Why the heck is this even ‘news’?!? The kid broke the rules - PERIOD. Is he supposed to get preferential treatment because he’s the class president?!? Or is it because he’s an Obama supporter?!? Bull!!! Rules are rules - no one is above them. NO ONE!

Where does Senator Obama get the nerve (or authority) to sign excuse slips for two high school students?!? If I was their parent…I’d be furious. He really does think a lot of himself! I guess I know his views on education and the role parents play. He’s the one that preaches that parents need to be involved and do more and he goes and undermines their authority. Shame on you Senator Obama.

That is very unfortunate this young man was forced “asked” to resign. Why would he voluntarily resign? I am not at all condoning the young man or any of his counterparts to leave school without permission as the schools are responsible to a certain extent when youngsters are in their care. The young man in office should have received permission from his parent or guardian to either miss school or early dismissal to attend the once in a lifetime event. I do believe the school is acting rather harshly.

break the rules…pay the consequences. a typical democrat “president” expecting to not be held accountable for their actions while in office and “on duty”.

If Obama wins the White House he can give the students his first presidential pardon!

Society today and parents wonder what is wrong with young adults. Bottom line, it is a rule not to leave campus without and OK, but these students leave and everyone comes to their aid stating they have been wronged. Now if these students left campus and disappeared, there would be heck to pay. Everyone would wonder how the little darlings left and why nobody saw it happen. I’m sure lawsuits would take place, etc. When you are told not to do something and you do it anyway, you made an adult decision and should be willing to pay the price for your actions.

Well, I guess this young man’s actions did not conform to the public schools definition of a good “citizen”. How dare he try to further his education with some hands on experience, he did not get permission from big brother to do a “once in a lifetime” event. Shame on him Public schooling at its best.

The student’s response is typical with Liberal Democrats. The school has rules and these two students broke them and do not want to pay the price. Liberals have been doing this for a long time! I applaud the school for enforcing the rules.

Oh Please…. At least they weren’t out partying. They owned up to it, didn’t do anything illegal and they are serving 1 day suspension. Give the kid a break.

LOL! It looks like the future Democratic president needs to learn to follow the rules. I wonder if he runs in 30 or 40 years this issue will be brought up. I can see it now: “He skipped school when he was 18 to go to a political rally. Do we want a president who runs away from his obligations?” Don’t laugh. It’s not a stretch, considering the way politics are going lately.

Im sorry but if you break the rules in this case school rules then then you have to pay for it .The smart thing too do was check with the school first and ask if you can take off

I think that when a student wants to leave school while they should be in school is also no permissible. They should ask permission first before they leave their class.

This young man is obviously going to make a perfect liberal candidate. He already thinks that the rules don’t apply to him. A sound liberal theology.

I am quite sure that if the students would have obtained permission before hand, their brief meeting would have been allowed. I support the schools admistration in their decision. We can not set a standard of behavior that is not in line with school policies. All must be aware of rules and what steps are required to be off school campus during school hours. It would be the same rule as if it were a field trip. Parents hold school officals responsible for anything that happens to their children while at school. What if these boys would have been hurt enroute and back from their little stint? The school would have been held liable.—-So the rules must be followed, both for the proper leading of students, but also for both the students welfare and the school officals.

This student has a bright future in politics. He already believes laws only apply if you agree with them. As long as you have a really good excuse for breaking them, it’s ok.

He broke the rules and should be required to pay the consequences. If you don’t like the rules or think they’re unfair, then have them changed. Until then, obey them or be punished.

It’s really quite simple.

How in the hell does something like this make national news!! The kids broke the rules and should take their punishment, no if’s and’s or but’s….

The boy skipped school and broke the rules. He has to follow the rules and pay the consequences for breaking them like anyone else.

Would there be this same uproar and a news article about it if he skipped to see John McCain?

Serves them right…suppose all the kids decided to skip school for other reasons. The school loses total control.
Suspension and loss of Presidency is appropriate.

Just like the candidate they were running to see, ( skipping school), these young men think that the ‘rules don’t really apply in certain situations’. The liberal mindset is always the same, whether it’s concerning a ‘little rule’ or a big law. It really doesn’t apply to me!! Yeah, right. Society as a whole needs to reach down deep and see if there’s enough moral fiber and intestinal fortitude to ‘do what’s right’. Not only when placing your vote in this upcoming presidential election, but in everyday life as well. I applaude this young man for stepping down, especially if he chose to do so on his own. Take your medicine, let it work, and learn from it. You’ll be a better person for it.

So what do others propose that the school do nothing? Just sign off on skipping school? If this was an employee of mine and simply took a day off without permission or use of one of the many ways to get a day off I WOULD FIRE HIS BUTT, GUARANTEED! If this is okay now then why not when he is in the workforce? A bad precedent to set, but then one of our problems as CONSERVATIVES is we are not activists, we are responsible people that go to work and don’t have time for marching in the streets!

I have seen what is left after a Liberal event, trash and garbage everywhere. I have also been to Conservative events where the attendees picked up after themselves and there was no trash and garbage after the event. PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY, a dying virtue in America!

Ridiculous,
We constantly bemoan the fact that our young people are apathetic and don’t care about voting and politics, then something like this happens to a kid who takes interest in politics and a campaign.
A former Republican, I would complain the same way if a young person was booted from office for meetign with Jon McCain too.

-Left the GOP and haven’t looked back.

Looks like we have future Democrats already breaking the rules.

I feel for the student, but he should have gotten permission. If the school didn’t give permission for something like this, the school should be held accountable, but the student should never have missed school without permission, especially a role model like class president. My child would be punished if they skipped without asking first. As a parent, I would have requested that he miss school for this occasion, but that he give an oral or written report on the event. This was an historical event and it seems it would have been appropriate for a student representative to be present.

There are often consequences to your actions.

Yet another shining example that kids today think that as long as THEY feel they have a good reason, then rules/laws can just be ignored. The kid knew what he was doing would get him in trouble. If he wants to be a leader, then he needs to stop whining and accept the consequences of what he has done.

The students have to learn that they’re responsible for their actions.

I think the students were met with the proper punishment. Don’t break the rules if you aren’t prepared to take the consequences. We are already facing a generation so focused on “ME” it’s hard sometimes to see how things every get done. They must learn it isn’t always about them…that they can’t just have everything the way they want it regardless. What does it say if a young man or woman does not follow the rules, and the school rules involved are common sense to a student who has any, and they are not disciplined for it? It says that in other areas they might be able to get away with the same things…hmmm, sounds alot like politicians at times huh? Ok, so perhaps I should change my opinion since it seems Saltry is an aspiring politician. Perhaps he’s on the typical track of one.

Why would Obama write excuses for those two students to skip class. Has he not been talking about getting a great education for everyone?

Does excusing students that skipped school help his cause—I don’t think so!!!!!. He should have had a good talk with them about staying in school and not skipping classes. He would have set a better example for all students.

Go Hillary

or

Go McCain

no Obama

Ditching school is ditching school! What the heck is Obama thinking FALSELY SIGNING AN EXCUSE SLIP FOR THESE KIDS! Just another example of the stupid things he pulls and thinks nothing of it. Just another lie he signed off on.

Sigh - once again - a clear demonstration that there are few things in this country stupider than a public school administrator.

Rules are rules and this student violated them so he must pay with punshiment set up by the school. You kids need to learn to follow the rules not try to bend them to your own advantage. No respect for authority I do not care if he was going to see the Pope, Rules are rules

in this ciccumstance there is no exception,he still broke the school rules,he is still underage and if he was hurt in anyway,uho gets sued,of course the school,because they are responsible for him untill school is over and in the custody of his parents,how immature are these kids to think otherwise,thank you

While he should be commended for being interested in the Prez race, he was in error leaving without permission. He should shut up, pay the price for doing what he knew was wrong. Just move on and quit whinning.

He broke the rules. He needs to learn that there are consequences for breaking the rules. If there was something in the rules about his position as Class president being at risk for truancy then thats the way it is.

This kid might as well follow Obama’s lead and run for president now. He has about as much experience as Obama, maybe even more if he has responsibility for the Scranton High School student government budget.

I am a stanch Republican and all my children and grandchildren have gone to private schools where discipline is strict but this is ridiculous. To punish a student for wanting to see a presidential candidate no matter who it is is absurd. There are so many horrible things going on in schools today but interest in our political process should be applauded not punished—he didn’t skip school to do something harmful and though I certainly do not

It seems to be a common problem all across America, teachers and administrators don’t have any common sense. No wonder our students are falling behind the rest of the world, Americans are being dumbed down by archaic system. Those who can think and be successful are, and those who can’t teach.

The poor child, he was punished for breaking the rules, what does that teach our children? Oh, perhaps it teaches them to take responsibility for their actions!

Lesson learned at an early age, if we break the rules we can get people to back us for even higher goals. He opted to resign, so let him do it, or maybe just a good ploy to help cover the fact he broke the rules. If you create enough smoke you can hide in it, another wonder of the new age.

Kid should have gotten permission to leave, an excused absence. Still… principals can get ‘high on their power’ and do things that are not fair. I’ve seen it happen tons of times and nobody is the wider until the media finds out about it, or concerned parents. Then the principal does a little dance trying to get out of the hot water.

If they in fact left school with the schools permission he should resign.

Wouldn’t it have been easier to get permission before the event? This kid will be a great politician…he already has a sense of entitlement.

This is how ridiculous the media has gotten. This is not news!

Surely there are more important things to cover.

Perhaps a one-day suspension was in order, to make a point. But to remove him as class president? Ridiculous! The school should have been supportive of any students who wanted to go see a candidate, and help them learn about the political process. No wonder kids aren’t learning. The schools don’t even seem to know how to use the current events as teaching points.

Lets see. He knowingly broke school rules and then thought he would get away with it because someone important “signed and excuse” for him. Hmmmm, yep. He’ll make a good liberal candidate in the next 40 years.

Good for the school in following their disciplinary procedures.

He broke the school rule. He needs to face the consequence.

He broke the rules and should pay for it otherwise he will never pay obay any rules in the future.

This just goes to show how stupid young people are…

The student broke the rules. He left the school grounds without permission of school administration. On top of that he was the school student president and should have provided a much higher example if he wants to be a student leader. I don’t feel that young adults today are shown that there are consequences to their negative choices. If they are shown a negative consequence to their negative choices then everyones in a outrage towards the adults that provide the needed discipline. If he wanted to visit/meet a Presidential candidate he could have, for example, put together a delegation of student leaders and met with the administration seeking approval. Then the students learn about the political process in the correct manner and learn to play within the stated rules.

Skipping school for what ever reason, is still considered skipping school. He should have known better than to skip school, especially if he was next in line for the senior class president. Breaking rules results in consiquences. You must learn from your mistakes. Hopefully he’ll rethink his desicions before making impulse ones.

that school is probably run by people who cling to their guns, religion, and racism.

A good bit of what is wrong with our country can be directly traced to people not being held responsible for their actions. This is a perfect example of what we need more of. Two young men left school, knowing they were in violation of school rules. Now they’re surprised they are being held accountable for it. If we all are held responsible for ourselves starting as early in life as possible, America could return to her former greatness. I say follow the school rules and impose the appropriate penalties. If that includes resigning from the class presidency then so be it. I bet he won’t do that again.

It’s sad to see that this young man has hopes of becoming the President of the US but has no clue that their are consequences for your actions when you break the rules! If he desired to see Obama so bad he should have had writen permission from his parents or at least checked out in the office like is mandatory in ALL schools in the US. What a shame and I pray he learns this lesson before he decides to run for ANY office- including class president!

Good for the School! Finally, a kid breaks the rules and is punished for it. And doesn’t a class president set the example for the school?? Why not have Mom and Dad write a note excusing the kid from school that day.

Let’s hope this school doesn’t cave in to pressure that is bound to be coming.

Well Done on the Principals part, consequences for actions, what a novel idea.

Boo Hoo…. Skip school get punished. This has been going on forever. Get over it.

“bolted school” who says that?

WOW your school must be really strict, because Ive never in my life heard of a school suspending someone because they skipped a class, and suspending, wouldnt that lead to more missing school….COME ON PEOPLE!!!!

I concur with the suspension and his resigning as class president was an honorable decision for him.

However, if the student(s), including the class president, had any common sense or laymen smarts, they would have asked to be excused and this would not had been an issue. But, lack of respect to authority is another down fall for many of the younger generation.

gary rhodes

just what we need another person that dont want to follow the rules and think it is ok.

he should have led by example and asked for permission; not just walh off school grounds knowing it was wrong

This kid needs to stay in school a long time if he thinks Obama is right for this country!!

Well, since THEY made the choice to leave school WITHOUT permission, they SHOULD know they’re wrong in doing so.

Seeing Obama is NOT the issue here, it’s the fact they left school. If they had any brains, they could figure that out. Apparently, Saltry is leaving by HIS own choice.

What if everyone left their jobs, school, doctors, nurses, teachers shrugging their obligations? It speaks volumes about this kids character. I understand his wanting to go see a presidential hopeful, but mature folks tend to thier obligations first. The kid should resign.

I’m concerned about the youth today. Saltry’s views will likely move to the right as he starts paying taxes and maturing.

AuthorityResponsibility … If he wants to get elected to a position of authority, some day, he’d better be thankful for the lessons about obeying the rules.

For the first time in my lifetime (I’m almost 50 years old), I see the youth of this nation taking their future seriously!
There are no protests, no violence, no rebellion against “The Old People”. Just the youth rising their voices saying “Yes, WE can!”, but don’t miss a couple of hours from school.
Now here come the someone that should make it point to tell them that they could have conducted themselves differently and leave it at that. But, showed “Zero Tolerance” by suspending them for 1 day! Is there a lesson there?
Funny, just yesterday my 12 year old daughter and 3 of her girlfriends, had a fellow 6 grader boy wave a finger through his zipper. Sounds childish? Sounds funny? Well, the girls didn’t think it was funny, told the Dean and what did she do? She just “spoke” with the boy!
Ah, isn’t it wonderful when we have a “Zero Tolerance” when it is to ones opinion?

High School student broke the rules. He is/has been punished. ‘Nuff said. Stop whining and get over it.

Interesting. In nearly all school systems across the country, if a child leaves school and skips class
without a prior note, he/she is given a suspension. His classmates think that because he is class president and he went to see a candidate … that this is alright. He is a class president and should be setting a good example and not a bad one. By not punishing him,this would be passed off as big OK. He definitely sent the wrong message by skipping school. Shame on him. Although on the other hand, having him resign is a bit harsh.

For Pete sake, he didn’t go out drinking or doing something bad. Paying a visit to Obama should be considered part of his education. The whole school should have gone with him!

This principal should be ashamed and has no business being in the education business,if he wants to be a poltician he needs to do so and leave these young people to experience life to the fullest .

Why is it so difficult for some people to realize that you have to act within the rules? Maybe it was a worthwhile absence from class, but why not just ask for permission? Our society is coming to the point where people think they can ignore rules and do as they please.

Why didn’t the class president get an official excuse BEFORE going to meet Obama? How hard would have that been? Hopefully, if he is ever elected president (in the next 40 years), he will think through the consequences of his rash decisions. Sounds like W is his example of thinking before he acts.

I would like to know the schools policy on this. If the student were required to have permission from parents or school staff, I agree with the punishment if it is what is in the policy. There are also extra rules for student government. What are the punishments for breaking these rules as well? If the punishment is inline with school policy it is good to here schools are enforcing thier stated policies.

He should have asked for permission instead of knowingly breaking school rules

From my experience, most schools have the students and parents sign acknowledgement of the school rules and regs at the beginning of each year. If the rules state that the class president would be removed for breaking school rules, then Colin loses his position as president. It comes down to accepting the responsiblity for ones actions. Colin knew the rules, and he deliberately chose to ignore them, and should be punished as the school policies say. If someone makes a choice to break rules or laws, then they pay the consequences. Pretty cut and dried, keep the emotion out of it. Life is life and you need to get used to it.

If the young men wanted to see Mr. Obama I think they could have had their parent/guardian call in a pass to leave and then there would not have been any trouble. You just don’t leave school without permission these days, too much happening and schools are responsible for the students. If something would have happened to one of the students, I am sure someone would have blamed the school for not knowing they had left. These young men need to take responsibility for their actions and pay the consequences.

Everybody thinks rules are necessary…until they fell like breaking one. Would it be ok for my son who loves motorcycles to skip school to go see a famous rider (without permission)? No, I don’t think so. Perhaps getting permission from a Social Studies teacher and/or parent BEFOREHAND might have been a good idea. Once again, teenage spontaneity overrules clear judgment. This class president should be setting good examples and as his class’ top ambassador follow the rules of the school. I feel bad for him, but life is full of consequences. We all have to step up and pay sometimes.

What’s there to argue about! They left school w/out permission.
End of story!!

In this day when we want the youth of America to get involved in politics and government, it is a shame a student should lose his status as class president for getting involved. I agree that he should be punished for skipping school un-announced, but he should not be released/dismissed from his class presidency over it.

Hmmmmmmmm…sounds to me as if young Mr. Saltry is a perfect Democratic presidential candidate in the making. Rules? What rules? I don’t need no stinking rules! Consequences? Not for me, I’m privileged.

Do they realize the irony of saying they were in it to “the bitter end”?

As a high school teacher I’m so disappointed in the combination of political niavete and clueless zeal in the current crop of seniors.

A warning to parents. The hippies that annoyed you when you were growing up are now teaching your children, and they’re not passing along any sense of responsibility or awareness with their energy and angst.

The two boys left the school without permission. getting a one day suspension they should consider themselves lucky, in my day in high school you’d have gotten a couple of swats to go with that suspension. The class president office isnt a pass to skip school, going to see Obama should be something that costs the boys, after all Obama hasnt been elected president.

The school district should be ‘ashamed’ of their actions against this student. This is a SLAP in the face of democracy. True, the student should have gained permission before leaving the campus; however, the parents should be the administers of punishment…not the principal. The principal is appears to be what is known on the street as a ‘playa hater’. I hope that when Obama wins the Presidency he will invite these youths to the White House as interns. Suspend the principal.

A principal is also supposed to be a pal!

If my son skipped school to go see any democrat I would check him to the nearest siko ward….much less suspend him.

It is quite upsetting that in our age when students are falling into gang problems, skipping school to go do drugs, and forgetting the importance of morals and civic duty, that these two students who are interested in the future of America are punished for acting on that interest. I am by no means an Obama supporter, but at the same time I think students should be allowed to go see presidential hopefuls because it gets them involved in the Democratic process. To punish them for exercising their rights as citizens simply makes no sense to me.

It is very sad but real and just a tip of the iceberg of what is to come.
This was levied on this young man by his school leadership only because
of race. If they had skipped to see anyone not black they would not have
“skipped a beat”.

These students broke the rules, PERIOD! The end should never justify the means! They deserve the punishment they got or how else would you deter other students from skipping school because they decide that something else is more important than school?

Another great lesson from our adult educators to our future leaders, our children. Compassion and understanding have no place in the “true” formation of a human being and a small indiscretion means your goals, aspirations and efforts are meaningless, at that school. Way to go Mr. Principal, Love to be your kid!

I applaud this student & I’m glad he’s receiving all this support–go Colin Saltry!!

Rules have consequences. Just because he skipped class to see a presidential candidate doesn’t excuse the rule breaking. If it was that important to him he would have scheduled it in advance to be out of class that day.

But who I am kidding, this is the “me” generation and their liberal apologist friends who excuse this kind of behavior as revolutionary. Personal responsibility, a dying value system.

Schools are responsible for the students during school hours. They are expected to account for their presence and take appropriate action if they are not where they are supposed to be when they are supposed to be there. If something had happened to the students while they were skipping (car accident, etc.) the school could face liability since they are responsible for the students during school hours. The students put themselves and the school at risk. The punishment is appropriate.

Even if you met the president the rules stand! You cannot leave school without permission. There may be many more opportunities to meet him in your lifetime, and to leave school even for a few minutes shows an example that it’s OK for other people to leave school without permission. When you’re President you have to set an example.

I skipped school plenty of times during the 2004 Presidential race….I think the few days I missed were far better spent meeting President Bush, Laura Bush, VP Cheney, and John McCain. I was never questioned about it and was never removed from my post as the class President (which I held during the election). The admins at this school need to smarten up and realize that this kid got way more out of meeting Senator Obama then he would have sitting around at school for a few more hours.

Break the rules and pay the price. I applaud the administration. The punishment should have been at least a weeks suspension. If you leave school grounds, you need permission no matter what the reason!

So he left school…so what. Have any idea how many kids skip school without an excuse and don’t get punished like this? Or how many have “doctor’s” notes. At least he was doing something constructive not going to a baseball game then telling the doc he had a headache and getting an excuse!

Poor child……..you play, you pay! Maybe the next time you skip school do it for a good reason!

this just shows what supporting obama will lead too!

You people crack me up. Apparently the ignorant people posting comments about how “ridiculous” it is to punish kids for breaking rules are the same parents I have to put up with on a daily basis that constantly make excuses for their child’s laziness and inability to behave properly!

Give me a break. You want to know why America is slipping in the world… look at the slacker parents that give into their kids at every whim. These kids broke a school rule and were rightly punished… and I don’t care who they were seeing! They should have obtained permission.

Obama signs the kid’s excuse - ummmm I thought you had to be a guardian… seems a lawyer should know that… oooops…

Then Obama’s campaign declines comment - leaves the kid hanging….

Now that is what I call Unity!

This poor kid will be clinging to his guns and religion in no time….