Ronnie Woo Woo Hates School

By Rachelle Bowden in News on Sep 20, 2004 7:14PM

Patricia Samar's 13 year old son missed more days school since the fall of 2002 than he days he actually attended - almost 200 days. For this, Samar is facing misdemeanor charges for truancy of a student and could spend 30 days in jail and have to pay a hefty $500 fine.

Prosecuters say they need to help this kid now or else he could fall through the cracks and lead a life of crime. His school's principal thinks that the boy's schooling will never recover. Held back twice, he's a 6th grader now when most kids his age are in 8th grade.

The boy's mother, Samar, says that he's been abused by the school staff and that "they failed him." She also thinks that the case doesn't belong in court and that it's between her and the district to work out. And then there's Samar's live-in boyfriend. Ronnie "Woo Woo" Wickers. The Trib describes this guy as "best known as a prominent Cubs fan... who attended Friday's hearing in his trademark pinstriped pants and blue Cubs jersey". Woo Woo says that Samar's son is "very, very smart" but says he doesn't want to go to school because he gets picked on.

And here is where it gets good. Ronnie Woo Woo has a website. A website where he proclaims himself to be an "Unofficial Troubadour of the Cubs" and where you can hear him make his Woo Woo sound (longest time making the noise: 6 hours in Schaumburg). WTF? Woo Life is page on the site, a "documentary" that tells his story. It's just sad. Ronnie tells a tale of a hard life, some of it spent homeless on the street, and encourages us to support the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless. A great charity, but we think that Ronnie should spend less time declaring his fandom and less time at the ball game and maybe more time making sure his kid is in school. Or else maybe his kid will wind up on the street. Also, maybe the reason the boy is getting picked on at school so much is because his mother's boyfriend is a nutjob. (Thanks, Claire)