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TJ Danfield is senior honors students at Rhinelander High School.  He thinks Cecilia Zarate and Kathy Kelly’s visit to the high school was a breath of fresh air.

 

“Well, growing up in Rhinelander, Wisconsin you’re very subject to one type of environment. They’re often aren’t a lot of people like that, especially a Nobel Peace Prize nominee like Kathy Kelly who will come here and share their struggle, and that was first hand information.”

 

The school teaches  other peace activists like Dr. Martin Luther King and Gandhi.  TJ Danfield says  Kathy Kelly offers direct information on how to make a difference in the world. 

 

But the Rhinelander Veterans group complains that Kathy Kelly presents only one side about war and peace.

 

Danfield thinks having speakers like Kathy Kelly is important for balance.

 

“The other way that we’re taught is that’s there’s military recruiters, that sort of thing at our school a lot.  And they try to tell us you can make a difference by going to war, helping the cause, and these speakers provide information the opposite way, by going against what they think is an unjust cause.”

 

Another complaint by the Veterans group is that Kathy Kelly has been convicted of breaking the law. That she encourages resistance to the military. But Danfield says that breaking the law for political reasons goes back to the American revolution.

 

 

“There’s two ways to be patriotic.  One is in defense of your country in direct action.  The other way is in criticism of your country. I know in the Declaration of Independence Jefferson wrote something to the effect, if you feel your government is not representing you because you the people appointed it, it is your duty to correct or abolish that government.  And I feel that these people are trying to correct the government and they’re presenting another way to be patriotic.”

 

 

Since Kathy Kelly visited Rhinelander High School Danfield has been communicating with her and others about activism.

 

He’s been seeking petitions from other students asking the Rhinelander school administration to more clearly inform student and parents how to prevent military recruiters from getting personal information about students.

 

“Ironically enough, I’ve been going around school and we’ve actually got a little bit of a petition going to Mr. Erdahl asking to receive this information and to let students know, because I didn’t talk to a single student who knew this information was being given out.”

 

Dr. Roger Erdahl is the Rhinelander School District Administrator.

 

Throughout this whole free speech controversy Danfield has learned some  lessons.

 

“Right after this all surfaced, just after I’d written my news article, there were teachers praising me, there were students asking me why did I do it, something I did I was in Mrs. Kitse’s class, and I looked at her podium, and on her podium is a bumper sticker that says ignore your rights and they’ll go away, and I Just looked at that and said, Yup, that’s why I did it. Because I had the right to, and I didn’t want to ignore that because I didn’t want it to go away. I don’t want to become mindless and I don’t want my peers to become mindless, also.”

 

I’m Nick Vander Puy for the Superior Broadcast Network.

 

 On the web for more information:

http://www.leavemychildalone.org/