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Monday, April 16, 2007

Class Trip Not So Cuba Libre

April 16, 2007
Class Trip Not So Cuba Libre

A public school is facing a mini-crisis because students and a teacher
went to Cuba for spring break. The Beacon School on West 61st Street has
had a tradition of "extravagant overseas trips with complementary
semester-long classes," involving places like France, South Africa, and
Venezula, but a trip headed by history teacher Nathan Turner may have
violated travel restrictions - the group of kids was detained by customs
officials on the return!

The Post reports that Beacon School principal Ruth Lacey "initially
claimed to have no knowledge of the trip but later recalled having
denied approval for it." While Turner organized it on his own,
information about the trip was listed on the school's website. Now the
Post has the Department of Education involved, and the DOE is
investigating how the school managed to pull off its earlier trips.

According to the State Department, high school students aren't allowed
to visit Cuba. Though students could face up to $65,000 in fines each,
one parent said, "It concerns me more that we have a blockade on Cuba
that's lasted more than 40 years."

http://www.gothamist.com/2007/04/16/class_trip_not.php

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