Julie Kaputa, a high school student at Beaver River Central School in Castorland, New York, was suspended on her first day of class, September 3, for bringing a coffee into the classroom and refusing to dispose of it. She described her actions as an act of ‘civil disobedience.’ The incident highlights ongoing discussions about school policies regarding food and beverages in classrooms.
A committee comprising Kaputa, five other students, two teachers, and one of the members of the administration was formed to look further into the matter. In a social media post, Kaputa detailed that she decided to carry a cup of joe after she and several other students became aware that the school board voted on the new code about the food and drink policy on Aug. 10, which the majority of her senior class disapproved of.
Kaputa was slapped with an in-school suspension over her latte, which the school said violated its Code of Conduct regulation that sought to create a “safe, instruction-focused environment for all students”. The high school senior said she had another meeting with two members of the administration on the same day. Researching the changes, Kaputa said she discovered that the school had not posted meeting minutes from the previous three Board of Education (BOE) meetings.
Student Plans Civil Disobedience on First Day of School
At an open house preceding the start of the school year, student Kaputa informed her homeroom teacher of her intention to engage in civil disobedience on the first day of classes. She stated that her aim was to avoid disrupting the classroom environment while expressing her beliefs.
