Kansas Governor Apologizes for 'Over-reaction' to Student's Tweet
The girl who refused to apologize for her comments on Twitter to Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback can now expect an apology of her own from the governor from what he is calling an “over-reaction.”
Emma Sullivan, 18, of the Kansas City suburb of Fairway, said the apology letter demanded would not have been heartfelt anyway.
The senior at Shawnee Mission East was at an event for a Youth in Government program in Topeka, Kan., which was held last week, when she reportedly sent out several tweets while at the event.
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"Just made mean comments at gov. brownback and told him he sucked, in person (hash)heblowsalot,” tweeted Sullivan.
Brownback’s office monitors social media for any news containing the governors’ name. When the tweets were discovered, representatives from his office contacted the principal at Sullivan’s high school.
The school’s principal, Karl R. Krawitz, ordered the girl to write a letter of apology and even gave her talking points, according to reports.
It was Sullivan’s older sister who contacted local media outlets that got hold of the story and subsequently forced the governor to apologize.
On his Facebook profile, Gov. Brownback said: “My staff over-reacted to this tweet, and for that I apologize. Freedom of speech is among our most treasured freedoms. I enjoyed speaking to the more than 100 students who participated in the Youth in Government Program at the Kansas Capitol. They are our future. I also want to thank the thousands of Kansas' educators who remind us daily of our liberties, as well as the values of civility and decorum. Again, I apologize for our overreaction."
Sullivan was upset that the Brownback decided to veto the Kansas Arts Commission's entire budget. This made Kansas the only state in the nation to eliminate arts funding.
Brownback argued arts programs can flourish with private dollars and that state funds should go to core government functions, such as education and social services.
Sullivan said her tweets could help start the dialogue concerning free speech in social media, according to statements the students made to the Associated Press.
