Neal Boortz has a piece on a girl in New Orleans who was suspended from school for bringing Jello-shots to class for her friends. Although there was no alcohol in the Jello, the school determined these were look-alikes, and therefore the girl must go.
Someone on the net (I thought it was Reynolds, but can’t find it) noted that in his day, schools actually furnished refreshment that looked like vodka.
I dealt with school administrators like this. They had a book with punishments listed for specific violations. I never convinced them that some kids require different punishments for the same offense if the intent was to change behavior. A top student might be deterred by the threat of suspension, but others saw it a an additional vacation. “Zero Tolerance” is simply the way lazy school administrators deal with problems. No thought required.
Not just school administrators; state and federal legislators do the exact same thing, especially with regard to drug-related offenses.
Comment by Bogey — December 8, 2004 @ 7:22 pm