To School Administrative District 13 Superintendent Virgina Rebar, and any other school district threatening students who demonstrate, the constitutional right to peacefully gather and demonstrate does not have an age requirement, nor is it limited to the people who agree with you (“SAD 13 superintendent warns students, staff not to participate in gun protest,” March 1).

By threatening students who exercise their right to demonstrate, these officials are actively teaching them that democracy does not apply to them, and that they don’t matter. They are not running a prison; they are running a school district meant to educate the hearts and minds of our children. The students are not using the day to go to the movies, but to exercise their right as U.S. citizens. That is a right school officials have absolutely no right to limit. I suggest they read the First Amendment again.

The students are not acting as representatives of school districts; they are acting as involved individuals who care about others. The only one “politicizing” the school is the officials who are standing in the way.

As a former teacher I am appalled at those actions, and hope every student openly defies them, and teachers take personal days. Colleges will be only too pleased to admit a student who was sanctioned for being a responsible citizen. The officials, on the other hand, are an embarrassment to democracy.

Nadene Mathes

Fairfield

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