Freedom of Twitter Gets Teen in Trouble in Gov. Brownback Rebuke
A young woman from Kansas City, Missouri is making headlines due to her public opinion of Governor Sam Brownback.
Eighteen-year-old Emma Sullivan posted the following Tweet: “Just made mean comments at gov.brownback and told him he sucked, in person #heblowsalot.”
The following day she was called into Principal Karl R. Krowitz’s office. There Krowitz told her that she was to write a letter of apology to Governor Brownback.
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Sullivan told the Associated Press that she was participating in the Youth in Government program when she sent the Tweet, which was only meant for a few friends. But Tweets become public and Gov. Brownback’s office was not amused. They contacted the high school Emma attends, leading to the meeting in the principal’s office.
She explained her words saying, “[I] disagree with Brownback politically, particularly his decision to veto the Kansas Art Commission’s budget,” according to AP.
This cut means that there is no longer any funding for art programs in school.
Sullivan told CNN, “I hope there won’t be any consequences and that my principal and the governor’s office can move on. I hope that the governor realizes the power of the people and how people can make things happen.”
In response, Governor Brownback offered the following statement on his Facebook page, “My staff over-reacted to this Tweet, and for that I apologize. Freedom of speech is among our most treasured freedoms.”
Sullivan now has a fan page on Facebook that includes 2,065 “likes” and messages from people encouraging her to continue to fight for her freedom of expression. The majority of posts express hope that she will not write the letter of apology because she has nothing to apologize for.
Emma’s mother has responded to the incident: “I raised my kids to be independent, to be strong to be free thinkers. If she wants to tweet her opinion about Gov. Brownback, I say for her to go for it and I stand totally behind her,” according to AP.
The school has since issued a statement saying: “She is not required to write a letter of apology to the governor.”
Sullivan has been unrelenting in her course of action and has said: “I don’t think I should write the letter, and I don’t think it would be the best move for me. At this time, I do not think an apology would be a sincere thing for me to do.”
