Student suspended for bringing knife for project

Wisconsin State Journal ^ | 4-4-02 | Doug Erickson

[gaelwolf]

Student suspended for bringing knife for project
10:16 PM 4/04/02
Doug Erickson Education reporter

indentA Madison sixth-grader has been suspended and could face a yearlong expulsion after bringing a serrated table knife to class to dissect an onion for a science project.
indentThe boy's parents are fighting the disciplinary action, saying the district has taken its zero-tolerance weapons policy to a ridiculous extreme.
indentThe family has requested that a school district hearing on the incident Monday be open to the public, in the hope that publicity will help the child's case.
indent"Does 'no tolerance' also mean no common sense?" asks Larry Jorgenson, father of Christian Schmidt, 12, a straight-A student at Cherokee Middle School.
indentDistrict officials say they're prohibited from discussing the case because, under the law, student records are confidential. But they strongly defend the district's zero-tolerance policy.
indent"Why a student brings a weapon to school and under what conditions really can't impact our decision," said Assistant Superintendent Valencia Douglas. Even if a knife is brought to school for the most benign reason, it could fall into the wrong hands, she said.
indentThe only way to ensure the safety of all students is to bar all weapons from campus, she said. "The will of the public is very clear when it comes to school safety," Douglas said.
indentChristian said he brought the knife to school March 11 for a presentation that he and some of his science classmates were doing on onions. The assignment was to discuss the properties of a fruit or vegetable, he said. Christian wanted to cut apart the onion to show its many layers and how it smelled, he said.
indent"I wanted to get a better grade," he said.
indentHis teacher did not tell him to bring a knife, and his parents didn't know he'd taken one from home, he said. The knife, one of a set of 12 the family eats with daily, has a 4-inch serrated blade.
indentAnother student actually used the knife to cut the onion, Christian said. His teacher later saw the knife on a desk, learned it belonged to Christian and sent him to Principal Karen Seno.
indentThe teacher declined comment. Seno did not return phone messages.
indentChristian has been suspended since March 12, said his father. On Tuesday, the district began providing him with private tutoring two hours a day off campus.
indentAdministrators told the family in a letter that they'll recommend to the School Board a one-year expulsion for "possession of a dangerous weapon." However, Jorgenson said the family has been told unofficially by the district that if Christian admits that he committed a "crime," submits to a psychological evaluation and completes an anger management course, he would be eligible to return to school this year.
indentHis parents don't want an expulsion on his record. "In addition, one must ask what type of a message a boy of 12 would make out of being manipulated into confessing to a criminal act he didn't commit," his father said.
indentThe case has rallied family friends and other Cherokee parents.
indent"He's probably one of the most mature, personable sixth-graders I know," said Lynn Parker, whose son is in Christian's class. "It's just tragic to see something like this happen to him."
indentSaid Tammy Peyton, another Cherokee parent: "The knife wasn't a weapon in anyone's sense of the word. The only thing he threatened was the onion."
indentAt Monday's hearing, which is part of the usual expulsion process, an independent examiner will hear both sides, then forward a recommendation to the School Board, which will discuss the case at a later date.

[gaelwolf]

Zero tolerance = zero requirement for common sense.

Perhaps it's time for a little pressure to be applied to the school and district?

Cherokee Middle School

Principal Karen Seno 608-204-1240 kseno@madison.k12.wi.us

Click here to send a group message to the Board

Barbara Lehman is the Secretary to the Board of Education Phone: (608) 663-1659

[Squantos]

Whew ! ..........thank goodness it was just a knife and it wasn't one of those killers pointing their finger and yelling "BANG".........

Stay Safe !

[nralife]

bump! Someone please remember to bump this tomorrow too!

[Jonathon Spectre]

This sort of garbage makes me so motherf**king mad I could literally stomp the people responsible for it into bloody paste.

This kid is being punished for NOTHING. He may be expelled, for a YEAR, for NOTHING. He brought a steak knife to school so he could do a better job on a mandatory assignment.

Someone(s) in that school system need a major, thorough asskicking. /me growls.

[stiga bey]

What do you think would happen if the child of Bedouin immigrants said he was culturally required to bear a tribal dagger?

[XLurk]

ZERO TOLERANCE FOR SANITY

Didn't this little nit-wit know that only officially authorized government agents may slice onions?
Bringing a knife to school - just think of it!

Next thing you know he will be making salad forks in metal shop.
What a danger to society. I shudder in horror at the thought of it.

Since he showed initiative, he will probably grow up to be an engineer or businessman actually producing something useful for society.
Damn capitalist pig!

- LIFE WITHOUT PAROLL is what I say!
ZERO TOLERANCE! -- NO MERCY!

I mean - his name is 'CHRISTIAN' for heavens sake!
Handcuff this pubescent extremist racist pig NOW!
Incarcerate him before it's too late.

I have already e-mailed Tom Ridge - I suggest you all do the same.

[Pistias]

posted here as well

[XLurk]

'Christian Schmidt' - what a NAZI name.

Extradite him to Florida immediately.
'Old Sparky' is the only solution here.

[Prodigal Son]

What about kids that take martial arts classes? Or the members of the football team? There are some kids that are big enough and strong enough to be considered a dangerous weapon in and of themselves. Maybe if you can bench press past 200 pounds this should grounds for suspension/expulsion.

[nralife]

*bump* Please use the above contact info and post this on all the other forums you visit!