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.
Last time I checked my belt, tie, pens, pencils, glasses and a plastic bag are all deadly in the right circumstances. The knives, forks, spoons and other tableware in a cafeteria make for good weapons. And the science labs and gyms are freaking arsenals.
Happened to my kid, in grade school. My husband used the kids’ backpacks for fishing over the weekend. I was just glad they didn’t find the beer bottle.
Schools got nervous after Columbine.
A friend of my daughter was thrown to the curb after leaving his rifle in the truck during hunting season. Mom, aunt and uncle ...all teachers.
As 'the' standard of what is and isn't a weapon, the TSA won't let you on the plane with even the ones which don't have that file.
Fear my pencil! Seriously. Even sharpened, that little fold-out file will not penetrate as far as a Cross pen or mechanical pencil of good quality, and is not nearly as dangerous as the western-style belt buckle I normally wear on the end of a (roughly) three foot long leather strap (belt), properly wielded.
If we eliminate everything which can be used as a weapon, we have people in velcro attached straitjackets in a rubber room in restraints.
While that might make the warehouse keepers happy (as often as not, that is what schools are, a warehouse for the children of two-paycheck families), elimination of all the pointy things or other things that can be used as a weapon is just not possible. Even the power cord for a laptop can be used as a garrote, and a well torn pop can provides a foot or more of sharp edge, albeit unwieldy, which can be wrapped around anything stiff to produce a slashing weapon.
For the imaginative, virtually anything can be used as a weapon, if that is the intent, but there is so much else the average person would carry (even on a plane) which would be a better weapon than the fold out file (or just the nail clippers), I always found that particular ban to be pretty ridiculous.
bttt
Please start a new thread with an update for those of us following this story. Thanks.
It's not reasonable to consider a 2 inch knife a "weapon". Sure it could be used as one, but so could a sharp pencil, probably with more effect.
A slight suggestion for improving your plan. :)
This is ridiculous. I hope this makes Beck and Dobbs. The Army needs this young man and we need him in the Army.
Angelina Bergin
Lansingburgh High School
Principal
518-233-6806
ping
thanks , for the ping :)
Just in case this disappears overnight:
A
* Kim Abbott, RPES PTA Executive Board Corresponding Secretary, c/o RPES 233-6823
* Sue Anthony, RPES PTA Executive Board Parenting and Health, c/o RPES 233-6823
* Barbara Ashe, Education Foundation Board President and KMS/LHS PTA Ways and Means, 237-8700
B
* Darlene Bechand, KMS/LHS PTA Executive Board Recording Secretary and RPES PTA Vice President, 237-3009
* Angelina Bergin, LHS Principal, 233-6806
* Anna Bettit, TES PTA Executive Board Corresponding Secretary, 235-8652
* Lisa Blake, KMS/LHS PTA Executive Board Ways & Means, 279-9693
* Wendy Bopp, KMS/LHS PTA Executive Board Council Delegate and Ways and Means, 235-6759
* Jennifer Bourgault, TES PTA Council Delegate, 590-0011
* Beth Brant, RPES PTA Executive Board President, 238-9122
* Kelley Bristol, RPES PTA Council Delegate, 237-7437
* Theresa Broderick, District Clerk, 233-6850, ext. 3400
* Paula Burke, KMS/LHS PTA Executive Board Ways & Means, 235-8083
C
* Daniel Carroll, Treasurer, District Office 233-6853
D
* Erin Duncan, KMS/LHS PTA Executive Board Ways & Means, 233-7274
E
* Fred Erickson, Assistant Principal, KMS 233-6809
F
* Debbie Fane, TES PTA Executive Board Parenting/Health, c/o TES 233-6822
* Erinne Flanigan, CSE Chairperson, KMS/LHS PTA Executive Board Teacher Representative, c/o Pupil Personnel 233-6808
* Pam Frazier, TES PTA Executive Board Recording Secretary, 233-6522
* Marcella Fushs, Principal, RPES 233-6823
*
*
G
* George Goodwin, Superintendent, District Office 233-6850
* Tina Gregoire, TES PTA Council Delegate, 590-0011
*
H
* Michael Harkin, Director of Athletics and Physical Education LHS 233-6816
* Sue Higgs, KMS/LHS PTA Executive Board Corresponding Secretary, 233-8449
*
J
* Kathy Jordan, RPES PTA Council Delegate, c/o RPES 233-6823
K
* Lisa Kyer, Business Administrator, 518-233-6850
L
* Jennifer Langlais, KMS/LHS PTA Executive Board Vice President, 235-5108
* Jennifer Laustrup, KMS/LHS PTA Executive Board Ways & Means, 235-8216
* Adel Luciano, KMS Guidance Counselor, 233-6819
* Janelle Lyons, KMS Guidance Counselor, 233-6819
M
* Frank Macri, LHS Assistant Principal, 233-6806
* Erin McGrath, KMS/LHS PTA Executive Board Ways & Means, 235-5525
* Melissa Morrissey, TES PTA Executive Board Asst. Treasurer, 237-6667
*
N
* Jessica Nikodem, Director of Guidance, LHS 233-6812
O
* Kathy Oboyski-Butler, Assistant Superintendent, District Office 233-6802
* Caryn O’Hara, TES PTA Executive Board Vice President, 237-4378
* Tracey Oligney, KMS/LHS PTA Executive Board Ways & Means, 237-8172
P
* Shaun Paolino, KMS Principal, 233-6811, Lynn Pfitz, KMS/LHS PTA Executive Board Treasurer, 235-6775,
R
* Tammy Roberts, TES PTA Executive Board Treasurer, 928-6722
* Shawn Ryan, TES PTA Executive Board President, 233-6822
S
* Kathy Schongar, PTA Council President and KMS/LHS PTA Council Delegate, 237-7118
* Jenny Sickles, KMS/LHS PTA Executive Board Ways & Means, 237-4703
* Nancy Simonds, PTA Council Treasurer and Education Foundation Treasurer, 279-9567
* Mark Smith, District Attendance Officer, 233-6815
* Barb Smollin, Education Foundation Board Vice President, c/o RPES 233-6823
* Sam Speanburg, LHS/KMS PTA Asst. Treasurer and PTA Council Secretary, 235-2682
* Barbara Sperling, Director of Pupil Personnel, 233-6808
* Dawne Steenrod, TES Principal, 233-6822
* Chris Strube, KMS/LHS PTA Executive Board Teacher Representative, c/o LHS 233-6806
T
* May Thompson, KMS/LHS PTA Executive Board Council Delegate and Membership Chairperson, 237-7145
* Penny Tobias, KMS/LHS PTA Executive Board President, 235-8626
* Jackie Tremont, KMS/LHS PTA Executive Board Parenting & Health, c/o KMS 233-6821
W
* Stacey Weeks, RPES PTA Executive Board Recording Secretary, 326-8055
Z
* Cindy Zadoorian, RPES PTA Executive Board Treasurer, c/o RPES 233-6823
They’re talking about this on Fox News now.
I think it’s Greta’s show, but someone is substituting.
Apparently covered by Fox & Friends earlier.
Zero tolerance policies are idiotic and don’t work. Dolts in the community respond to things like Columbine by coming up with what they think is a sensable hard and fast rule. I mean who could disagree with no weapons on campus, right? Problem is that they leave no room for common sense and no room for an administrator to enforce the intent of the rule and look at the whole situation. The natural outcome is kids getting suspended for butter knifes and pocket knifes.
Were I an official at that school and not hampered by a stupid zero tolerance rule i’d just tell him in a polite way that the pocket knife isn’t allowed in the building and to please in the future just keep it in his car. Simple as that. He sounds like a kid who’d listen to that and if he didn’t maybe give him something minor like a period of ISS. Were I an official bound by this policy i’d just pretend I didn’t see anything and tell him the same thing.
You also have to blame a legal system where trial lawyers have been allowed to run wild. Schools and even a lot of private sector organizations are terrified about being sued and often react is these idiotic ways. Thank you people like John Edwards for killing common sense.
I have a grandfather who was in the Texas rangers. In middle school the teacher let me bring his old rifle in for show and tell. Granted that was a while ago but man have things changed.
WARNING SARCASM FOLLOWS!
The teen is a Eagle Scout IE. a Boy Scout on steroids, which means he's obviously a homophobe, so he's a threat to his gender dysphoric schoolmates.
He's expressed an interest in the military, so he's obviously prone to violent tendencies.
He's carrying survival gear, which ties him to the right wing militia movement if not to Eric Robert Rudolph, the abortion clinic bomber.
This kid is dangerous, that he sees fit to go armed with an assault pen knife only proves it.
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