I'm sure we've all done it. You're sitting in class, and you begin absentmindedly doodling on your desk during a particularly dry lecture or boring class period. Imagine if you had simply drawn your name or a phrase on a desk in marker, and suddenly you were arrested and taken down to the nearest police station. Sure, it's defacing school property...but is it really handcuff-worthy?
Alexa Gonzalez, a seventh-grader in New York, simply scrawled "I love my friends Abby and Faith. Lex was here 2/1/10 :)" on her desk in school, and was handcuffed in front of friends and teachers and escorted to the police station.
When I first read this article, I thought it was a joke. There's no way that I could ever imagine something like this happening at any middle school or Aragon. What's the legal criteria for this? Apparently, this is yet another example of the "zero tolerance" policy taken a few steps too far in schools. And it isn't the first time, the article cites several other instances where the police were called in situations that could have easily been handled by the teacher or the school's administration.
The "zero tolerance" policy is basically when automatic punishment is imposed when a rule is broken. It's intention is to stop unwanted behavior right away, and it leaves no room for exceptions.
I understand this policy in terms of students drinking, fighting, using drugs, or harassing one another. But isn't this way too far? I mean, calling the police because a seventh grader is doodling on desks? Is this just teachers and admins being lazy and not wanting to deal with discipline? She didn't even use profanity or hate language. Also, isn't it a complete waste of time to make police officers involved? Shouldn't they be directing their money and time to more important things that are bigger threats to our security? What are your thoughts?
Saturday, February 20, 2010
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12 comments:
Quik, hide unda da tabulz!!! Som gurl rote on a desk! Da evil gurl'z gonna git us! Call 911 and the polize! HELLLLP! The skyz falling!!!
-Just my thoughts on the drama
wow seriously? They wasted a police officer's time on that?
Although I can see how her doodling could be considered vandalism... but that's seriously not big enough to call in police officers.
I was expecting the girl to have written some violent / racist / defamatory comment on her desk to have incurred such wrath...
All she did was write that she loved her friends? There's better uses for everyone's time and money than to arrest a 7th grader for such an innocent act.
Haha, I had the same reaction, Jebsen. I basically agree with all of you...way to much drama for a tiny incident.
This was so unnecessary. She's only a seventh grader and didn't mean any harm. The teacher could have easily handled this problem instead of calling the police. The cops could've spent that time doing other important things, but the school wasted their time.
“Drop the pencil and no one gets hurt! Do it, do it now!"
Just a follow-up to Kevin’s scenario.
Meanwhile there are gang shootouts going on, and a major drug bust might have happened, but the NY SWAT team was too tied up patting down a 5 year old who dropped her ice cream; she was suspected for littering, and was given 10 years in prison for assaulting a police officer with a deadly weapon, after all, ice cream cones hurt when put in the eye.
I am shocked. I think the punishment was pretty harsh. I agree with everyone, they are using a lot of the police's time for these tiny incident.
I agree with Katie. I think this incident was definitely a waste of time and could have easily been handled by the teacher. Sure, it was a slight violation, but nothing that could not be easily fixed. Also, this girl was in 7th grade, maybe about 12 or 13 years old? I would think that this arrest will cause her unnecessary embarrassment and maybe even trauma. I don't think this situation was handled properly at all.
Zero tolerance means zero tolerance...
I think this is totally ridiculous. Okay so this zero tolerance policy stopped this little girl from ever writing on a desk again, so what? She wasn't hurting anyone and it can be erased. For drugs and such I understand where the policy is coming from, but to waste a police officer's time on this is foolish.
ha! that is kind of funny in a sad way because of course there are more serious matters that should be of greater focus for administration.
it sounds like new york police are quite serious and should really take it down a notch considering what the girl actually did
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