Last Thursday a food fight broke out in the lunchroom of a Chicago middle school. Food was thrown, people were dodging for cover and it seemed to be much like the typical food fight. School officials didn’t take it lightly though. A total of 25 students between the ages of 11 and 15 were handcuffed and jailed for the incident. Yes, jailed, as in police officers took them away, took mug shots and placed them in a holding cell……for a food fight. They were charged with reckless conduct which is a misdemeanor, meaning if convicted they will probably be sentenced to community service.
Parents of the students are outraged. How could the school have children arrested for such a harmless act. Who hasn’t been involved in a food fight? What is this going to do to these students? I would think being arrested in the 6th, 7th or 8th grade would be very traumatic and could cause more emotional problems. Parents believe that the kids should face some sort of discipline, but was arresting them over the top? The children were held for four hours before being released to their parents then suspended from school for two days.
I can not believe the district thinks it is okay for the students to be arrested for something that is so common amongst adolescents. With the chaos of a food fight, were they sure that everyone involved was arrested or that everyone arrested was actually involved? They could easily pick up an innocent by-stander or overlook someone who was involved. I think this district may have over-reacted and is actually harming the children. In school suspension or even out of school suspension would have been a better option. I couldn’t imagine being arrested for something like this.
Comments
Hall Monitor
November 12th, 2009 - 6:17:30 AM
This story made http://detentionslip.org! Check it out for all the crazy headlines from our schools.