Author Spotlight
Becca Brownlee
Prior to last week, senior Emma Sullivan had never been to the principal’s office.
After tweeting “Just made mean comments at gov brownback and told him he sucked, in person #heblowsalot,” from Topeka on the annual Youth in Government trip, Emma found herself face-to-face with SM East Principal Karl Krawitz upon returning to school.
“As Dr. Krawitz sat there and lectured me for thirty minutes, I realized that [getting in trouble] wasn’t right,” Emma said in an exclusive interview with Harbinger Online.
“What he kept saying to me was, ‘Are you listening to me? I don’t think you get it.’” Emma said. “I really wanted to say, ‘I don’t get it,’ because I was pretty sure I couldn’t get in trouble for tweeting something.”
Observers across the nation have voiced their opinions on the situation after it was reported that a staffer from Governor Sam Brownback’s office contacted Youth in Government officials who contacted Krawitz about the tweet in emails. Many sources also stated that Krawitz insisted upon an apology letter, a fact that Emma claims was fabricated.
According to Emma, Krawitz told her about the consequences of her tweet and told her about who would have to face the public on the issue. He suggested a letter of apology, but never required one. Sullivan thinks the sources that believed the letter was mandatory simply misunderstood her previous statements.
The main source of much of the initial publicity stems from Emma’s sister, Olivia Sullivan.
“As a family, we decided that I should contact the media to give Emma some voice,” Olivia said.
Olivia called area publications, including The Kansas City Star and The Wichita Eagle, to alert them of the situation.
As the story was picked up by more publications, Emma saw her number of Twitter followers jump from 61 close friends to 12,000 people from all over the world. Emma thinks the jump in followers played a large role in the misunderstanding the tweet brought up.
“In a way I wish I had changed my wording. At the time I only did have 60 followers and they were all my friends,” Emma said. “Most of my friends aren’t into politics and if I had tweeted about this and that policy it would have been different. No one would have read it and no one would have cared. The way I worded it was towards my audience.”
After much apprehension, Brownback apologized on behalf of his staff, posting a statement on his website.
“My staff overreacted to this tweet, and for that I apologize,” Brownback said. Brownback declined to comment beyond this statement.
The Shawnee Mission School District also issued a statement.
“Whether and to whom any apologies are issued will be left to the individuals involved,” the release statement said.
Looking back, Emma recognizes how big the issue has become and how many people it has affected.
“I feel bad in a way because I didn’t mean to put Dr. K in the middle of the situation. I am trying to steer it away from him as much as possible.” Emma said. “People keep saying radical things about him getting fired but that is too extreme. What would you do if you were principal of a school and the governor of your state emailed you pointing out what one of your students said?”
Students held a rally to show support for their school and all students in the face of controversy.
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