30 days of Raps about Principal Mark Cerutti

Posted Nov. 08, 2003

Student may be expelled for rap
(link to original)

CD contained threatening lyrics against principal

The Associated Press

MILWAUKEE — A school superintendent Friday delayed deciding whether to hold an expulsion hearing for an honors student for making a rap CD with a lyric that officials say threatened the principal.

Matt Gibson, Elmbrook School District superintendent, said he extended Friday’s deadline to Tuesday morning to gather more information about the case of 15-year-old Sashwat Singh.

Mark Cerutti, Brookfield Central High School principal, suspended Singh Oct. 29 for a lyric on Singh’s homemade rap compact disc.

Gibson extended the timeline for the next step during a 90-minute meeting set up at the request of Andrew Franklin, the boy’s attorney. “We had a good two-way communication,” Gibson said. “We gained some time to work through the issues.”

Gibson and Franklin declined to talk about the specifics of the meeting, citing Singh’s privacy.

Singh was suspended for “gross disobedience or misconduct,” which would put Singh’s actions on par with a bomb threat, arson or bringing guns to school.

His 32-minute, 14-track CD includes references to illegal drug use and explicit sexual acts, Franklin said.

The rap about Cerutti suggests that if the principal doesn’t leave Brookfield, Singh will “(expletive) beat your ass down.” It also uses sexually explicit slurs to describe the principal.

Singh will return to class on Tuesday unless Gibson seeks expulsion.

Franklin called the lyrics “absolutely not a threat” and said there were better ways to deal with the issue than suspension or expulsion.

Franklin said Singh was enrolled in advanced placement courses and enjoyed music classes.

Cerutti did not return phone messages from the Associated Press on Friday.

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