Westfield students suspended for 'Star Wars' prank

WESTFIELD, Mass. -- A high school prank turned serious in Westfield after a fake fight caused some real problems. Now their principal is forcing them to miss graduation, but some students are coming to their support.

The Star Wars movies are known for its light sabers, which is entertaining for audiences, and the reason two seniors at Westfield High School thought a pre-planned, choreographed light saber battle in the school lunchroom would help them go out with a bang.

"So one kid walked in from one side of the lunchroom and another one to the other side, and he called him out in a fight…And they pulled out their saber toys and in a joking manner proceeded to fight for a solid, like, 30 seconds," said Kevin Carr.

But it was all for show. According to their friend, Kevin Carr.

"Everybody laughed at it…gave them a standing ovation. Nobody saw it as a big deal," said Carr.

It's a big deal to administrators. The two students were escorted to the principal’s office, suspended for two days and told they wouldn't be able to walk in their graduation ceremony next Friday.

“They very easily could have hit another student they could have started something different…someone could have gotten hurt,” said Westfield High School Principal Raymond Broderick.

The punishment created a force in cyber space. A Facebook page calling for the two to take part in graduation now has hundreds of supporters with a stream of comments about the punishment that many students see as too harsh.

"Nobody thought it would be this serious. Nobody else got hurt from it…it wasn’t during the class periods or anything, so I thought it was very innocent…an innocent prank and joke,” said Carr.

The principal says there will be a hearing next week. He has received written apologies from the students. They will discuss then whether the two will be able to walk at graduation.

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