Pubdate: Thu, 22 Mar 2007 Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer (WA) Copyright: 2007 Seattle Post-Intelligencer Contact: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/408 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/Bong+Hits+4+Jesus (Bong Hits 4 Jesus) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?225 (Students - United States) KIDS THESE DAYS: CUT THEM A BREAK We're baffled by two high-profile disciplinary decisions made by two schools. One was to suspend a student in Juneau, Alaska, for waving a "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" banner while the 2002 Olympic torch went by (a prank pulled off school grounds and intended to get him on TV). The school's overreaction to the minor prank has turned a joke into a First Amendment case before the Supreme Court, with Kenneth Starr (!) representing the Alaska school board. Kind of makes us wonder who is really taking the bong hits. The other decision involves punishing a kid for wearing a pair of Tigger-adorned socks on the first day of school in Napa County, Calif. According to the lawsuit filed against the school district by the ACLU on behalf of the 14-year-old student, the girl was escorted to the principal's office by a police officer and ultimately put in a program called Students with Attitude Problems. Of course. Everyone knows how dangerous Tigger is. The girl was also wearing a two-tone shirt (brown, with a pink border), which is against school rules (natch). Only solid colors are allowed. How many parents out there wish that their teens expressed their "attitude problems" via an innocuous pair of socks? We agree there's a need for school rules that keep students safe. No belly shirts, no cuss words on clothing, no gang gear. But the banner and the socks are minor. And what are these schools ultimately teaching kids? How soul-killing those schools must be. Certainly administrators everywhere have greater concerns. We just learned that in our state alone, 9.2 percent of the seniors have taken weapons to school, about 20 percent of 10th-graders have shown up drunk or stoned and nearly 25 percent of the state's eighth-, 10th- and 12th-graders are obese or overweight. Forget about Tigger and harmless pranks -- American schools should focus on real problems. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake