A Societal Standout: Wichita East High School

Each week, the Washburn Review will recognize an individual or individuals who have thrust themselves into the public limelight, with actions and or statements that prove worthy of editorializing. Said person has gone above and beyond to prove themself A Societal Standout. Opinions expressed below are strictly those of the author and do not reflect upon the Washburn Review or Washburn University as a whole.

When it comes to rock bottom in regards to basic decency, look no further than Wichita East High School (not that you could if you tried).

Putting itself, and Kansas, on the national stage, Wichita East High School recently ordered a special education student to re- move the varsity letter from his jacket after it had been given to him.

The school’s principal, Ken Thiessen, said that the school had considered allowing varsity letters to be worn by special needs students, but decided against it because that would be “not appropriate.”

It must take an incomprehensible amount of pride, arrogance, stupidity or a combination of the three to feel so offended at the thought of a student with special needs wearing the oh-so-precious varsity letter that a person—or in the case, as it seems, a school—to outright refuse to let the poor student do so.

Unless Wichita East High School’s varsity letter is the Medal of Honor, I’m not sure how letting him wear a varsity letter after competing in a sport – even if not on a regular basis – is such an “inappropriate” thing to do.

Maybe all of those with varsity letters should live up to the concept of sportsmanship and dignity and remove their own letters until the victim student’s is returned. But who knows – at a place so backward, perhaps that would get one expelled.