Zero Tolerance--Teen Suspended for Designated Driving

If I were the girl's parents I would hug her for a long time and made sure she knew she did a great thing.

If I was the parent of th girl that called her, the one who 'couldn't drive' I'd also hug my daughter for choosing the right choice. Doesn't mean she wouldn't be punished, Id just be grateful she was still around to be punished.

It's the parents of the girl whose life she saved that should be doing the hugging. And anyone who was on the street that night whose life was also saved by keeping a drunk teen off the streets needs to do a little "hugging" of their own.
 
"The girl broke school policy and was suspended..."

Ya know... I'm not so sure that this holds up under a closer scrutiny.

1. It occurred off-campus, and no school should have a right to censure students for events that occur off-campus and out of their jurisdiction - at least nothing which does not pose a safety and well-being threat to themselves and others. Even if precedent already exists, that does not make ethical or right.

2. No school should have a right to censure students for collateral presence in events to which they were not a culpable party, but, rather, being bystanders and comers-afterwards. The local-yokel Police cleared the young lady of any culpability; conceding her status and claim as someone coming afterwards, to transport others away.

3. No school should have a right to censure students in connection with serious punishments without an Appeal infrastructure that takes the Appeal out of the hands of the local-yokel school administrators; routing the Appeal to the local Board of Education, and then on to the County or State.

Note that I'm dealing in "what should be" here rather than "what is" - especially with respect to (1) and (3) above; however, I'm convinced that (2) should have been taken into account and been gauged as overriding and definitive by any sane, objective Censuring Authority, before passing sentence.

"...don't blame one political party since the rules made were done over a period of years that involved many changes in political parties in power..."

Quite true.

It's just that Academia at-large is most commonly and stereotypically associated with the more idealistic and impractical and authoritarian elements on the Liberal side of the aisle.

And, of course, folks go to the stereotypes first, and sort-out the fine-points afterwards.
 
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Besides... and I could very well have missed something here...

Zero Tolerance pertains to the consuming of alcohol and drugs, or, less solidly, participating in an event in which those substances are consumed, yes?

This child had done neither, but merely showed-up to transport one or more persons away from the event in a safe manner.

Consequently, there appears to be no cause for censure on the part of the school officials.

This is firmly reinforced by the idea that the police cleared the young lady of any wrongdoing.

How many public service announcements have we seen and heard, sponsored by local and state and national foundations and nonprofits and police and government agencies, that encourage us to do just that - call someone for a ride, rather than drive under the influence?

No, this is some blinkered, anal-retentive, un-accountable civil service slug fat-cat, pontificating from on-high, with no thought or concern for the impact being made upon a young life, and without regard for the actual and specific circumstances of the case, spin-doctoring his-her-its censure as a rigid adherence to policy, rather than humanely and righteously examining the facts of the case and letting those facts guide the decision as to culpability and applicability, and, in turn, whether or not to censure.

The kind of fat-cat bureacrat that stinks-up the halls of power on every level of government.
 
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This was posted elsewhere---

<3. Chemical Health/Drug and Alcohol Policy:
Andover High School will strictly enforce the following rules: A student shall not, regardless of the quantity, use or consume, possess, buy/sell or give away any beverage containing alcohol; and shall not, regardless of the quantity, use or consume, possess, buy/sell or give away any tobacco product, marijuana, steroids, performance-enhancing drugs, or any controlled substance. It is not a violation for a student to be in possession of a legally defined drug specifically prescribed for the student’s own use by his/her doctor. This rule applies to the entire calendar year, applies to any location, and is in effect seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day. This rule also shall be deemed to prohibit student athletes from knowingly being and remaining in the presence of other minors using alcohol or illegal drugs or controlled substances.>

just glad to have grown up in a time when parents established such rules.

Must have had some 'reasons' to construct such a policy. ??Affluent community?? or other--eh--I still think this is coming from the Left or extreme Right--the combined efforts of both ends of the spectrum seem to be making life extremely difficult for all.
Hopefully a good attorney can do something.

Speculating--are Andover students future college freshmen of Ivy League schools? What will their response be when they are own their own? Probable that 'social engineers' have studies to prove how effective such a policy can be. The reality is perhaps different.
 
"...This rule also shall be deemed to prohibit student athletes from knowingly being and remaining in the presence of other minors using alcohol or illegal drugs or controlled substances..."
"Your Honor... fortunately for this young lady, my client, she was merely preparing to safely transport 'other minors' AFTER THEY HAD CEASED 'using alcohol or illegal...' so as to effect their safety, and did NOT expose herself to those actively using such substances while in her presence. Surely, any sane, rational policy and interpretation allows for such highly significant distinctions."

I wonder if that would work?
tongue_smile.gif
 
Wrong place, wrong time, wrong judgment on the art of the girl. To allow this exception speaks to broader issues than this one person.
 
Wrong place, wrong time, wrong judgment on the art of the girl. To allow this exception speaks to broader issues than this one person.

and if this affects her applications/acceptance into colleges--then she has learned a valuable lesson?

I don't see it. Just can't see it.

Certainly sounds like there is considerable partying in Andover. School terrified of any liability---so the policy benefits the school district? That's all I've got.
 
Wrong place, wrong time, wrong judgment on the art of the girl. To allow this exception speaks to broader issues than this one person.

and if this affects her applications/acceptance into colleges--then she has learned a valuable lesson?

I don't see it. Just can't see it.

Certainly sounds like there is considerable partying in Andover. School terrified of any liability---so the policy benefits the school district? That's all I've got.
So excuse poor judgment just this time? Please, the policy is the policy and is subject to chance, but for now the girl gets the bobo award. It should go on her college application as well.
 
Wrong place, wrong time, wrong judgment on the art of the girl. To allow this exception speaks to broader issues than this one person.

and if this affects her applications/acceptance into colleges--then she has learned a valuable lesson?

I don't see it. Just can't see it.

Certainly sounds like there is considerable partying in Andover. School terrified of any liability---so the policy benefits the school district? That's all I've got.
So excuse poor judgment just this time? Please, the policy is the policy and is subject to chance, but for now the girl gets the bobo award. It should go on her college application as well.

ok--that is how you see it. I am glad not to reside in Andover. Must be a wonderful place--filled with attorneys and such. Thinking to myself--if Dad or Mom happened to be an attorney--there are exceptions to rules. Not an attorney myself--but I have heard that is what some might think.

fwiw

http://www.city-data.com/city/Andover-Massachusetts.html



I'm pretty much done. Boortz used to say--when he was on the air--'Every day that I am not practicing law is the best day of my life...' or something to that effect. lol--Secretly wishing I could hear what he thinks about this. He is good with descriptive language. Someone posted a link from Boortz--'How to talk to Harry Reid--if you must...' I enjoyed that. google it. Clears the mind.
 
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and if this affects her applications/acceptance into colleges--then she has learned a valuable lesson?

I don't see it. Just can't see it.

Certainly sounds like there is considerable partying in Andover. School terrified of any liability---so the policy benefits the school district? That's all I've got.
So excuse poor judgment just this time? Please, the policy is the policy and is subject to chance, but for now the girl gets the bobo award. It should go on her college application as well.

ok--that is how you see it. I am glad not to reside in Andover. Must be a wonderful place--filled with attorneys and such. Thinking to myself--if Dad or Mom happened to be an attorney--there are exceptions to rules. Not an attorney myself--but I have heard that is what some might think.

I'm pretty much done. Boortz used to say--when he was on the air--'Every day that I am not practicing law is the best day of my life...' or something to that effect. lol--Secretly wishing I could hear what he thinks about this. He is good with descriptive language. Someone posted a link from Boortz--'How to talk to Harry Reid--if you must...' I enjoyed that. google it. Clears the mind.

I live in a world of exceptions, loopholes and provisos pursuant to my profession. I, however, stand firm in my opinion as these young lives are too valuable to be traded away for some loosely contrived set of values.
 
Wrong place, wrong time, wrong judgment on the art of the girl. To allow this exception speaks to broader issues than this one person.

and if this affects her applications/acceptance into colleges--then she has learned a valuable lesson?

I don't see it. Just can't see it.

Certainly sounds like there is considerable partying in Andover. School terrified of any liability---so the policy benefits the school district? That's all I've got.
So excuse poor judgment just this time? Please, the policy is the policy and is subject to chance, but for now the girl gets the bobo award. It should go on her college application as well.

I'm trying to find where the poor judgement came in. Was it the part where she wasn't at the party, wasn't drinking, answered the phone when her friend called or going out to help her friend out of a bad situation? I'm not seeing anything she did being an action in need of punishment.
 
So excuse poor judgment just this time? Please, the policy is the policy and is subject to chance, but for now the girl gets the bobo award. It should go on her college application as well.

ok--that is how you see it. I am glad not to reside in Andover. Must be a wonderful place--filled with attorneys and such. Thinking to myself--if Dad or Mom happened to be an attorney--there are exceptions to rules. Not an attorney myself--but I have heard that is what some might think.

I'm pretty much done. Boortz used to say--when he was on the air--'Every day that I am not practicing law is the best day of my life...' or something to that effect. lol--Secretly wishing I could hear what he thinks about this. He is good with descriptive language. Someone posted a link from Boortz--'How to talk to Harry Reid--if you must...' I enjoyed that. google it. Clears the mind.

I live in a world of exceptions, loopholes and provisos pursuant to my profession. I, however, stand firm in my opinion as these young lives are too valuable to be traded away for some loosely contrived set of values.

that's good. why say it again--I don't see the benefit to this student from the way this matter is being handled and I don't think she 'violated' the policy. Now--you would really need someone like Boortz to debate this and I don't possess his reasoning or verbal skills. Just trying to imagine--the way he feels about government schools what his response would be. There is another side.
If nothing else--time and money must now be utilized to engage in the legal process. Not a dime to be wasted and this is wasteful.

~~~
something seems peculiar about these stats--from the city data link--???for one thing they don't total 100%---so what does the rest of Andover do. Manufacturing had the highest number of workers in Andover--on another chart.

I am pathetic--spent some time today trying to get my own Healthcare matters resolved. Not a productive day--so anal. stressful.

~~~~~~~~~

Most common occupations (%)

Andover
Massachusetts


•Computer specialists (11%)
•Other management occupations except farmers and farm managers (8%)
•Top executives (5%)
•Engineers (5%)
•Sales representatives, services, wholesale and manufacturing (5%)
•Preschool, kindergarten, elementary and middle school teachers (4%)
•Retail sales workers except cashiers (4%)


Read more: Andover, Massachusetts (MA) profile: population, maps, real estate, averages, homes, statistics, relocation, travel, jobs, hospitals, schools, crime, moving, houses, news
 
I don't have the interest to start another thread on this but--might as well throw it out--related to 'schools'--possibly explains how policies become so stringent.

Etowah High freshmen reportedly perform sex act in crowded... | www.ajc.com

Cherokee County is located in north metro Atlanta--middle class area in general. Red to very red. Will the students be listed as sex offenders? Only time will tell. They should be listed as 'idiots'--sent back to kindergarten --assigned a personal advisor for every minute of their lives. sick of all this.

<Cherokee County schools issued a statement that said, &#8220;Two juvenile Etowah High School students were charged with misdemeanor public indecency for an incident that occurred on Oct. 10. Appropriate school disciplinary action will also occur.&#8221;

School spokeswoman Barbara Jacoby released more information on the incident Wednesday afternoon.

A female student &#8220;allegedly made a sexual offer to a male classmate during lunch,&#8221; Jacoby said in an e-mail. &#8220;The male classmate later told administrators that he thought this offer was a joke, but when the female student began to act upon it, the male student said he stopped her.&#8221;

Jacoby said students sitting at the same table blocked other students and staff from witnessing what occurred.

&#8220;Two of those students said they had recorded some of the incident on their cell phones, but deleted the videos when they realized that they might face charges,&#8221; she said. &#8220;There is no evidence any video was distributed.&#8221;
>
 
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and if this affects her applications/acceptance into colleges--then she has learned a valuable lesson?

I don't see it. Just can't see it.

Certainly sounds like there is considerable partying in Andover. School terrified of any liability---so the policy benefits the school district? That's all I've got.
So excuse poor judgment just this time? Please, the policy is the policy and is subject to chance, but for now the girl gets the bobo award. It should go on her college application as well.

I'm trying to find where the poor judgement came in. Was it the part where she wasn't at the party, wasn't drinking, answered the phone when her friend called or going out to help her friend out of a bad situation? I'm not seeing anything she did being an action in need of punishment.

Going to the scene. The policy stinks but this girl was on notice. In other schools in Massachusetts it is encouraged to do what she did.
 
Erin Cox, Massachusetts Teen, Punished By School After Trying To Drive Home Intoxicated Friend

<While Cox was cleared by police who recognized her sobriety, her school has given her a harsh punishment. The 17-year-old was stripped of her title as captain of the volleyball team, and she was suspended from five games.

“But I wasn’t drinking,” Cox told the Boston Herald. “And I felt like going to get her was the right thing to do. Saving her from getting in the car when she was intoxicated and hurt herself or getting in the car with someone else who was drinking. I’d give her a ride home.”

The Cox family filed a lawsuit against the school on Friday in an attempt to get officials to reverse the punishment. However, the district court judge ruled the court did not have jurisdiction over the issue, local station WBZ-TV reports.

“If a kid asks for help from a friend, you don’t want that kid to say ‘I’m sorry I can’t help you. I might end up in trouble at school,’” Cox family attorney Wendy Murphy told the outlet.

However, an attorney for the school told the Boston Herald that officials are standing firm on the punishment. >

Please let there be an attorney that is up to this challenge.

I see no redeeming value in such a decision--the school board's.

Shoot they could have been worse, schools tend to go over board anymore,she could have very easily been suspended from school she will get over it.
 
ok--that is how you see it. I am glad not to reside in Andover. Must be a wonderful place--filled with attorneys and such. Thinking to myself--if Dad or Mom happened to be an attorney--there are exceptions to rules. Not an attorney myself--but I have heard that is what some might think.

I'm pretty much done. Boortz used to say--when he was on the air--'Every day that I am not practicing law is the best day of my life...' or something to that effect. lol--Secretly wishing I could hear what he thinks about this. He is good with descriptive language. Someone posted a link from Boortz--'How to talk to Harry Reid--if you must...' I enjoyed that. google it. Clears the mind.

I live in a world of exceptions, loopholes and provisos pursuant to my profession. I, however, stand firm in my opinion as these young lives are too valuable to be traded away for some loosely contrived set of values.

that's good. why say it again--I don't see the benefit to this student from the way this matter is being handled and I don't think she 'violated' the policy. Now--you would really need someone like Boortz to debate this and I don't possess his reasoning or verbal skills. Just trying to imagine--the way he feels about government schools what his response would be. There is another side.
If nothing else--time and money must now be utilized to engage in the legal process. Not a dime to be wasted and this is wasteful.

~~~
something seems peculiar about these stats--from the city data link--???for one thing they don't total 100%---so what does the rest of Andover do. Manufacturing had the highest number of workers in Andover--on another chart.

I am pathetic--spent some time today trying to get my own Healthcare matters resolved. Not a productive day--so anal. stressful.

~~~~~~~~~

Most common occupations (%)

Andover
Massachusetts


•Computer specialists (11%)
•Other management occupations except farmers and farm managers (8%)
•Top executives (5%)
•Engineers (5%)
•Sales representatives, services, wholesale and manufacturing (5%)
•Preschool, kindergarten, elementary and middle school teachers (4%)
•Retail sales workers except cashiers (4%)


Read more: Andover, Massachusetts (MA) profile: population, maps, real estate, averages, homes, statistics, relocation, travel, jobs, hospitals, schools, crime, moving, houses, news


Again the issue is bigger than this one girl. The policy should be changed not qualified with exceptions.
 
Wrong place, wrong time, wrong judgment on the art of the girl. To allow this exception speaks to broader issues than this one person.

and if this affects her applications/acceptance into colleges--then she has learned a valuable lesson?

I don't see it. Just can't see it.

Certainly sounds like there is considerable partying in Andover. School terrified of any liability---so the policy benefits the school district? That's all I've got.
So excuse poor judgment just this time? Please, the policy is the policy and is subject to chance, but for now the girl gets the bobo award. It should go on her college application as well.

What poor judgement?
 
and if this affects her applications/acceptance into colleges--then she has learned a valuable lesson?

I don't see it. Just can't see it.

Certainly sounds like there is considerable partying in Andover. School terrified of any liability---so the policy benefits the school district? That's all I've got.
So excuse poor judgment just this time? Please, the policy is the policy and is subject to chance, but for now the girl gets the bobo award. It should go on her college application as well.

What poor judgement?
Apparently having common sense and compassion is a bad thing
 

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