Pirna: Recent headlines - Conflict over the mayor's involvement in the school event
High school students at the Pirnaer Friedrich-Schiller-Gymnasium are objecting to Mayor Tim Lochner (independent) attending a school celebration this Wednesday. They sent out a letter over the weekend asking the school management to rescind the invitation to the city mayor. The independent mayor captured the town hall in Pirna for the AfD in December.
In the letter, the students express their disapproval of Lochner's connection to a party whose Saxon state branch is considered right-wing extremist by the constitutional protection. His political views contradict the school's recently established guiding principles, they claim. The text is signed by around 100 students, as well as numerous parents and alumni of the gymnasium.
Despite the protest, Lochner (54) still plans on attending the event - "to clear up misconceptions and misrepresentations that have been amplified in the media and in other ways," his office stated on Monday.
"Keeping conversations going, even on disputed topics, is in the best interest of the entire city population. This is especially important given the growing tendency towards labeling and dehumanizing those with opposing political views," Lochner asserts. Lochner is aware that his visit to the school will not be met with unanimous agreement, but he sees it as a valuable contribution to fair coexistence.
Principal Kristian Raum has already defended the invitation and allowed for discussions regarding the mayor's person. "There are various ways of dealing with each other, and I chose the more challenging option, which I consider the right one: to have a conversation, to offer a dialogue, and to hold the mayor of Pirna accountable as the responsible person for the city of Pirna. Attending the city's schools is part of his official duties," argued the school principal.
Read also:
- The ongoing strife in Pirna reached the Pirnaer Friedrich-Schiller-Gymnasium, as high school students and several parents and alumni expressed their disapproval of Mayor Tim Lochner attending a school event due to his affiliation with the AfD, a party deemed right-wing extremist by Saxony's constitutional protection.
- Despite the students and parents' letter sent over the weekend, Lochner plans to attend the school event this Wednesday, asserting that it is essential to have conversations and dialogue, even on disputed topics, to foster fair coexistence in the city of Pirna.
- As the mayor of Pirna, attending the city's schools is part of Lochner's official duties, according to school principal Kristian Raum, who defended the invitation and emphasized the importance of having discussions and dialogues.
- The controversial issue has garnered attention beyond Pirna, with the students' protest and Lochner's plans to attend the school event sparking discussions about the role of political figures in schools, the protection of the constitution, and the growing tendency towards labeling and dehumanizing those with opposing political views in the region.
