Kansas teen won't apologize to governor's office for Twitter post

SOURCE: CNN

By Karen Smith, CNN

(CNN) -- A high school senior, who faces a Monday morning deadline to apologize to Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback for a disparaging tweet, has said she will not write the apology letter.

"I don't think I should write the letter, and I don't think it would be the best move for me," Emma Sullivan, 18, said late Sunday night. "At this time, I do not think an apology would be a sincere thing for me to do."

Sullivan said her parents and many of her peers support her decision.

The teen made national headlines last week for a tweet she said was intended just for her friends.

A Kansas teen said she will not apologize for her disparaging tweet about Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback.

During a Kansas Youth in Government field trip to the state Capitol on November 21, Sullivan wrote: "Just made mean comments at gov brownback and told him he sucked, in person #heblowsalot."

The Shawnee Mission East senior said she did not actually talk to Brownback, and the post referenced a joke she had with a student on the trip.

The next day, she was called into the principal's office.

"I had no idea what it was about or why I was being called into the office," she said. "I had never been in trouble before."

A Brownback staffer had notified the principal, she said.

"My principal told me he needed to do damage control and was really upset," Sullivan said. "He said I was an embarrassment to the school and the school district and that I had been disrespectful."

The principal then asked her to write a letter of apology to Brownback and his staff. He set Monday as the due date for the letter.

Sullivan said she did not know what will happen when she does not turn in the letter Monday. But she hopes the tweet will bring attention to the issue of free speech.

"I hope there won't be any consequences and that my principal and the governor's office can move on," she said. "The issue is relevant and, if anything, is a starting point of dialog with the governor about his policies and how our First Amendment rights can be taken away."

Sullivan said she has not heard from the governor's office directly. But, following the media attention, her Twitter follower count has rocketed from 65 to more than 4,000 in the last week.

"I hope that the governor realizes the power of the people and how people can make things happen," she said. "I also hope he will spend his time doing more productive things."