Story Archive

Do the Right Thing

When a student at Gateway Middle School in Killeen, Texas, had an asthma attack during class, the teacher took quick action, per district protocol: she e-mailed the school nurse and waited for an e-mail reply. Several minutes later, the girl collapsed onto the floor. Fellow student Anthony Ruelas, 15, decided to take action: he “proceeded to go over and pick her up, saying ‘we ain’t got time to wait for no email from the nurse’,” the teacher wrote. “He walks out of the class and carries the other student to the nurse.” Various sources say he saved the girl’s life, but the school suspended Ruelas for two days because he “walked out of class.” The next day, the school called Ruelas’s mother demanding to know why he was absent. She had to remind them he had been suspended. Superintendent John Craft issued a statement noting that “Students rendering assistance and their efforts are to be applauded.” (RC/Killeen Daily Herald, KCEN Temple) ...The students can’t hear that applause from home, sir.