What do you think about this article in the Toronto Star? I personally can't believe that he got suspended, poor kid, trying to do a good thing.

http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1139739--student-fights-suspension-over-letter-praising-women-s-inner-beauty?bn=1#article

Student fights suspension over letter praising women’s ‘inner beauty’

All he wanted was to share the love, but instead he got suspended.

A Catholic high school student is appealing a suspension he received after distributing a Valentine’s Day letter to classmates that praised women’s inner beauty.

“Real attractiveness comes from having a certain dignity,” wrote Paul Gomille, a 17-year-old student at Archbishop Denis O'Connor Catholic High School.

“It comes from having class. It comes from being true to yourself, being yourself, and being comfortable in your own skin.”

It’s the second time in less than five months the Ajax school has made headlines. In November, it attracted international attention after a trustee said too many girls were hiking their kilts to unacceptable heights.

Initially, Principal Donna Modeste was on board with his idea, said Gomille, who wanted to deliver his message as a speech.

“She said this is very timely, this is very good, we’ve got the kilt controversy and everything that’s been happening … this is very timely to get the message out there about modesty,” he said.

But later, Modeste suggested some revisions to the address, in particular sentences where Gomille is “judgmental” and describes his audience as “the ones that don’t talk about people behind their backs, the ones that guys don’t flock to in droves, the ones that don’t dress in revealing clothing.”

Gomille didn’t comply with Modeste and ultimately decided to make 136 copies of his speech — the approximate number of students who sit in the cafeteria — and distribute them on Feb. 14, during lunch.

Hours later, he was summoned to the principal’s office and handed a two-day suspension for his “opposition to authority.” Gomille served his at-home suspension on Feb 15 and 16.

Mitch LePage, Catholic board superintendent of education, was reluctant to talk about the love-letter case.

“I think any suspension is a serious matter and reflects, I don’t know, I’d say reflects circumstances which the school and administration would have investigated thoroughly,” said LePage.

Principal Modeste could not be reached for comment.

Gomille’s family members suggested the school’s suspension is a misguided attempt to discourage what could have been an honest discussion about love.

“Paul describes himself as a man of dignity in the letter and really he truly is,” said older sister Alexandra. “He’s definitely got a different perception than most teenagers these days.”

Alexandra, 21, said brother Paul is a quiet and reserved, likes playing the video game World Of Warcraft, and does not, to her knowledge, have a girlfriend.

“That's Paul just speaking from the heart; he’s never been big on going after girls,” said Mike Shank, a student at the school.

“How many guys are going to go out there and call a girl beautiful instead of sexy?” said Shank. “He was just the one that stood out and had the guts to do it.”

Following Gomille’s suspension, students launched a multipronged protest on Tmblr, Twitter and Facebook. A “Free Paul” petition amassed 234 signatures.

“People mostly found out (what happened) through social networking sites and nobody approved,” said Jamie Savoie, another student at the school. “It didn’t really die down.”

For his part, Gomille says he’s not letting his new celebrity status go to his head.

“Occasionally students will say they liked my speech, or they’ll just say hi to me or something,” he said. “I’m trying to stay humble about it.”

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PAUL GOMILLE’S LETTER TO YOUNG WOMEN

According to the young author, the passages in boldface are those the school’s administrators took issue with.

Could I please have your attention for a few moments? I guarantee you won’t regret listening to what I have to say. You definitely won’t regret hearing this in your life time, especially from a man of dignity. It’s an idea that I have held close to my heart even before the kilt controversy arose in the media. This message is not meant to address the kilt controversy directly by any means, but rather, this message is a general and all-encompassing statement. It is a message about the qualities that really matter in a woman, and what really makes a woman attractive. Although this speech has some relevance to the way women dress and present themselves nowadays, the message in this speech goes far beyond one’s preferences, or feelings of pressure, as it relates to the way they dress, and it goes far beyond any concept of modernity. It strikes at the very core of humanity itself, in an attempt to make a revelation of truth apparent to all of you, with awe inspiring certainty. If you read this, and receive anything less than a feeling of absolution from it, then I have committed a grave sin, a sin against myself and a sin against all of you.

The people this message concerns are the young women of this school, and of the world. In particular, it concerns the silent ones, the intelligent ones, the ones that don’t talk about people behind their backs, the ones that guys don’t flock to in droves, the ones that don’t dress in revealing clothing, the ones who would love to be in love, and the ones that are continually disappointed in their appearance because the only thing they have to compare themselves to are the women that have been put on pedestals by our society. This message also concerns those of you who may consider yourselves the so called “opposite” to the demographic I just described. The ones who do dress in revealing clothing, and the ones who try to fit in with the crowd.

You don’t need to dress or act a certain way to fit in, to feel attractive, or to BE attractive. You’re all far more attractive than you realize. All of you. But that’s not to say that you should all dress in revealing clothing. No, not at all. Sure, a girl who dresses that way might turn a few heads, and get some compliments. But real attractiveness doesn’t come from wearing the latest fashion, and it doesn’t come from being scantily clad in public, or putting on make-up, or having a pretty face, or a nice body. No. Real attractiveness comes from having a certain dignity. It comes from having class. It comes from being true to yourself, being yourself, and being comfortable in your own skin. This message is for all young women within the sound of my voice and beyond. You’re all beautiful. You all have inner beauty AND outer beauty.