Posted on 10/09/2009 7:48:04 AM PDT by ReagansRaiders
Soldier suspended from school Posted: Oct 8, 2009 05:26 PM
A NEWS10 EXCLUSIVE By MARK O'BRIEN
LANSINGBURGH -- High school senior Matthew Whalen is the kind of student any parent would want.
He's an Eagle Scout, on the honor roll, taking Advanced Placement classes, and never been in trouble with the law. He's received commendations from the City of Troy and the Boy Scouts of America for saving a woman's life, and this past summer, he completed Army basic training. All of it was accomplished before the age of 17.
"I'm just trying to do what I can while I can," Matthew says.
His goal is to attend the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, a dream since he was in grade school.
"I have a first-grade yearbook that says I want to be driving tanks in the Army," Matthew says. "I mean, this is something that I know I've always wanted to do."
But the dream could be in jeopardy, thanks to a two-inch pocket knife that officials at Lansingburgh Senior High School found in Matthew's locked car last month. The pocket knife was a gift from his grandfather, Robert Whalen, who's the Hoosick Falls Police Chief. Matthew says he kept the knife in a side compartment and never tried showing it off or threatening anyone with it. Instead it was a part of the survival kit that was his car.
"My car is designed in a way that if I ever broke down, I'd be OK," Whalen explains. "I have a sleeping bag. I have bottled water. I have an MRE. I believe it's better to be prepared and not need it than need it and not have it."
Matthew says school officials approached him on Sept. 21, asking if he had a weapon on him. When Matthew answered he did not, he says the officials asked if he had a knife in his car. Matthew said it was a pocket knife, and took officials to his car when asked. He also turned over the pocket knife when asked.
The Lansingburgh Central School District has a zero-tolerance policy on weapons. According to the district's Codes of Conduct, students are not allowed to have "a weapon of any kind" on school grounds. Even though a pocket knife is not considered a weapon under New York State penal code, the district also prohibits students from possessing anything "that reasonably can be considered a weapon."
According to Matthew, the school suspended him for five days, during which time a Superintendent's hearing was held to determine the extent of his punishment. Matthew's family contends only the high school's principal and athletic director were present, not the Superintendent or the assistant principal who initially suspended Matthew. And despite a letter from Matthew's Scout Master explaining how a pocket knife is a common tool for scouts to have, the district suspended Matthew for another 15 days. The Whalens say they received no explanation as to why, and they claim there was no opportunity to ask.
"I want him to have fair treatment based on his character," says Matthew's father, Bryan Whalen. "It just totally baffles me that they would go after this when they have much bigger fish to fry."
The Whalens say during the Superintendent's hearing, officials admitted that Matthew cooperated fully, didn't have the pocket knife on him, had no intention of using it, and never threatened anyone with it. "They'd already made their decision," Whalen's father says.
In a statement to NEWS10, Superintendent George J. Goodwin says, "We do not comment on discipline related to an individual student. Our policies are clear that weapons are not permitted on school premises and subject to disciplinary consequences."
Legal expert Thomas Carr, of Tully Rinckey PLLC, says school districts are within their rights to impose and enforce safety policies, even if a pocket knife is not considered a weapon under New York State penal law. But he also says such school rules can quickly become so-called "gray areas" that leave the meaning of what's considered a weapon open ended.
"If this 17-year-old is driving his car to school," Carr says, "let's face it, the tire iron in the trunk to change the wheel is much more of a deadly weapon than a one-and-a-half inch blade knife."
Carr also says the Whalens might have grounds to pursue legal action against the district if Matthew felt he had no choice but to allow school officials to search his car.
At this point, the Whalens are not sure when or if they will sue the district. Instead, they want the district to reinstate Matthew immediately and remove this from his official student record.
"He needs to be doing the application for his admission to West Point right now," Bryan Whalen says. "They're delaying that, and that could be very costly for him."
Matthew says he wants to follow in the military footsteps of his father and grandfather. His grandfather, Robert Whalen, received two Purple Hearts for his service in the Vietnam War. Bryan Whalen served in Operation Iraqi Freedom and at Ground Zero, as his unit was on the scene by the evening of Sept. 11, 2001. He's also received the Soldier's Medal from the U.S. Army, and he pulled survivors from a burning helicopter that had crashed at the Stratton Air National Guard Base during an air show crash in 1991.
Matthew guesses a student must have told school officials, but he doesn't know who did it or why. His father thinks it might have been a prank to see Matthew get a little heat from administrators and that the intent was for it to never get this far.
"It's just plain wrong of what they've done," he says. "It isn't a weapon!"
But the family feels the district overreacted, if not for suspending Matthew in the first place, then for adding an additional 15 days to the original suspension.
"If they had told me, 'Take this out of your car,' I would have said alright, and it never would have been an issue," Matthew says. "I was upset with it, but I can understand that. They have the zero-tolerance rule."
The district provides a tutor for Matthew for 90 minutes every day; he's banned from stepping on school grounds for any reason whatsoever, including assignments and sporting events. Matthew says it's hard to cram more than six hours of work into his tutor time, and he says his work is not being graded until he returns to school. All he wants is to return to class.
"The rest of my life could be affected by this," he says.
Admittedly I did speedreading, but how did they get in his locked car to find that?
And their arms be to short to scratch!
This “Zero Tolerance” junk has to stop. Its goes against everything we ever though our nation stood for.
Ayn got that right.
I believe Mr. Whalen was "targeted" for being a real American. His only "mistake" was telling the truth. Arrgh!
Congratulations for the manner you handled the Matthew Whalen affair.
Now if you will remove the tire iron from each of the vehicles on "your" parking lots you will win a Nobel Peace Prize
Signed TYVets
Anything that can be considered a weapon. Does the Principal have a Tire Iron in his car? Because I’ve seen some crazy stuff.
You have my deepest sympathy, and my acknowledged anger over this.
The kid is an Eagle Scout. Do they have any clue what it takes to become an Eagle Scout?
The left would let murders get off, and put Eagle Scouts in prison. This is mass insanity.
The first rule of Fight Club.
Obviously he bragged to the wrong person. Bragging is really a deadly sin.
Like I said, the government schools have failed in this kids case and that is why they are persecuting him now.
Sorry, police don’t care. It’s a (retarded) school policy and is not illegal.
Is this kid white? I wonder if some white kids are being suspended for minor infractions to offset black kids suspensions so it balances out. I have heard of some school districts doing this so it doesn’t look like black kids are getting suspended in greater numbers than white kids.
“a tire iron in the truck could be considered a lethal weapon”
A prepared and resolute mind is a lethal weapon, I bet they want to make those illegal too.
now then, anonymous tips should be called in daily as to the weapons in the principles', vice principles' etc etc possession 'on school grounds' and just maybe the pricks that setup this bs will be caught in their own nets...
after all, the tire tools are evidently enough to be 'reasonably considered weapons' and such...
prayers for his safety...
ZERO TOLERANCE = ZERO INTELLIGENCE
So, the way I see it with public schools....
Power corrupts...
Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Schools think they have absolute power.
We need to fight back against that idea.
Any school that acts in such an arrogant manner should be immediately reprimanded by the public.
thanks for the link. just sent off a ‘greeting’.
Many of them have that little fold-out file that could be used as a weapon.
According to language evolution, 0b0z0 has no tolerance or intelligence, hence; it's well known that there is neither 0er0 tolerance, nor 0er0 intelligence.
The above changes should be in a dictionary by now.
Once upon a time, a little bird gave me a business card with the following:
IF YOU ARE ARRESTED OR CONFRONTED BY THE POLICE:
1. FIRST, ask to call your lawyer.
2. Be courteous; do not resist.
3. Do not consent to search or entry.
4. Do not talk about anything; do not admit OR DENY anything.
5. Ask if you are free to go. If you are, GO.
I keep this business card right behind my drivers license in my wallet. This is coming from a guy who, for the spectrum of folks on this board, would be considered a strong LEO-supporter.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.