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School paper sparks uproar
Student piece on Black History Month lands teacher in trouble  Mary Lou Nagy, an English and journalism teacher at Plymouth-Salem High, should have pulled the column by a senior in the February issue of Perspective, a district spokeswoman said. "There's no question she should have used better judgment," district spokeswoman Judy Evola said. Student columnist Chris Mackinder wrote that Black History Month makes "race an issue once again." He added: "If it's a race war they want, keeping things the way they are will sure get them one." Nagy is staff adviser with final say on what appears in the paper. She couldn't be reached for comment, but a teachers' union spokesman said Nagy rarely pulls opinion columns. "Is she an adviser or a censor? Someone should ask (administrators) that question," union representative Chuck Portelli said. Mackinder's column angered black students and their parents, who met Friday with administrators. "This isn't something the district can dismiss," said Carmen Richardson, the mother of an 11th-grader at Plymouth-Salem. Nagy meets Monday with administrators to discuss her punishment, which could range from reprimand to suspension. Nagy already has said she'll apologize to staff and students offended by Mackinder's essay in a special issue of Perspective. Black students say racial issues are glossed over at the district's two large high schools. Enrollment at Plymouth-Canton and Plymouth-Salem high schools is nearly 5,000 students. About 200 of those students are black. Dozens more are of other ethnic backgrounds. Salem sophomore Amber Knight said a racist note was left under her desk after Mackinder's column ran Tuesday. She gave the note to the teacher. "He put it in the garbage. (You) feel lower" than the white students, she said. However, Salem senior Steve Lyons said relations between whites and blacks "are pretty good." Reaction to the column "might be slightly blown out of proportion," he added. For The Rest of the "News" Visit The
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