Although the school district has not specified what the detentions are for, a number of students have claimed that they were given punishments for protesting by school administrators ranging from Saturday detentions to multi-day suspensions.
Last week's protest took place after a teacher at the high school told students speaking Spanish that "men and women [in the military] are fighting, and they're not fighting for your right to speak Spanish. They're fighting for your right to speak American."
Students walked out of the classroom in response to the teacher's words, chanting "C.P. United," the initials of their high school, even after the school's principal warned over a loudspeaker than anyone who walked out would face punitive measures.
"I feel like it was wrong," sophomore Anthony Campos said Thursday, referring to the disciplinary action by the school's administration. "We've got to stand up for what we believe in."
Sophomore Sean Hughes, who says he is facing disciplinary action for protesting, said, "I did it for my friends, because they come from different ethnicities and I don't care if I'm white. I'm going to stand up with them," NorthJersey.com reported.
Filipp Vasconcellos, another sophomore who also received a Saturday detention, said, "I feel like it was an attack on the First Amendment. It's just wrong that they decided to discipline us for standing up for what we believe in."
