
Ah but those were different times. Today someone would have to be arrested and someone would have to sue someone...
Pretty much my take on it too.
Or the dispacher's reaction: "Protect you from what? A wrong cheeseburger?"
Similar calls here:
http://www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/communications/examples_of_999_calls.asp
Particularly good is the "potatoes" call.
(And the Flash presentations are very well done.)
yes those where different times... today it could be dangerous, and life threatening. If they are black they USUALLY in most cases are un-civil, and public schooled, I am a victim mentality and if white they USUALLY are assholes and white-trash stoned on grass.
I think the kids should be allowed to sit where they want to sit, like anyone else. The girl displayed some backbone, in my opinion.
So the new definition of "backbone" is "victimhood"
Hmmmm.....wonder what happens when a smoker sits in the NON-smoking section?
Um, call me crazy, but I don't get why so many of the posts here seem to think this was okay.
I'm with you. The kid had a right to sit anywhere in the dining room. Anyone who disagrees shouldn't call themselves an American.
Call me crazy, but I think the owner of a business holds all the "rights" not some snot nosed teenager.
Baloney. It is a public place, not a private club. Even public clubs can't restrict membership and access.
Wondered when a public school slam would happen.
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