Cause: Possession of a Bag of Skittles
From the Center for Consumer Freedom (link here)
What does it take for a school to suspend an eighth-grader, bar his attendance from an honors dinner, and strip him of his post as class Vice President? If you guessed drugs, alcohol, or a firearm, think again. A bag of candy is reason enough. This week a Connecticut school levied thse very punishments on an honor student with no history of misconduct, just for buying a bag of Skittles from his classmate. School officials are hiding behind their Wellness Policy--which prohibits bake sales, classroom pizza parties, and the sale of candy--as justification for the harsh disciplinary action.
Thanks to Reason Hit and Run
From the Center for Consumer Freedom (link here)
What does it take for a school to suspend an eighth-grader, bar his attendance from an honors dinner, and strip him of his post as class Vice President? If you guessed drugs, alcohol, or a firearm, think again. A bag of candy is reason enough. This week a Connecticut school levied thse very punishments on an honor student with no history of misconduct, just for buying a bag of Skittles from his classmate. School officials are hiding behind their Wellness Policy--which prohibits bake sales, classroom pizza parties, and the sale of candy--as justification for the harsh disciplinary action.
Thanks to Reason Hit and Run
This is why your country is fucked up gringos, you wanna have capitalism at all costs, but you fuck this little guy for buying some candy at school?
Wow... that´s the land of the freedom and the great!
Wow! That is really, really sad. I wonder if they were those new, disgusting Chocolate Skittles that taste like rancid Jelly Bellys?
So, what they would have done if they caught him plagirsing or cheating?
pJ
You've gotta be kidding...Better check for drugs in the water supply, it's obviously turned the whole country stupid!
That is absolutely fucking disgusting. I don't understand this "Wellness Policy". Kids can't have pizza parties, but my dog wouldn't even eat the gruel served at public schools. Not even the Jello.
I'm a teacher. When I hear things like this I am positively ashamed of my profession. I expect teachers to have rational thoughts in their heads. Obviously the teachers and administration of this school are totally incapable of any rational thought. This is what you get when you have a "zero tolerance" policy. All rational thought gets replaced by incredible stupidity.
anyone know what school it is and maybe how we could all contact them and tell them (politely) how stupid they are?
What kind of distorted judgement is this? isn't it the guy that sold the stuff that should be punished if any? That's why you can never tell at school you vote democrate :-)
jan
He was disciplined for breaking a school rule. This isn't a civil liberties issue.
WHEN SKITTLES ARE OUTLAWED, ONLY OUTLAWS WILL HAVE SKITTLES.
@Stevo: it is Sheridan Communication & Technology Magnet School ( http://www.nhps.net/sheridan/index.htm ) and there is a comment form at http://www.nhps.net/contact/index.asp.
Before leaving a comment you may wish to read their update, "Regarding the Skittles incident" at http://www.nhps.net/announcements/announce.asp?NewsID={84CA586C-611E-4F6B-8358-25DF23FA755E} (and linked from the home page http://www.nhps.net/ ). In brief it appears that they have undone their disciplinary actions, as much as that is possible after the fact, and express certain (IMO not enough) regrets about the incident.
Most of the abovementioned pages include a "Kids first" logo, a motto I hope they will bear more deeply in mind than this incident seems to suggest.
Tak: you are apparently unclear on the basic concepts of high school civics and government.
This *may* be against the rules but it is self-evidently a stupid rule, at best. That's precisely why it *is* a civil liberties issue.
Anonymous, you couldn't be more right. Today, Tak has commented here on three posts; in all three cases, Tak has taken the side of authority over the victim -- not just in terms of "well, perhaps this was correct," but out and out saying that these actions were justified and that the victims should have known better.
In the case of the mother who left her baby in the car a few yards away and is now in prison for child abuse, Tak even goes so far as to imply that she is lazy and has too many children to care for them properly -- thus that the state is correct to imprison her for actions that any sane person would find perfectly reasonable. (I'll wager Tak has no children, or that Tak's coparent bears all the responsibility for childrearing.)
Tak is an authoritarian apologist.
I do hope that Tak stays with us for a while; I expect it to be instructive and entertaining.
I propose that we all send huge boxes full of Skittles to the following address:
Sheridan Academy for Excellence(5-8)
311 Valley Street (Swing Space)
New Haven, CT 06515
I love how a blog published by a group called "QuestionAuthority" links to a story on a restaurant industry lobby site. "Center for Consumer Freedom?" How about "Center for Saving Our Fat Paychecks?"
A story's a story, Colin. We figure you're smart enough to winnow the wheat from the chaff.
i'm a student in a new haven school and i agree it was wrong for him to do it after the rules say he shouldn't have but the way they handled it was out of hand. if anything he should have gotten detention or something, everything was blown out of porportion.
there is the professional world of warcraft power leveling here. welcome.