I'm losing my tolerance for zero tolerance policies

[Nuclear Unicorn]

North Andover High Punishes Teen For Giving Drunken Pal Ride Home From Party

...

Two weeks ago, Erin received a call from a friend at a party who was too drunk to drive. Erin drove to Boxford after work to pick up her friend. Moments after she arrived, the cops arrived too and busted several kids for underage possession of alcohol.

A North Andover High School honor student, Erin was cleared by police, who agreed she had not been drinking and was not in possession of alcohol. But Andover High told Erin she was in violation of the district’s zero tolerance policy against alcohol and drug use. In the middle of her senior year, Erin was demoted from captain of the volleyball team and told she would be suspended from playing for five games.

http://boston.cbslocal.com/2013/10/13/north-andover-high-punishes-teen-for-giving-drunken-pal-ride-home-from-party/

Kudos to Erin for not allowing a friend to drive drunk or walk home in a vulnerable state.

OK, I can see underaged drinking being an issue. The friend screwed-up drinking when she wasn't supposed to, but she was responsible enough to call for a ride rather than driving home. So half-kudos to her as well.

What I can't understand is the school criminalizing responsible behavior.

[Jackpine Radical]

1. I'll see your arrest and raise you a suicide.

Published on Alternet (http://www.alternet.org)

Boy, 15, Kills Self After Facing Expulsion and Sex Offender Status for Streaking


By Jodie Gummow [2]


October 11, 2013

A popular, 15-year-old schoolboy from Hunstville, Alabama committed suicide a week after he was arrested for running naked across the Sparkman High football field during a game in September 27, NY Daily News reported. Faced with expulsion and the possibility of being placed on a sex offender’s registry for indecent exposure, Christian Adamek hanged himself and died two days later from his injuries.

A clip of Adamek streaking across the field was posted to youtube and went viral before it was removed following the news of his death.

…

… Sparkman High Principal Michael Campbell had condemned the boy’s actions as requiring “serious treatment” a day before his suicide in an interview with WHNT [5] – who subsequently removed the report from the website: 'There's the legal complications...public lewdness and court consequences outside of school with the legal system, as well as the school consequences that the school system has set up,” he said.

As Gawker reported [6], the WHNT interview which has since been uploaded to Youtube [7] was humiliating enough, particularly with the principal publicizing the situation and extreme penalty, leaving some in the community wondering whether the media’s local coverage of the incident is to blame: “The news story is scary enough for an adult facing punishment, so it's not hard to imagine how a frightened, embarrassed teenager might feel when seeing it,” it reported.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

2. Enough!

Childhood is being turned into a capital offense.

[Dollface]

6. WTF? More evidence of the Country's rightward drift. Streaking used to be considered funny.

[Orrex]

10. That's about the worst thing I've read in months

[bemildred]

3. "Zero tolerance" == "Zero intelligence".

It is a dumb simple-minded policy attractive to dumb simple-minded people when given authority and responsibility, and it has the added advantage that nothing is ever your fault.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

4. I don't even know why we have human beings in the loop anymore

Everybody wants to govern by actuarial tables and zero tolerance policies. Let's just write a computer program and give ourselves over to the machines to nanny us; we obviously aren't fit to govern ourselves if we drive a child to suicide for streaking.

[bemildred]

8. They will replace us all with machines if they can, so reliable and obedient.

Never interrupt you at breakfast.

[Uncle Joe]

11. + Infinity with a cherry on top. n/t

[Lasher]

5. Chew a piece of toast into the shape of a gun = mass murderer

Headache? Tough it out, you little addict. No aspirin for you.

[Dollface]

7. Zero tolerance = zero responsibility for the school. They're just following orders.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

9. Bemildred noted the same truth. My response to those types (not Bemildred or you)

is in post #4.

[Bunnahabhain]

12. Zero tolerance is what happens when extremists make the rules n/t