A Great Point of View

We’ve been struggling with what to write about this story, but a recent letter to the editor in the sun post summed it up perfectly;

Rally around Students

As a graduate of Robbinsdale Armstrong High School, I was appalled to learn of the punishment high school administrations are levying against three students involved in horseplay at the school several weeks ago. According to widely reported facts in local media, one of the students put another student in a headlock, and that student briefly lost consciousness. According to the students, the loss of consciousness was unintended and accidental. It was not part of any “game;” it was horseplay.

While administrators have a duty to respond to these types of incidents, they went way too far. Instead of disciplining the students internally, school officials called police, and had all three students booked into jail. Officials are also threatening all three students with expulsion. This is despite the fact that the so-called victim was unharmed, stated that the incident was consensual, and asked that no charges should be filed.

Sadly, this type of response does not surprise me. School administrators in this district have a history of this type of abusive behavior toward students. Instead of the school system being a place of learning and personal development, administrators instead have focused on severing personal relationships with students. This incident exposes one of the systemic flaws in our public education system, and I hope the community will not only rally around these students, but put public pressure on the school board to make the fundamental changes in the administration needed to restore the district’s reputation.

Dan Garon

Plymouth

You’ve got it, Mr. Garon! Threatening these kids with expulsion for goofing off? This is absurd and shows why this dumb zero tolerance policy needs to be ended at once!!!