Teaching in the Haze of corruption

there was a funeral today for a student.

he was killed in a drug related incident. he was actually trying to rip off his dealer…so the dealer killed him. five shots at close range. he was 18 and still classified as a sophomore. sad isn’t it.

i never taught him. i’d see his name on the suspension list. i saw his mother in the office when he had his expulsion hearing. i typed in the 4-page incident report that cause his mother to miss work to hear, yet again, that her son is distraction and danger to the students on campus.
today, the kids all touted that he was too young to die. they sang in praise that he’ll always be missed and never forgotten. they talked about how great he was? what? i remember the loud sign of relief when the tale of his removal was spread throughout the campus 4 weeks ago. The students were happy about his expulsion. is their change in opinion simply out of respect for the dead?

i want to pass judgment. he assaulted one of my colleagues. he wasn’t a good person.