New York school decides to take over local law enforcement
Penfield School District standing by its decision to suspend athletes
Between 150 and 250 students, some from Penfield High School in the Penfield Central School District, attended a party in Brighton, NY. Some left when drugs and alcohol made their presence known. Everybody left when the Brighton PD busted up the party.
The Penfield School District wants to suspend everybody who was at the party, regardless of whether the student imbibed or toked, or even if the student was there when the illegal substances were present. They’re looking for students to inform on their fellows in order to fill the gaols.
“To use the kids to rat on each other is wrong and you’re not really getting a truthful answer and your screwing up kids lives,†said parent Marguerite Mckee.
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Brighton police investigators tell NEWS 10NBC that as of Monday no arrests have been made and not a single citation was given out the night of the party.
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“If you go to a party that’s that big and no citations are issued and kids leave and no one’s questioned and everything is done after the fact then its mud in their face,†said Mckee.But the district isn’t seeing it that way. In a statement released Monday school leaders say quote: “We have an obligation to not only uphold school policy but also the law”.
As far as I remember, the only law that a school needs to uphold are those involving scholastics. I can almost certainly guarantee that a non-scholastic event outside of school hours and in a private residence is well outside the expected law upholding duties of a school district.
Besides, don’t they have police for just this specific “law upholding” thing?
The district says it’s a safety issue and their job to follow this through but parents like this say it’s a little too late to find the truth and now innocent students may have to pay.
“Kids ought to be able to go to a party and know that if there’s alcohol there and they leave they’re not going to get in trouble for it,†said Mckee.
Contact Information:
Principal Mark VanVliet
Penfield High Assistant Principal Mary Aronson
Assistant Principal Michael Sullivan
Associate Principal Roger DeBell
Penfield Board of Education, c/o Marcia Barrett
Superintendent Susan Gray
Assistant Superintendent Mary Rapp
Bleh, it doesn’t surprise me. Schools these days think they own the students, even after hours. We’re getting more like Japan where students can be disciplined for things they do away from school, like dating and playing video games. The scary thing is, there are people who support this cracking down on youthful freedom. I am so glad I’m not a teen anymore.
Well, this is disturbing. Do they hold the teachers and administrators to the same standard? That would mean that if the principal went to a party where someone got a DUI on the way home, he’d get a few days off without pay. Or what if a teacher went to a bar where someone got drunk in public? Would the teacher be suspended? If not, then this school has a sad double standard (and I’m not saying that they should do this, just that perhaps if they looked at the adult version, they’d see how ridiculous their policy is!)
And consider what they are saying to the kids: If you are around the stuff, it’s just as bad as using. Why would the kids have any incentive to choose not to drink or do drugs or to leave because they don’t want to be around the stuff?
In perfect world, high school students would not be having parties without adult supervision but then that would require that parents actualy do their job rather than whine about how unfair it is that their little darlings are facing suspension for being at the party. Teenagers are not junior adults and it is not reasonable to expect them to act like they are, especialy when the actual adults are being so irresponsable.
Mike
This is retarded. What sort of message is this sending to our kids? I have a one year old son, and am quickly losing hope in the world he is growing up in. There is no reason to punish kids who attend a party, discover there is illegal activity, and then decide to leave, especially when it is a non-school sponsored activity, and not even on school grounds. The school clearly has no jurisdiction. This intrusion into the private lives of students has no place in a free society. While freedom does require responsibility, punishing students who made the responsible choice to leave does nothing to reinforce that concept. Also, for those of you saying that teenagers should not be allowed to go to parties, that is ridiculous. I would appeal to you to remember what it was like, but I think you do and that is why you hold your views - you DO remember. I submit that while a certain amount of control is necessary, it should start to transition more to guidance in the teenage years. Over-controlling parents are a major reason that kids who would appear to be well mannered, respectful, and in every way the perfect model of a teenager that any Bible-thumper could hope to have seem to completely lose it the moment they leave home. They are like compressed springs, and instead of being allowed to slowly decompress, they are kept under extreme pressure and then suddenly released, often with destructive results. Um, sorry, just realized I went off on a tangent. I’ll shut up now.
They can’t hold the teachers or principal to the same standards, because they’re adults, with rights, and big, well-funded unions to back those rights up. Last I checked, school kids didn’t have a union, well-funded or otherwise. Hey, you know, I wonder what would happen if someone tried doing that? Unionize the kids, organize meetings, paid dues, etc…I’d love to see the headlines generated by all the kids in a school district going on strike…
You’re missing half the story. The article states that no arrests were made by the Brighton Police. That’s because the party was at the house of a person with connections to the Brighton Police. The local Sheriff’s are investigating, and there are likely to be disciplinary actions against the police.
I don’t feel sorry for these kids. They signed a contract stating that they wouldn’t attend parties with drugs and alcohol. I work in Penfield, work with parents of Penfield athletes, and both my nephews played sports for Penfield. The word is that everybody knew well in advance that there would be alcohol at this party. They even had fliers saying there would be beer there! Thet knew that there would be drinking there, but they went anyways! My co-worker’s daughter (who just got a D-1 scholarship for gymnastics) knew well ennought to avoid this party. She was smart enough to not ruin her athletic career. The rest should have been so smart!
So, Steve, you’re saying that the school’s reaction is to a contract violation? Well, OK, provided the school is willing to actually deal with the consequences of that.
First off, they are claiming that the student - minors, remember - may sign a binding contract. They’ve just given the students legal standing in that respect. Next, they must concede that it is a valid contract - which requires (not an option, this is a requirement for ALL legal contracts) an exchange of value. Thus, they are saying that a place in school or on a school team has monetary, enforceable value. Hoo boy….
Of course, the school doesn’t believe this, and has no intention of accepting those types of responsibility. Instead, they want to claim that the students’ signatures gives them the right to lay down laws for time outside of school, but accepts no additional responsibility themselves.
Good luck.
So you say it’s ok for minors to attend a party, knowing full well that there will be alcohol served, and suffer no consequences? Doesn’t fly here. Athetic participation is a priveledge, not a right. These students have not been suspended from school, but from sports.
The students were not the only ones signing the contract, either. Parents were required to sign the contracts, also.
This was not an unsupervised party, either. The parents of the host student were home. There was a keg of beer and money was being taken to pay for it. The investigation is not complete, but I wouldn’t want to be those folks.
The story says there is no proof the parents of the hosting student knew that minors were drinking and there’s no NY law about minors serving minors. In my state (Oregon)it isn’t against the law for minors to be at a party where alcohol is present, it’s only against the law if they drink it. This is another sorry example of us citizens turning over more and more power to the government … expecting them to solve all our problems for us. This is exactly what you get.
The story’s wrong. The parents were there. That’s why the Brighton Police are being investigated. They chased the kids away and let the parents who served them skate.
They should have been charged with illegal dealing with minors at the time. By the time the Sheriff’s Deputy showed up the party had been dispersed.
The students are not being criminally charged. They are being suspended from sports. Big difference.
I see some folks aren’t reading the story fully.
The school wants to punish everyone who went to the party — even those who departed when they found out there was booze.
Justification for that, please?
–TR
It was widely known BEFORE the party that there would be beer there. There were fliers being handed out OVER A WEEK BEFORE stating that. Anybody who claims they went there not knowing that there was going to be drinking is just trying to cover thier butts. Try reading this from today’s paper. It provideds depth that the News10 story does not.
http://www.democratandchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051006/NEWS01/510060371
OK, with the additional information that it is athletes, I have some crow to eat. Athletes typically make these sorts of agreements. Here in our state, the high school athletic association requires athletes to sign a contract not to use illegal drugs, cigarettes or alcohol. Parents have to agree to allow their athlete/kids to have random urine tests for drugs and alcohol. Athletes get special privileges and they have certain constraints, just like college athletes and pro athletes. (As do many non-athletic jobs.) It’s a real-world experience.
And putting a monetary value on an athlete’s participation in sports in order to make such a contract legal? Well, hmmmm….one could argue the cost of the tickets to the games, since athletes don’t pay admission. Or the cost of tickets, bus travel and overnight accomodations (in some cases such as multi-day tournaments).
There’s a law in my state where a teen’s license can be suspended and/or revoked if s/he does poorly in school. There are no provisions for problems at home, learning disabilities, or having a job (helping out with family bills or saving up for college).
So if you get a D or F in NC, kiss your license goodbye. Hope your boss doesn’t fire you. Oh, and forget driving to the library so you can avoid your parents’ nightly screaming matches. And it’s a shame to hear about your dyslexia, but maybe sitting at home without access to your tutor will teach you.
Talk about over-reaching policies.
So… you mean the media didn’t tell the WHOLE story?
Where have I heard this before? Reminds me of the Superdome most recently.
While reading these stories is fine, we should remember thes points:
1. The media is looking for a sensational story. It is in their best interest to make them as hyped-up and one sided as possible.
2. The goal of these stories is not news reporting. The goal is to induce outrage.
3. The media has a political axe to grind with the educational system. They also have an issue with the police. These two agencies are hit the hardest by the media… if a reporter can sling mud at schools or cops, they will and they’ll appeal to their own generated sense of frustration and outrage with an orginization that has power the people can’t control.
To be fair — of course schools (and any other orginization) do dumb things — even harmful things.
I think anyone who has visited this site for any length of time should see by now that the reported story is almost always a slanted view and should be taken with a grain of salt.
Last point — if you are personally outraged or insulted by the education system, I recommend that you actually do something about it. Whining on a message board doesn’t count, nor does sending an outraged e-mail or signing an online petition. These ‘feel-good’ actions are nothing more than slactivism. (http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/petition/internet.htm for more on this phenonomen) Rather than armchair quarterback, try running for the school board. Get out a pen and paper and write an honest-to-goodness letter to your congressman. Heck, if you’re dedicated to the cause, run for elected office at the local level. Local offices are often part-time endevours. Replying and telling me that you shouldn’t have to do that is patently silly, too. Noboby really trusts a group of others to make policy for themselves. Besides, were you present for the last school board vote? Were you familiar with the candidates and their stands on important issues to you?
Enough ranting.
More news on the big party. Mom and the 17 year old son were arrested following the investigation. She got charged with endangering the welfare of a child, and he got charged with endangerment and for unlawfully dealing with a minor. Just like I said. Here’s a link http://www.democratandchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051018/NEWS01/510190306