Justice - It's all in who you know

[Bill in SD, CA]

Last year in April my son who was on the high school baseball team got tossed off for admitting to having drank 3 or 4 sips of alcohol between classes.

5 day suspension and 5 days of drug/alcohol rehab classes.

Thrown off the team and lost his "letter" in the sport. Third string player and expendable.

I and he have no problem with the punishment. Rules are rules.

HOWEVER, this year he finds out that at the Valentine's Day Dance at his old school the senior class vice-president, the soon to be class valedictorian, and 2 star soccer players showed up totally drunk off of their collective rear-ends.

And the punishment is................................................ ...........................................




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Absolutely freaking nothing because of who they are!!!!!
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One of the soccer player's parents have donated thousands of dollars to the school soccer program and money can buy you a "get out of jail free" card.

My son is going to the school and demand his letter and an apology or else he's taking it to the television news stations.

One of which has a fairly good reputation for "It ain't fair" segments.

Life is not fair. Glad he's learned it at 18 and not 58.

This should be interesting.

Bill

[gjimene2]

Local televison news are great when filign a complaint.

I got ticketed and profiled. I'm going to my local LULAC meeting to give my side of the story about the pigs near us trying to swine freely.

[whitebeard21]

Did you do the crime or was this a totally false arrest?

[Epidemic]

Slight difference and does not explain everything. but your son drank during school day, being involved with brininging alcohol onto school premisis and so forth. These would be alcoholic valedictorians and soccer gods did do it after school. I am not sure if the same rules apply on paper.

Long and short of it though the coach should be taking action against his soccer players. It is not like those stupid Highschool games mean anything in real life so kick em off the team. You should put ethics and right in front of winning a few away games.

Also I think that punishment should be escallated rather then dealt with an iron fist the first time. Stay after school for a week and write about the evils of drinking and suspend sports activities for the season or a couple of games. It gives you leverage the next time the kid tries to drink during school. Shooting the whole wad at the kid the first offence is not what I would call a good idea.

But of course that takes thinking on the part of the school board and faculty. 0 tollerance policies are stupidly employed.

Hmmm, lets punish a kid as much for taking an aspirin as for drinking a fifth in school and smoking a giant bone afterwords. Yeah that makes sense??? Lets treat a first time offender like we would treat a veteran offender.

A kid brings in a shirt with a picture of dirty harry on his lunch box with the famed 44 magnum is treated the same as a kid who brings in a loaded mac 10.

I really believe that some of these school systems are run by the retarded. (no offence to mentally challenged)

[MTAtech]

I agree with Ep on this. Drinking between classes is different than at a party.

Drinking during the school day chould be an indication of a possible alcohol problem. If I had an employee who was caught drinking on duty I would send them to our substance abuse specialists. Schools shouldn't ignore that symptom. I wouldn't fluff it off it if my son was caught with alcohol at school, either.

On the other hand, although I don't think any people should drink to the point of excessive drunkardness, it is not the same thing at a party or in a bar, as it is at work/school.

Did those other kid's connections help? Maybe. I can't evaluate that since I'm not there. Was the party off premises? Were the other kids caught with the booze?

[Bill in SD, CA]

This was a school sponsored event on school grounds.

The school has a zero tolerance policy and the atheletes are held to an even higher standing by signing citizenship agreements.

Bill

[Martoch]

I'm with your son, take it to the public...surpising how powerful the media can be! I wouldn't necessarily "demand" anything from the school though...talk with the school staff about it, and if they're not willing to help then "do your thang!".

[Bill in SD, CA]

When I spoke to him this A.M. he said he doesn't want his letter because he doesn't deserve it.

He just wants the rules to be applied even-handedly.

Bill

[Epidemic]

Bill I can not disagree with you entierely, But even being a school sponsored event I think there is a difference between after school activities and drinking during class. It steps up a level of wrong and bucking of authority.

It is sort of like the difference between cursing out you brother or cursing out the principle. They are both wrong but you know that the cursing out of the principle will get you in trouble with the school. Speeding at 1 am down a lonely highway with no entrance or exits or blowing by a marked police car driving down the highway. one just seems like you are more brazen.

I can not explain it well but that was my attempt.

Also I do not say that they should not be punished, I am just saying that perhaps there is a distinction between the two acts.

A teen ager drinking after school is a right of passage (a bad one but one none the less) Drinking in school is really pushing it and begging to get caught.

[whitebeard21]

I would like to see some replys from our teen members on this issue.
As a parent I had a 0 tollerence and it paid off no problems with either kid drugs or alcohol related. Driving yes!! Grounded, pulled dl etc.