An SFU student took a dramatic stand Tuesday afternoon in favour of what she describes as her “inalienable right to make everyone behind her watch her browse Etsy.”
Despite being asked several times by her professor to move, in accordance with his rule that students with laptops sit near the back, third year student Madeline Wright remained front-row and centre for the duration of her American history class.
“I was standing up for what I believe in, just like we learned Mrs. Parks did,” Wright said, following her private meeting with the prof to discuss the incident. “I’ve been forced to sit in the back my entire undergraduate life, just because of my laptop — I had to take a stand!”
Unlike her hero, Wright says that she was not arrested or even forced to leave the class, but claims that her fate was almost as bad, as she was glared at and verbally abused by the pen-and-paper kids in the class.
“They yelled at me to ‘get to the back’ and to ‘shut that thing off,’ as if preferring to take notes on a computer was a choice or something,” Wright explained. “I can’t believe this type of discrimination still exists in the 21st century!”
While Wright admits to having faced far worse treatment — she isn’t even allowed to have her laptop out in certain classes — she says she won’t give up her fight until all those with open computers are permitted to sit in any seat, at any university.
When asked whether she could learn any other lessons from what she’s being taught in class, Wright responded “Well, we were learning about Rosa Parks and the whole ‘refusing to change seats when someone asks you to’ thing … but recently we’ve moved on to, like, ‘civil rights’ or something.
“I don’t know, it’s really boring so I just go on Facebook.”
