North Carolina high schooler suspended for ‘racism’ after using term ‘illegal alien’ during vocab assignment

According to the Carolina Journal, a 16-year-old student, later identified as Christian McGhee in other reports, asked a question in which he wanted clarification on an assignment that wanted him to use the term "alien" as a vocabulary word.

McGhee reportedly asked, “Like space aliens or illegal aliens without green cards?”

Another student allegedly took issue with the phrase and said he would fight McGhee, leading to school administrators getting involved, who said that his words were disrespectful towards Hispanic classmates.

It was later determined that he would be suspended from the school.

“I didn’t make a statement directed towards anyone; I asked a question,” McGhee stated in a response to his suspension. “I wasn’t speaking of Hispanics because everyone from other countries needs green cards, and the term ‘illegal alien’ is an actual term that I hear on the news and can find in the dictionary.”

“Because of his question, our son was disciplined and given THREE days OUT of school suspension for ‘racism,’” his mother Leah McGhee wrote in an email. “He is devastated and concerned that the racism label on his school record will harm his future goal of receiving a track scholarship. We are concerned that he will fall behind in his classes due to being absent for three consecutive days.”

Leah told the Journal that the assistant principal has not moved on removing the suspension from his record.

In response to the controversy, state Senator Steve Jarvis said, "I do not see that that would be an offensive statement, just in getting clarification."