A parent of an Illinois high school freshman is crying foul after his son was suspended for misquoting a lyric by the rapper Future.
Brandon Porter, whose son goes to Washington Community High School in Washington, Ill., spoke to local ABC station WHOI and said his boy was treated unfairly, which he’s really bothered about.
The incident happened at the end of school on Sept. 10, and when the student was heading for the bus, he misquoted a line from Future’s song “Draco.”
Because instead of saying the line “Draco in my handbag,” which is correct, Porter’s son said “AK in my handbag.” Both Draco and AK are types of guns, which may have led to the misquote.
A female student then overheard the misquoted line, said she felt threatened and told school officials. Porter was called to the school, as well as his son’s mother, and when they arrived police were there.
An investigation with questioning then began, but an arrest wasn’t made, and the police handed the situation back to school officials.
From there, the boy received a six-day suspension, three out of school and three in school, which Porter said is wrong — mainly because his boy didn’t threaten or harm anyone.
The freshman was also banned from after-school functions for the rest of the year, like dances and sporting events.
“He was leaving class headed to the bus … They came out of one hallway into another hallway, they all met, leaving, going towards the bus,” Porter explained. “He was singing the song, and she felt threatened by the song, apparently, but she kept walking towards the bus or what not.”
“At this point, it’s her word over his,” the dad continued. “Since when is her word more credible than his? He didn’t threaten her. What witness does she have? It’s not fair. It’s not fair to us. It’s not fair to him.”
Porter also spoke to the Central Illinois Proud about his boy and said even if he did misquote the lyric, he was reciting it to himself.
“He didn’t come out and just say, ‘Hey, I’m going to do this to this person or do this here at this place,’” Porter stated. “He was singing lyrics … We probably would not have taken it to these measures if it wasn’t taking from his freshman year and experience. He’s not a bad kid. He’s a good boy.”
“I appreciate your protocol and policies, and I’m all up for my son being in a safe school and environment,” he added. “But at some point I think you’re taking it too far.”
Legally, the school isn’t allowed to discuss the disciplinary action of a student, but they said anything that’s considered a threat is subject to “appropriate” action.
