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What I find most interesting about this whole matter is that it has escalated to the level of a national political issue. I don't think it warrants that, though I can see why it is being made into one - it dovetails nicely with some very deep political cleavages.
A few students made a statement, and then they received a light punishment. This is interesting in itself, but not really extraordinary.
When I was in school, a group of us participated in a brief walk-out to protest the Iraq war that we all knew was coming. Each of us received a suspension. The administration handled us with relative decency, but they were firm.
As in this case, there was no long-term damage to any of our school records or careers. In both cases, students were able to speak up for something in an unorthodox way, and the administration decided to respond in a certain way in order to maintain a sense of control over student behavior. In my own case, I can say that the punishment probably taught me as much as the experience of the protest itself.
None of this is to say that it's unfair to scrutinize this particular incident and have strong opinions about the matter at hand. But it seems to me that this is primarily a matter for the students, parents, and administrators involved - and I find it poor form that one of those groups has summoned the national media and turned this into some sort of proxy debate about immigration and American culture.
I'm not willing to condemn the students as racists or trolls; in truth I have no idea what they are like or what they were thinking. Same goes for the school.
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