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Zero tolerance or lack of common sense?
wjla.com ^ | 10 May 2011 | Brad Bell

Posted on 05/14/2011 3:14:21 PM PDT by smokingfrog

Graham Dennis was handcuffed, fingerprinted and charged with possession of a deadly weapon. He was also suspended from school for 10 days. Casey Edsall was accused of having an explosive on school property. He got a one day suspension.

The Eaton High juniors play lacrosse. The explosive device was a lighter. The deadly weapon was a pocket knife. Both are tools the boys use to maintain their lacrosse sticks.

“I tore a couple white strings on the side and I had to replace them with black strings,” said Dennis. “I cut them and burn them there. If I don't cut them and burn them, they fray.”

School administrators heard that explanation, but their zero-tolerance policy doesn’t allow for exceptions. The boys and their parents said that’s absurd.

“I feel like common sense should've come into play,” said Casey Edsall. “And I think it was outrageous, the claims that they made.”

Graham finished his suspension last week. Both boys are back playing and practicing with the team. A coach now carried a tool box for stick maintenance.

But they worry about the next student who gets caught up in a zero-tolerance issue. And they worry about lasting damage to their futures.

(Excerpt) Read more at wjla.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events; US: Maryland
KEYWORDS: arth; easternshore; zerotolerance
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Video at link.

Seems like the guy with the explosive device should have gotten a more severe punishment. He could have killed hundreds. /s

1 posted on 05/14/2011 3:14:26 PM PDT by smokingfrog
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To: smokingfrog

This sort of stupidity is rampant in the public schools. Small wonder as they are generally run by liberals.


2 posted on 05/14/2011 3:17:33 PM PDT by Scotsman will be Free (11C - Indirect fire, infantry - High angle hell - We will bring you, FIRE)
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To: smokingfrog

The QUESTION MARK in the title is absurd. Of course the whole concept is CRAZY. Put a liberal in charge and you get loss of freedom, idiotic constraints AND you get destruction of our society.

It is past time to put these idiots known as liberals out of power.


3 posted on 05/14/2011 3:19:45 PM PDT by politicianslie (Obama thinks you're a fool)
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To: smokingfrog

It’s stupidity, yes, but it’s also about covering one’s ass. The consequences of failing to discipline rulebreakers is sometimes greater than the offence of breaking rules in the first place.


4 posted on 05/14/2011 3:23:25 PM PDT by rickmichaels
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To: Scotsman will be Free

“This sort of stupidity is rampant in the public schools. Small wonder as they are generally run by liberals.”

Every time someone says or does something really stupid at work, one of the guys there says “you voted for Obama, didn’t you?


5 posted on 05/14/2011 3:23:28 PM PDT by jessduntno (Liberalism is socialism in a party dress. And just as masculine.)
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To: smokingfrog
"Zero tolerance" is a way of making kids who aren't Eric Holder's people look as bad as the kids who are Eric Holder's people.

In order to do that, you have to criminalize non-criminal behavior.

Just like it's not fair that so many blacks are in prison. Never mind the fact that they are 12% of the population but commit 50% of the murders. That's irrelevant. They should only be 12% of the prison population, because it's just not fair otherwise.

6 posted on 05/14/2011 3:25:08 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum (Islamophobia: The fear of offending Muslims because they are prone to violence.)
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To: smokingfrog

I once reamed out a school board member over a similar incident with a kid who had forgotten that he’d brought a Swiss Army knife to a school related event. He turned it in and got in trouble over that. Mind you, this was shortly after the zero tolerance rule had been passed. The kid did the appropriate thing and got punished for it. The kid was also a martial arts expert and, fortunately, did not get kicked out for bringing himself, an instrument of potentially deadly force, to school. The rule is as silly as most school board members.


7 posted on 05/14/2011 3:25:24 PM PDT by Marty
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To: smokingfrog

The sad thing is that these kids are gonna have to go out in the real world some day.....totally unprepared.


8 posted on 05/14/2011 3:26:17 PM PDT by JoeDetweiler
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To: smokingfrog
RE: the header:

"Zero tolerance or IS lack of common sense"

There. Fixed it.

9 posted on 05/14/2011 3:27:40 PM PDT by Finny ("Raise hell. Vote smart." -- Ted Nugent)
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To: JoeDetweiler

Unprepared, indeed. The kids are also sitting ducks in an area where any sort of weaponry is denied them in case of trouble. Fortunately, many of them are capable of thinking outside the box and weaponizing whatever comes to hand. Those are the kids who will defend others, who will help others escape and generally save lives.


10 posted on 05/14/2011 3:32:12 PM PDT by Marty
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To: smokingfrog

Zero tolerance IS lack of common sense. Idiots.

School administrators are the least accountable people on the planet. That’s why so many of them are such idiots.

There are good school admins, but few and far between...


11 posted on 05/14/2011 3:32:36 PM PDT by piytar (Obama opposed every tool used to get Osama. So of course he gets the credit. /hurl)
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To: JoeDetweiler

” these kids are gonna have to go out in the real world some day.....totally unprepared. “

Well, since the ‘real world’ is rapidly transforming into the ‘brave new world’ where any person can be arbitrarily apprehended and punished for trumped-up reasons, or for no discernable reasons — I’d say that these kids have learned a valuable lesson and are better prepared to go forth and cower....


12 posted on 05/14/2011 3:33:08 PM PDT by Uncle Ike (Rope is cheap, and there are lots of trees...)
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To: jessduntno

Sounds like a fun workplace. :)


13 posted on 05/14/2011 3:34:48 PM PDT by Politicalmom (Herman Cain did NOT support TARP, and he did NOT say the Federal Reserve should not be audited.)
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To: smokingfrog

When I was in high school, there were some older students who were on the volunteer fire department or the volunteer rescue squad. The latter had some decent kits in the back of their cars. Back then if there was an accident in the shop class, the first aid squad would have been called, but either the principal or the school nurse would have called the some of the students with the kits. These HS seniors on the rescue squad were competent - my father was an EMT instructor and these kids were some of his students.

These days the same students would be arrested under zero tolerance policies.


14 posted on 05/14/2011 3:35:23 PM PDT by Fred Hayek (All Hail the No Talent Pop Star pResident.)
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To: smokingfrog

Perhaps a female school administrator should be busted for prostitution since she’s carrying around a woo woo!


15 posted on 05/14/2011 3:40:15 PM PDT by BigDaddyTX (Don't Mex with Texas)
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To: smokingfrog
Good grief. What if he was using wood stick matches? (Ever stuff an empty shotgun shell full of match heads? heheheh) The libtards are nucking futs.
16 posted on 05/14/2011 3:40:42 PM PDT by 50cal Smokepole (Effective gun control involves effective recoil management)
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To: Scotsman will be Free

A teacher can’t give a 14 year old girl aspirin without parental approval, but the school nurse can refer the girl for an abortion...


17 posted on 05/14/2011 3:42:40 PM PDT by BwanaNdege ("Experience is the best teacher, but if you can accept it 2nd hand, the tuition is less." M Rosen)
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Comment #18 Removed by Moderator

To: smokingfrog

Just stop all high school sports. It’s a money waster anyway.


19 posted on 05/14/2011 3:46:49 PM PDT by clee1 (We use 43 muscles to frown, 17 to smile, and 2 to pull a trigger. I'm lazy and I'm tired of smiling.)
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To: 50cal Smokepole

Done that with spent Co2 cartridges ... dangerous and they make a big boom and the metal casing flies off in all kinds of directions. We would set them off in concrete culverts.


20 posted on 05/14/2011 3:50:42 PM PDT by Red_Devil 232 (VietVet - USMC All Ready On The Right? All Ready On The Left? All Ready On The Firing Line!)
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