ShareThisNAPLES, Fla. - Students at Naples Middle School who took part in "kick a Jew day," were copying a prank they saw on the animated television show "South Park," Collier School District's superintendent said.
Superintendent Dennis Thompson said Tuesday people should know the incident, which sparked national attention and has led to an overwhelming response from the public, was not spawned by religious intolerance.
In fact, two of the 10 students suspended for taking part in "kick a Jew day" come from Jewish families, he said.
Though one girl complained that she was kicked because she was Jewish, others who were kicked on Nov. 19 became victims for other reasons, Thompson said.
The school discovered upon further investigation that the students were motivated by the TV show and communications on the social networking site Facebook.
"What the school found out is that it wasn't 'kick a Jew day.' It was a 'kick a fill-in-the-blank day'," Thompson said. "Many of the kids who kicked other students kicked someone they didn't like or someone who is different. The kid who was kicked the most was new to the school. That, to me, is the tragedy. These kids picked on someone who was new to the school."
The new student is not Jewish.
Thompson said it is unfortunate that one student was kicked for being Jewish but it seems to be an isolated case. He added that all of the students who were suspended had never been in trouble before.
"This is certainly not about religious intolerance. This is about, do you know who your child is communicating with? Do you know who your child is communicating about? The real lesson is that we need to understand what our kids watch and who they communicate with," he said.
Some of the responses adults have sent him about punishing the students have been out of control, Thompson said.
"I have heard these students should be expelled," he said. "What is the real crime here? These kids kicked a bunch of kids."
In South Park's "Kick a Ginger Day" show, foul-mouthed Eric Cartman spreads the word at school that red-haired kids, or "gingers," are genetically defective, evil, and out to get non-ginger students.
On Monday, two 12-year-olds and a 13-year-old in Los Angeles were arrested for bullying fellow red-headed students physically and over the Internet after they saw the episode and Facebook page.
Thompson said he has received phone calls, letters and e-mails from individuals locally and as far away as Israel and Texas advocating that the students be suspended longer or expelled from the public schools for good. But he said he stands by Principal Margaret Jackson and her punishment decision, saying she did a "superb job" handling the situation.
After one student reported being kicked to a dean on Nov. 19, Jackson addressed the entire student body, reviewing the code of student conduct, explaining why what happened was wrong, and the need to respect one another and possible consequences, according to district spokesman Joe Landon.
Jackson asked that anyone with information on the incident come to the office and speak with her or the assistant principal for the investigation.
Thompson said 20 students came forward. School officials determined that 10 seventh-graders should be punished. The students received a one-day, in-school suspension. The parents of the 10 students were also called and conferences with the parents followed the phone calls, according to Landon.
Parents of the students who were kicked were also notified of what happened, Landon said.
Landon said until further notice, the school will focus the first 20 minutes of each day on character traits, beginning with respect and kindness. Homeroom teachers will speak with the students about these traits and will focus on bullying prevention, he said. Videos on the topic will be sought out and used as part of the training, he said.
(Katherine Albers is a reporter for the Naples Daily News in Florida.)
