The Shame File

November 11, 1998
Issue 

The two high school walkouts against racism in July and August showed just how far some school authorities are prepared to go to repress students' activism:

At Mt Clear Secondary College in Ballarat, after students had spent weeks raising money to pay for the hire of a bus, school staff lined the school gate and tried to physically stop students from leaving.

At another school in Ballarat, the principal sent letters to every parent, threatening that any student who walked out would have their Austudy cut off.

At Princes Hill High in Melbourne, students were followed by teachers who drove up behind them and tried to drag them back to school in their cars.

At Sydney Girls High, students were explicitly banned from holding a Resistance meeting.

At the Melbourne Steiner School (supposedly "alternative" and "progressive"), students were told that holding a Resistance meeting would not be appropriate on the school grounds.

At Perth Modern, students publicising the walkout from a stall outside the school were dragged into the principal's office and disciplined.

At Campbell High in Canberra, a student banner was stolen by the principal and later appeared as the banner-drop in the school play.

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