Evanston residents and District 202 school board membersrevisited the divisive button issue at the board meeting Tuesdaynight.

Current guidelines prohibit teachers at Evanston Township HighSchool from wearing any buttons while teaching. School BoardPresident Margaret Lurie said they “don’t want the administrationto be the button police.”

But when pressed on the issue, school board members andSuperintendent Allan Alson would not respond to requests forclarification.

Laura Paz, parent of an ETHS senior, asked Alson if the policybanned U.S. flag pins.

“I cannot respond,” Alson said.

Anya Cordell, parent of an ETHS senior and a member of the localactvist group Neighbors for Peace, said she doesn’t understand whythe policy remains “a mystery.”

“I continually meet this wall of silence,” Cordell said. “If youare going to have a policy, you must explicate it.”

Alson said he will attempt to provide an explanation of thepolicy at the next school board meeting — scheduled for 7:30 p.m.on June 9 at ETHS — but he could not guarantee it.

All of the school board members received time to voice theiropinions about the button issue, and all but one said they supportthe policy.

Board member Martha Burns was the lone dissenter. She said thecurrent policy implies that teachers will pressure students toagree with their own views.

“Our teachers are professionals,” she said. “Them wearing a ‘Nowar’ button does not mean they have a bias in the classroom.”

ETHS senior Robert Gartzman, a student representative on theschool board, also said he does not agree with the policy.

“When I look at a button I don’t see a bias, I just see anopinion,” Gartzman said. “It encourages discussion.”