Girl, 16, says teacher at Port Richmond school ridiculed her Romney T-shirt

Samantha Pawlucy , a 16-year-old student at Charles Carroll High School, was asked to leave geometry class by her teacher because she was wearing this shirt.
Samantha Pawlucy , a 16-year-old student at Charles Carroll High School, was asked to leave geometry class by her teacher because she was wearing this shirt. (SHARON GEKOSKI-KIMMEL / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
BY REGINA MEDINA, Daily News Staff Writer
Posted: October 05, 2012

BLACK BELT taekwon-do instructor. Political activist. High school sophomore. Samantha Pawlucy sure knows how to stand up for herself and stay true to her convictions.

A geometry teacher at Charles Carroll High School, in Port Richmond, on Friday ridiculed Pawlucy, 16, for wearing a "Romney/Ryan" T-shirt and told her to leave class, her mother, Kristine, told the Daily News Wednesday night.

The teacher told Samantha, " 'Your wearing a Romney shirt is like me wearing a KKK shirt,' " according to her parents, who said they intend to file a formal complaint Thursday with the district and the school.

The teacher was identified by Kristine Pawlucy, but the People Paper is withholding her name because she couldn't be reached for comment.

The teacher opened the classroom door and "screamed out, 'This girl is wearing a Romney/Ryan shirt in my classroom!' " Pawlucy said.

The teacher invited an assistant and other students in to look at her shirt, which Samantha wore for the twice-monthly "Dress Down Day," Pawlucy said.

The T-shirt brouhaha was first discussed earlier Wednesday on WWIQ (106.9-FM) when the girl's father, Richard, spoke with radio host Larry Mendte.

The teacher reportedly told the teen, " 'This is a Democratic school, why are you wearing a Republican shirt?' " Richard Pawlucy said on the show.

Another teacher told the teen to remove the shirt and even approached Samantha with a red marker "as if she was going to write an X on her shirt," Kristine Pawlucy said.

"I didn't know what to do," Samantha said Wednesday night. "I was embarrassed."

The district is investigating the incident, district spokesman Fernando Gallard said. The district has removed the teacher from that geometry class and has replaced her with another teacher, Gallard said.

Contact Regina Medina at medinar@phillynews.com or 215-854-5985. Follow her on Twitter @ReginaMedina.

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