Words by Alexandra Salandy
In early September a Georgia high school teacher named Lyn Orletsky made headlines for telling two students to turn their shirts inside out. The students were wearing shirts that had President Donald Trump’s famous slogan “Make America Great Again” across them.
A video went of Orletsky, telling the students to leave the classroom if they refuse to remove their shirts. Orletsky also made comments saying that the shirts were against the school’s dress code and wearing the shirts was like wearing a swastika.
She explained that her reasoning for asking the students to remove their shirts was not because she is Anti-Trump but because Neo-Nazis recently wore them during their violent pro-hate rally. Orletsky also added that “while my actions have been portrayed as political, I was trying to create a supportive classroom for all my students.”
The school’s superintendent made a public apology saying that the students were not in trouble but, the teacher’s actions were wrong. The superintendent also added that the student’s shirts were not at all a violation of the school’s dress code.
Lyn Orletsky was placed on administrative leave in September after the video went viral and caused an uproar for the school district. However, the teacher’s nightmare quickly began once she started getting threats for her life and became very fearful for her safety. The fear for her safety quickly resulted in her wanting to resign from her position.
She released a statement Wednesday stating:
After attacks on my character and threats on my life, I have made the decision to resign from my teaching position at River Ridge High School. While in hindsight I would have handled the situation differently, the outcry over this incident has been disproportionate to the event itself.
Orletsky plans to officially resign Thursday at 7 pm.
