<p>Hopefully you guys are aware of the abusive justice system and how it attacked every black male on Tuesday with the release of murderer Darren Wilson. I won't say what high school I attend, but I am here to seek advice</p>
<p>We did not get out of school until Wednesday (yesterday) and during school things got really crazy. During our government class, someone brought up the Ferguson case. Needless to say some of the black students (Including me) decided to exit the classroom in protest of what happened. We went to other classrooms and got others to protest by stepping out of class. We had about 30 kids altogether when one of the white kids came up to me and told me he supported Darren Wilson's actions. He then proceeded to say that the black boy was wrong when he attacked the officer and that blacks should not be so hostile with the police. After he made that racist remark I was really pissed off and he was in my face. I didn't even think about it. I hit him across the face and he fell on the floor (I think he was knocked out I didn't see). I ran away and the protest stopped as teacher got things under control. The white boy had to go to the hospital and the school called my parents. They said they are contacting every school I applied to and letting them know what happened and how I was "overreacting" and "being racist".</p>
<p>I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do right now. On Monday they are contacting all the colleges I applied to. I refuse to apologize for my actions but I need to somehow get out of this situation. Ideas or thoughts?</p>
<p>You shouldn’t have hit him regardless of his stupidly ignorant opinion on the matter. Part of growing and becoming mature is acquiring self-control. You’re also just perpetuating a stereotype by becoming violent. Be the better person in these kinds of situations. You’re a Senior in high school who’s just applied to college; now is not the time to mess up or stand out in a negative manner. Tell your school the situation or email the colleges and tell them, I don’t know. But you got yourself into this.</p>
<p>Knocking someone out and putting them in the hospital because they have a different opinion than you is extremely immature. If I were an admissions officer, I would not want someone like that at my college. </p>
<p>Like it or not, people have different opinions. Some people think the cop was in the right, some don’t. Is either side right? Who knows. None of us were there. None of us know the whole story. As already mentioned, by getting violent you are feeding into and perpetuating the stereotypes (in much the same way as these senseless riots) that black people are fighting to eliminate. </p>
<p>“Needless to say” you left class? Did standing up and leaving class help the cause for civil rights at all? Do you think you’ve changed this guys mind because you hit him? You haven’t. </p>
<p>What you did was inexcusable. Part of growing up involves learning to accept alternative views without feeling as though they are a threat to your own. You’re looking for an easy out here, and there really isn’t one. You did something incredibly stupid, and now you have to suffer the consequences. Chalk it up to a learning experience. You owe this kid an apology. He has every bit as much of a right to his views as you have to yours. You did not have the right to hit him. Being stubborn and overly strong in your convictions is not going to help the situation. </p>
<p>The above^ comment (@DL43516’s comment) is correct. As far as your situation is concerned-- I recommend calm, careful explanation, along with an apology.</p>
<p>Listen, I don’t know enough about the actual situation to judge clearly (obviously, you’re be an imperfect narrator, as it is human nature to bias the story)-- it may well be that you were wrong, or that you were completely justified. Irrespective of the ‘truth’ of the matter, the most important goal now is getting you into your chosen colleges-- not a token, principled ‘victory’. What that means, is that you need to drop any hint of indignation-- you need to exude rationality, humility and demonstrate that hindsight is 20/20. Say that you were wrong to lash out, carefully explain exactly what happened (intelligent people tend to be very understanding of racism) and how it made you feel-- just don’t claim that you were ‘right’ to hit the kid-- that will rarely garner favour.</p>
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<p>Unfortunately, this^ won’t help you. Now is the time for diplomacy, not moral indignation.
Good luck.</p>
<p>In all honesty, I don’t see why you refuse to apologize to the kid. It shows maturity, even if you still disagree with his viewpoint.</p>
<p>You punched someone in the face. It’s wholly indefensible, regardless of what opinion he holds.</p>
<p>You didn’t make a glorious statement about society. You punched a fellow student in the face.</p>
<p>Colleges aren’t keen on accepting people whose response to ideas they disagree with is punching people in the face, and that’s understandable. You should at least have the decency to acknowledge that intelligence is better than brute force, apologize, and take this as a lesson in self-control, which should come with maturity.</p>
<p>You need to take the Ferguson situation out of the equation, as your school has done, and as your potential colleges will likely do. The facts as presented:</p>
<p>• You inflicted physical violence on a student, likely in violation of your student handbook
• Said student had injuries severe enough to be transported to the hospital
• You fled the scene</p>
<p>You can and should contact your potential colleges and present an objective account of your action. I would however, suggest getting off your moral high horse and apologize.</p>
<p>I personally think you are wrong and should apologize. Hitting the other student is “battery” and is a crime. </p>
<p>Since you feel strongly that you did nothing wrong, then I would suggest you contact each school you applied to, and tell them why you think hitting a student who only expressed a differing opinion from yours was the correct decision, and explain to them why you will not apologize. The university will either agree with your reasoning or will put your application in the reject pile. </p>
<p>One area you did not address is what discipline action will you face from your school? In my area, you would face suspension for hitting another student. The other issue is will you be charged with “battery” and/or will the other student purse a civil suit against you? Are you over 18 or are you lucky enough to have any criminal charges sealed?</p>
<p>I’m sorry but that was really stupid. It is right to make your objections known during Government class and to engage in debate. That is what an educated person does. It was wrong to barge out of class and gather others and then get involved in a fistfight. You should understand this. You engaged in criminal activity here - assault and battery. It doesn’t matter WHAT he said. You can debate it; you cannot punch him. </p>
<p>You refuse to apologize for your actions? Seriously??? You can refuse to apologize for your point of view on the racism,but your actions were wrong and they are going to come back to bite you now. </p>
<p>You should be begging for forgiveness from the student you hit (even though you disagree with him) and the school. </p>
<p>Where are the police in this equation? I might think colleges are the least of your worries when the kid presses charge for being attacked and hospitalized. Aren’t you automatically suspended from school and then expelled? Either you are missing details or you are underinformed as yet. I suspect you won’t be going to school on monday (at least to classes).</p>
<p>@SaveOurSkin - I agree with you that there the event in Ferguson are troubling. I believe the prosecutor abused the grand jury process. That said, I agree with the others. What you did was stupid. Refusing to recognize your mistake and apologize will only compound your mistake.</p>
<p>@doresearch I can’t imagine that any school would agree with him that violence is an answer. To the OP it might have seemed to be the “best” thing to do at the time, but I really just can’t see any college saying “oh yeah, he punched that kid because he had a different opinion. Yep, that’s fine!”.
The OP has no reason to defend his actions of punching the other kid unless the other kid was threatening physical harm. I realize it was the heat of the moment, but still.
Then again, that’s my opinion. Don’t punch me </p>
<p>You have the right to be angry and insulted, but you also have choices on how to handle disputes. People do make mistakes, and to make things right, they apologize. As long as you refuse to apologize, people will assume that you think physical violence in response to a verbal disagreement and insult is acceptable.</p>
<p>I almost wonder if you are making this up just to push people’s buttons, it is such a cliche.</p>
<p>Surely you will be suspended or expelled if not arrested. All those things will affect your college acceptances. Until you can see how entirely in the wrong you are, you can’t begin to dig yourself out of this hole.</p>
<p>Everyone here is telling you to apologize, including the adult users. Stop being so stubborn and apologize, even if they had reported it to colleges already.</p>
<p>To understand the “white kid”'s position, you may want to look up black-on-white crimes (ex: 6 black teens gang raping a white female), past and recent to finally come to an realization that it goes BOTH WAYS. </p>
<p>Obviously, some are just tired of others playing the race card 24/7 while others blame some for having racist motives. </p>
<p>Aside my tirade, your future is in jeopardy. I would immediately write a formal letter of explanation to colleges explaining to the best of your abilities how the event unfolded. Good luck. </p>
<p>@viphan: I wouldn’t recommend that route unless he has something constructive to say and has a change of heart. If all he can muster is what was in the original post – and doesn’t move from there – any letter he writes would just be nails in the coffin. </p>
<p>An un-apologetic violent possible-felon saying: “Here’s why I knocked that guy out and why I’m not going to apologize. Please admit me and let me live in your learning community”</p>
<p>Regardless, I honestly think things are now out of the OPs hands. Expulsion from the school system and possible criminal charges. No college will likely take any chances with that kind of situation – at least not for the fall of 2015. He’s got other things to worry about than completing his college apps – like getting a good lawyer.</p>
<p>Let the lawyer advise him and his family. The goal right now isn’t getting into college, or graduating from high school. The goal is to stay out of jail.</p>
<p>This is fantastically tragic. The victim and his family have my sympathy. The OP and his family have my sympathy. All because of testosterone driven impulsiveness. And now two lives are off the rails. One possibly with a lifetime of disability. Sheesh.</p>
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