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Students hold firm on right to march By Amber Fossen Ashland Daily Tidings Civil disobedience comes with a price. Ashland students who flooded the streets in a march to support peace Wednesday will find there is a price to pay when protest, no matter how peaceful, violates school policy. According to Ashland High School officials, students who played hooky for their beliefs will be subject to an unexcused absence - no exception. Despite the large number of students participating in the march, and the numerous phone calls from parents trying to excuse their students, AHS Dean Pete Cislo said, "We're holding firm." "Our goal is to have a 95 percent attendance rate," Cislo said, adding the academic calendar was reduced by 10 days due to budget cuts and any additional absentees could affect student performance. Cislo said the district is following the guidelines of the parent-student handbook for the 2002-2003 school year. Under the AHS attendance policy, students may be excused from school for personal illness, medical appointment, serious illness, death in the family, family emergency, pre-arranged absences, school sponsored absences and court appearances. Marches to express personal beliefs do not qualify. AHS Junior Nels Grauman said he attended Wednesday's march because of his personal beliefs against the war and would do it again if given the chance. Grauman added he disagrees with Bush's position and feels there is a better way to resolve disagreements than through death. Missing an afternoon of classes to express those viewpoints was his decision. "It was a worthy sacrifice," Grauman said of his unexcused absence. Cislo said for many students, this will be their first unexcused absence. However, students with more than one excused absence will face one hour in the After School Program or with a teacher as outlined in the student handbook. In addition to AHS students, Southern Oregon University freshman Cameron Brooks learned the consequence of civil disobedience. Brooks, a criminology major, was the only arrested protester at Wednesday's march after ignoring Ashland Police Department demands to remove himself from the street. "It was a cause and I wanted to show my opinion some way, and I chose to do it by being loud and exciting the crowd - and that's what got me targeted," Brooks said. Lodged in the Jackson County Jail for nearly six hours on disorderly conduct charges, Brooks said he learned that if you're in a march, don't isolate yourself from the crowd. Despite the short stint in jail, Brooks said the mass political message outweighed his consequences. "It was definitely worth it," he said. "Might as well get nabbed for a cause." Ashland Middle School Principal Dale Rooklyn said when school officials caught wind of the march, he got on the public announcement system and notified students that parent permission would be required for students to attend. Students would also have to be escorted off campus by their parents. Rooklyn said all 65 AMS students attending the march complied. LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -