Eagle Scout's penalty stands

timesunion.com ^ | 5-20-10 | SCOTT WALDMAN

[afraidfortherepublic]

Matthew Whalen's suspension will stand.

On Wednesday night, the Lansingburgh Central School District board of education rejected Whalen's appeal of the punishment and decided not to expunge the blemish on the record of the Eagle Scout suspended for having a pocketknife in his car while the vehicle was on the grounds of Lansingburgh High School. Whalen received a 20-day suspension in September after he turned over to school administrators a 1 1/2-inch knife that he kept in his glove box as part of a car survival kit. He returned to school in October.

Whalen has said he does not know how school officials learned he had a pocketknife in his car, but suspects another student may have tipped off administrators in an attempt to pull a prank on him.

School officials, who did not respond to requests for comment, have said Whalen violated the school district's zero-tolerance policy because he brought a weapon on to school grounds and that the suspension was an appropriate response. The case raised national furor when Whalen went on two separate national Fox News programs to discuss the penalty. He worried that the action could hurt his chances of getting into West Point.

He said he never realized the school considered the keychain knife a weapon. He said his grandfather Robert Whalen -- who recently retired as police chief of the Hoosic Falls Police Department -- gave him the folding knife to use in his car after they used it to cut wires while installing a car radio.

Whalen was given a Lifesaving Heroism Award by the Boy Scouts of America at age 13 after he performed CPR on his aunt, saving her life. He said he carries water bottles, a sleeping bag and a change of clothes in his 1999 Mercury Sable in case it breaks down. He considered the key-chain knife part of that preparedness kit.

Read more: http://www.timesunion.com/ASPStories/story.asp?StoryID=868106#ixzz0oVBJ25GX

[EnigmaticAnomaly]

If I were to have avoided any occupation in which liberals may be found, I would have had very few options as to what to do with my life. That said, how can we sit back and criticize something as conservatives who desire change in the liberal status quo, then criticize one of our own when he/she actually labors to work from within the broken system to effect at least some small measure of change?

I would have thought having some conservatives in the education system might at least improve SOME students' lives...

[justlurking]

The answer, roughly, was "Hell no, we don't care. We've got bigger fish to fry than some charge trumped up by a nosybody administrator."

I remember this as well, and was about to post a reply to that effect.

I don't remember West Point's exact response, but they said this incident wouldn't disqualify him, especially under these circumstances.

[subterfuge]

good post. The facade that sheilds the local, state and federal government stooges is complex and effective. Sadly, people are brainwashed into accepting the “you can’t fight city hall” mindset. I do not accept that. And that is basically where my nic on this forum came from.

[muawiyah]

It's possible to work within all sorts of systems. On the other hand this "zero tolerance" regime that's set up shop all over the place eliminates that opportunity. They have effectively OUTLAWED the people who violate their little rule EVEN UNINTENTIONALLY.

My goodness, we have different degrees for murder, so why can't we have different degrees for pen-knives ~ probably beyond their grade level.

[Wonder Warthog]

"Slow, mechanized and easily distracted."

Well, I agree with the first two, but the last??? You ever tried to distract a cow from FOOD??? It's like trying to distract a politician from a bribe.

[EnigmaticAnomaly]

Agreed. I am fortunate to work in a school system which does not embrace the idiocy of “zero-tolerance” policies. That said, I labor to effect a positive atmosphere free from indoctrination of any sort within my classroom. Heck, I don’t even show the students channel 1 as it tends to be heavily saturated with leftist propaganda.

[Fred Hayek]

Our school had bow and arrow practice out back, with big straw-stuffed targets.

Gym class when I was in high school: Compound bows and the targets were pictures of Bambi! No broadheads however.

[Albion Wilde]

Gym class when I was in high school: Compound bows and the targets were pictures of Bambi! No broadheads however.

LOL!! None of these babies?