This weekend, an estimated 2,000 people joined Jesse Jackson in a march in Decatur, Illinois to protest the year-long suspension of six African-American students at Eisenhower High for their participation in a fight on September 17 at a school football game. Initially, the local school board, citing the district's "zero tolerance" for school violence policy, had expelled seven students for two years -- one of whom subsequently withdrew. After the intervention of Jesse Jackson, community protests, and a visit by Illinois governor Ryan, the board agreed to a one-year suspension, but Jackson and supporters are pushing for a program that includes the possibility of the six students returning to Eisenhower with the start of the Spring semester. The controversy has highlighted both racial tensions and questions about the wisdom of zero tolerance policies schools have enacted in the wake of school shooting tragedies such as the one in Littleton, Colorado last spring. A publicly released video tape of the fight -- apparently not yet online -- generated highly conflicting views of the ferocity of the violence. Jackson and others saw it as presenting nothing more than a "typical school fight." The school board and supporters claim it documents "mob action" and "gang violence." Despite much posturing by both Rev. Jackson and the members of the board, a compromise, brokered by State Schools Superintendent Glenn McGee, is under consideration.