Kitty’s medicine applicator gets third grader suspended
8-year-old suspended for bringing syringe-like device to school
Eight year old Xiomara Roman brought a syringe to school. It was the one her mother (Sandy) had used to give their cat oral antibiotics. Unfortunately a teacher noticed it and the result was a call to the Fitchburg Police and the Department of Social Services. Xiomara ended up with a four day suspension from school for this blatant drug related offense.
“This is ridiculous. I don’t agree with her bringing it to school, of course, but a four-day suspension?” Cortes told the Sentinel and Enterprise of Fitchburg. “I got the call at work, and I almost killed myself driving from Gardner.”
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Cortes said she was questioned by Fitchburg Police and the Department of Social Services, both of whom were called by school officials.“They treated me like I was a junkie,” she said. “I don’t know, last I knew drugs weren’t bright pink.”
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School superintendent Thomas Lamey said a four-day suspension for a third-grader was “not very common at all, but it depends on the student’s history.”Cortes said her daughter has never before received a detention or suspension.
South Street Elementary School principal William Terrill did not return calls asking for his comments on the bust.
That mother needs to hire a lawyer and sue, sue, sue!
I agree that it was not appropriate to suspend the kid for 4 days, but it is commonplace for kids to be turned into DCFS for an investigation if they bring drug stuff to school. In fact, most kids, of any age, will be escorted out of school in handcuffs if they are caught with any drug related stuff. It is just a way of life in this society that fears drugs so much that we have converted a medical problem into a justice problem.
Some things are just not appropriate in schools. I would say that a syringe is on the list with guns, knives, pornography, alcohol, tobacco and political propaganda. I can’t imagine that this 8 year old didn’t know that it was innappropriate to bring a syringe to school. Now she will remember that.
barry
She’ll probably remember that the officials in her school were a bunch of jerks.
It sounds more like an eyedropper than a “syringe.”
We just took our kitten to the vet for a weepy eye and the vet put her on oral antibiotics. There is absolutely no way that anybody could confuse the oral applicator with an injection syringe. I guess they are superficially similar, being a plunger with an open end but I challenge anybody to think of a way to put a hypodermic on the end of this thing.
“Lame-y” reasoning: A plastic tube with a plunger for measuring and dispensing liquid is a drug-related offense that mandates a 4-day suspension for a 3rd grader. How many days if you are caught with an empty 35-mm film can or a zip-lok bag? Once more, a ZT policy is used to trump reasonable judgment.
A move to Canada is looking better everyday.
Barry:
Did you just equate political items to a gun? You actually believe that kids should be arrested and expelled for wearing a political t-shirt?
I don’t think Barry was trying to say that they are equivalent, just that they are all not appropriate in schools. However, I fail to see why a Bush or Kerry t-shirt should be considered inappropriate. I’d be happy to see more kids involved in politics.
Jim:
I agree… I think political t-shirts would be great in school.