When Massachusetts high school senior Erin Cox went to pick up an intoxicated classmate from a party, she thought she was doing the right thing. However, administrators at North Andover High School are punishing her for the deed, citing the school’s zero tolerance policy on drugs on alcohol.

Cox, an honor student and volleyball star, received a cell phone message from an intoxicated friend asking for a ride home from a party earlier this month, according to the Boston Herald. However, Cox arrived at the party at the same time as the police, who were arresting a slew of students for underage drinking.

While Cox was cleared by police who recognized her sobriety, her school has given her a harsh punishment. The 17-year-old was stripped of her title as captain of the volleyball team, and she was suspended from five games.

“But I wasn’t drinking,” Cox told the Boston Herald. “And I felt like going to get her was the right thing to do. Saving her from getting in the car when she was intoxicated and hurt herself or getting in the car with someone else who was drinking. I’d give her a ride home.”

The Cox family filed a lawsuit against the school on Friday in an attempt to get officials to reverse the punishment. However, the district court judge ruled the court did not have jurisdiction over the issue, local station WBZ-TV reports.

“If a kid asks for help from a friend, you don’t want that kid to say ‘I’m sorry I can’t help you. I might end up in trouble at school,’” Cox family attorney Wendy Murphy told the outlet.

However, an attorney for the school told the Boston Herald that officials are standing firm on the punishment.

The district could not be reached for further comment at this time.

The Cox family is now hoping that pressure from supporters will persuade school officials to reverse their decision. A Reddit thread about the incident has already amassed more than 1,000 comments, most of which are in support of Cox.

“Better warn all students that they are not allowed to attend any party or enter an establishment that serves alcohol. That means no Applebee's, no family gatherings, and no professional sporting events. Eventually they will be imprisoned in a small room where they will not be allowed to leave unless they have a game or until they graduate,” user Drewkat99 said in a comment.

Cox told the Herald she feels “defeated,” but she said she doesn't regret her actions: "It was the right thing,” she said.

. “And I felt like going to get her was the right thing to do. Saving her from getting in the car when she was intoxicated and hurt herself or getting in the car with someone else who was drinking. I’d give her a ride home.”

 n0t_u wrote:
That title of yours is pretty misleading there. They came and picked up a drunk student, its hard enough to see how they put that as condoning alcohol abuse it's even harder to see how this condones drunk driving...

In fact wouldn't saying

. “And I felt like going to get her was the right thing to do. Saving her from getting in the car when she was intoxicated and hurt herself or getting in the car with someone else who was drinking. I’d give her a ride home.”

Very obviously be saying they are not condoning drunk driving in the slightest.

Hell she even got in trouble for drinking after the lift anyway and now the school is being sued by the parents for saving their child. So really it should be "ungreatful parents protect child from responsibility".

 n0t_u wrote:
In fact wouldn't saying

. “And I felt like going to get her was the right thing to do. Saving her from getting in the car when she was intoxicated and hurt herself or getting in the car with someone else who was drinking. I’d give her a ride home.”

Very obviously be saying they are not condoning drunk driving in the slightest.

Hell she even got in trouble for drinking after the lift anyway and now the school is being sued by the parents for saving their child. So really it should be "ungreatful parents protect child from responsibility".

 Grey Templar wrote:
A more correct title would be "High School discourages designated drivers"

That's almost as bad.

 daedalus wrote:

 n0t_u wrote:
In fact wouldn't saying

. “And I felt like going to get her was the right thing to do. Saving her from getting in the car when she was intoxicated and hurt herself or getting in the car with someone else who was drinking. I’d give her a ride home.”

Very obviously be saying they are not condoning drunk driving in the slightest.

That was the girl saying that, not the school. The school appears to condone it, because they're punishing designated drivers.

 insaniak wrote:
I'm confused... what did all of this have to do with the school in the first place?

 insaniak wrote:
I'm confused... what did all of this have to do with the school in the first place?

 Kanluwen wrote:

 insaniak wrote:
I'm confused... what did all of this have to do with the school in the first place?

To play or be involved in many of the extracurricular activities you usually agree to abide by a certain set of rules from the school. With sports they can be pretty demanding--but generally get ignored if it's an activity that makes the school system or school itself a good stream of revenue.

I can understand the outrage, but at the same time underage drinking is one of those things where communities either take it incredibly seriously or don't care. I know that where I live it is taken fairly seriously because of the number of fatalities that you see resulting from high schoolers getting drunk and deciding to get out as soon as possible when they hear the cops are coming.

In regards to this story it kind of seems like the whole reason Cox is being punished is that she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. She showed up to pick someone up as the cops came to make arrests. She's likely being used as an 'example' because it can be viewed as her getting punished(although sitting out 5 games and losing the captaincy of the volleyball team does not really strike me as a "punishment") for trying to help cover up something she knew was illegal--whether you agree with the enforcement of those laws or not.

 Kanluwen wrote:
She's likely being used as an 'example' because it can be viewed as her getting punished(although sitting out 5 games and losing the captaincy of the volleyball team does not really strike me as a "punishment") for trying to help cover up something she knew was illegal--whether you agree with the enforcement of those laws or not.

 daedalus wrote:

 Kanluwen wrote:

 insaniak wrote:
I'm confused... what did all of this have to do with the school in the first place?

To play or be involved in many of the extracurricular activities you usually agree to abide by a certain set of rules from the school. With sports they can be pretty demanding--but generally get ignored if it's an activity that makes the school system or school itself a good stream of revenue.

I can understand the outrage, but at the same time underage drinking is one of those things where communities either take it incredibly seriously or don't care. I know that where I live it is taken fairly seriously because of the number of fatalities that you see resulting from high schoolers getting drunk and deciding to get out as soon as possible when they hear the cops are coming.

So you would think you would punish the drunks, not the good sober girl who's trying to make the world a better place, even though her friends might be less than perfect...

In regards to this story it kind of seems like the whole reason Cox is being punished is that she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. She showed up to pick someone up as the cops came to make arrests. She's likely being used as an 'example' because it can be viewed as her getting punished(although sitting out 5 games and losing the captaincy of the volleyball team does not really strike me as a "punishment") for trying to help cover up something she knew was illegal--whether you agree with the enforcement of those laws or not.

I suppose that makes sense, in the most Kafka-esque sort of way possible. I'd argue she wasn't "covering something up", but simply trying to keep people safe. The police didn't charge her with abetting in any crimes from what I can tell, and I would think they would know the law well enough to present a charge where there one worth presenting.

Here's a hypothetical for you. If she knew of the party, say, it was announced on facebook, twitter, or any other social media mechanism, and she knew there was drinking there, and she didn't report it to the nearest friendly school official, would you still say she was covering it up?

 insaniak wrote:

 Kanluwen wrote:
She's likely being used as an 'example' because it can be viewed as her getting punished(although sitting out 5 games and losing the captaincy of the volleyball team does not really strike me as a "punishment") for trying to help cover up something she knew was illegal--whether you agree with the enforcement of those laws or not.

If it happened outside of school hours, that's an issue for her parents and/or the police to handle. Nothing whatsoever to do with the school.


Schools have no reason to be punishing kids for things that happen while not in the school's care. It's nothing to do with them.

nkelsch wrote:If the cab knew for a fact you were under 21, a large number of cab companies have polices where they are to report you and hand you over to police by having them waiting for you when they drop you off.

They just report you to their dispatcher who calls the police to investigate. There are lots of campaigns with cab companies around prom and graduation where when cabs are called for underage parties, they call the police as there is a community enforcement partnership going on.

It all depends what the local jurisdiction feels like cracking down on at any given time.

Kanluwen wrote:
No. It's one of those weird situational things where you don't really have a responsibility to report it or act as a "snitch". The reason I say that is many school systems and/or local police departments actually do monitor things like Facebook, Craigslist, Twitter, etc and watch for photos or videos from parties to show up before they bust them.

The reason I used the term "cover it up" is that you usually see kids at these kinds of parties who ditch out of the party when the cops show up and immediately call for a friend to come pick them up at what they consider to be a safe distance away from the cops.

 sebster wrote:
It seems a pretty silly instance of following the code, not the reality of the situation.

That said, I wonder how many of the people who are outraged at this silliness share similar frustration at minimum sentencing laws, three strikes laws and the like handed down to adults?

 sebster wrote:
It seems a pretty silly instance of following the code, not the reality of the situation.

That said, I wonder how many of the people who are outraged at this silliness share similar frustration at minimum sentencing laws, three strikes laws and the like handed down to adults?

 daedalus wrote:
Depends upon the crime, I guess. Also, I wonder which direction of frustrated about said laws you're wondering about.

I was largely outraged at HADOPI when it first came out, for example.

 insaniak wrote:

 Kanluwen wrote:
She's likely being used as an 'example' because it can be viewed as her getting punished(although sitting out 5 games and losing the captaincy of the volleyball team does not really strike me as a "punishment") for trying to help cover up something she knew was illegal--whether you agree with the enforcement of those laws or not.

If it happened outside of school hours, that's an issue for her parents and/or the police to handle. Nothing whatsoever to do with the school.


Schools have no reason to be punishing kids for things that happen while not in the school's care. It's nothing to do with them.

nkelsch wrote:
If the cab knew for a fact you were under 21, a large number of cab companies have polices where they are to report you and hand you over to police by having them waiting for you when they drop you off.

They just report you to their dispatcher who calls the police to investigate. There are lots of campaigns with cab companies around prom and graduation where when cabs are called for underage parties, they call the police as there is a community enforcement partnership going on.

It all depends what the local jurisdiction feels like cracking down on at any given time.

 Grey Templar wrote:
A more correct title would be "High School discourages designated drivers"

That's almost as bad.

The North Andover High School standard is designed to encourage responsible and safe decision making by all students and to promote a positive learning environment within the North Andover community. The North Andover Public Schools maintains that the possession and/or us
e of illicit drugs and unlawful possession and/or use of alcohol and tobacco by minors/students is wrong and can be physically and/or emotionally harmful to students. Therefore, North Andover High School has strict rules against being knowingly in the unlawful presence of and/or possession, sale, transfer, and/or use of these substances, whether or not they are on school property or at a school function. North Andover High School, as a member of the MIAA, meets or exceeds their standards for code of conduct and discipline.
1. Student athletes are subject to school rules and regulations governing student behavior as cited in the NAHS Student Handbook and by the NAHS Athletic
Handbook. All participants are reminded that they must be good citizens in order to represent their school and community in athletic activities. Violations of school rules resulting in suspension from school will automatically preclude student involvement in co-curricular and/or athletic activities for the length of the suspension.
2. The Education Reform Bill, effective June 18, 1993, Section 37H1/2 of Section 35, states that any student in grades 9 - 12 who is found on school premises or at a
school sponsored or school related event, including athletic games, in possession of a controlled substance including, but not limited to, marijuana, steroids, cocaine, or heroin, may be subject to expulsion from the school in accordance
with procedures established by state and/or federal laws.
3. Students should be aware that if they are part of a group that is engaged in activities contrary to school rules, they may come under suspicion and be subject to investigation if that is deemed appropriate by the administration. It is wise, therefore, either to prevent the wrongdoing, or failing that, to remove one’s self from the group as soon as possible without putting one’s self at risk

nkelsch wrote:
The 'correct' thing is to be honest with your parents, and tell them who can alert other parents to go get their drunk children. She didn't do anything right. If my parents had found out I left the house late at night as a teen to drive a car to go pick up drunk teens, it would have been my ass.

 Alfndrate wrote:
So I did a little digging. Miss Cox attends North Andover High School. NAHS's athletic handbook has a few things about alcohol and drugs in their code of conduct for athletic participation. I've bolded the important part, and underlined the 'nanny state' part. I realize that yes, the school is under no obligation to provide sports for their students and you do agree to follow these rules, but this is a zero tolerance policy that doesn't need to be as heavy handed as it is. If the school took a few seconds to hear out the story, they might not seem like colossal dicks. Yes Erin Cox was in violation of the Athletic Code of Conduct by going and picking up her friend at the party at the wrong time, but the school doesn't have any reason to control what the students do in their own time. If they students were caught and taken in for underage (which Miss Cox was not) then yeah, suspend them for a few games, take away their ability to play, but don't punish a girl because she was willing to help a friend get home safe.

The North Andover High School standard is designed to encourage responsible and safe decision making by all students and to promote a positive learning environment within the North Andover community. The North Andover Public Schools maintains that the possession and/or us
e of illicit drugs and unlawful possession and/or use of alcohol and tobacco by minors/students is wrong and can be physically and/or emotionally harmful to students. Therefore, North Andover High School has strict rules against being knowingly in the unlawful presence of and/or possession, sale, transfer, and/or use of these substances, whether or not they are on school property or at a school function. North Andover High School, as a member of the MIAA, meets or exceeds their standards for code of conduct and discipline.
1. Student athletes are subject to school rules and regulations governing student behavior as cited in the NAHS Student Handbook and by the NAHS Athletic
Handbook. All participants are reminded that they must be good citizens in order to represent their school and community in athletic activities. Violations of school rules resulting in suspension from school will automatically preclude student involvement in co-curricular and/or athletic activities for the length of the suspension.
2. The Education Reform Bill, effective June 18, 1993, Section 37H1/2 of Section 35, states that any student in grades 9 - 12 who is found on school premises or at a
school sponsored or school related event, including athletic games, in possession of a controlled substance including, but not limited to, marijuana, steroids, cocaine, or heroin, may be subject to expulsion from the school in accordance
with procedures established by state and/or federal laws.
3. Students should be aware that if they are part of a group that is engaged in activities contrary to school rules, they may come under suspicion and be subject to investigation if that is deemed appropriate by the administration. It is wise, therefore, either to prevent the wrongdoing, or failing that, to remove one’s self from the group as soon as possible without putting one’s self at risk

 Frazzled wrote:
Actually in the presence of is ambiguous. She was transport.

nkelsch wrote:
The 'correct' thing is to be honest with your parents, and tell them who can alert other parents to go get their drunk children. She didn't do anything right. If my parents had found out I left the house late at night as a teen to drive a car to go pick up drunk teens, it would have been my ass.

 timetowaste85 wrote:
Welp, one more example of why I'm occasionally ashamed to be American. Good job, school district. Punish a kid for saving a friend's life.

 insaniak wrote:
I'm confused... what did all of this have to do with the school in the first place?

To play or be involved in many of the extracurricular activities you usually agree to abide by a certain set of rules from the school. With sports they can be pretty demanding--but generally get ignored if it's an activity that makes the school system or school itself a good stream of revenue.

I can understand the outrage, but at the same time underage drinking is one of those things where communities either take it incredibly seriously or don't care. I know that where I live it is taken fairly seriously because of the number of fatalities that you see resulting from high schoolers getting drunk and deciding to get out as soon as possible when they hear the cops are coming.

In regards to this story it kind of seems like the whole reason Cox is being punished is that she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. She showed up to pick someone up as the cops came to make arrests. She's likely being used as an 'example' because it can be viewed as her getting punished(although sitting out 5 games and losing the captaincy of the volleyball team does not really strike me as a "punishment") for trying to help cover up something she knew was illegal--whether you agree with the enforcement of those laws or not.

I suppose that makes sense, in the most Kafka-esque sort of way possible

If it happened outside of school hours, that's an issue for her parents and/or the police to handle. Nothing whatsoever to do with the school.


Schools have no reason to be punishing kids for things that happen while not in the school's care. It's nothing to do with them.

Meh. She enabled underage drinking and got caught. School decided to levy a fairly mild punishment that whiny middle class family didn't like. Sucks to be you, nerd. It isn't like the only two possibilities were 1) This chick picks her friend up or 2) The friend drives home drunk. They made their choices and got boned by circumstance. News at 11. Meanwhile some kids starved to death somewhere.

But i have to say the drinking laws are seriously skewed in the US. And i say that as someone who doesnt drink...

So I did a little digging. Miss Cox attends North Andover High School. NAHS's athletic handbook has a few things about alcohol and drugs in their code of conduct for athletic participation. I've bolded the important part, and underlined the 'nanny state' part. I realize that yes, the school is under no obligation to provide sports for their students and you do agree to follow these rules, but this is a zero tolerance policy that doesn't need to be as heavy handed as it is. If the school took a few seconds to hear out the story, they might not seem like colossal dicks. Yes Erin Cox was in violation of the Athletic Code of Conduct by going and picking up her friend at the party at the wrong time, but the school doesn't have any reason to control what the students do in their own time. If they students were caught and taken in for underage (which Miss Cox was not) then yeah, suspend them for a few games, take away their ability to play, but don't punish a girl because she was willing to help a friend get home safe.

 Da Boss wrote:
It's silly to have such a rule in the first place, but I can understand why if the rule is there the school will enforce it on everyone equally.

My dad was a policeman and he used to drive around giving people a lift home around closing time instead of waiting til they tried to drive and then arresting/breathalysing them. He figured he was keeping people safer doing that than letting them get into the car- he let it be known when he'd be coming back with the car, etc. His beat was a rural area and people were quite spread out, so it was possible to do that.

Nowadays, he'd likely get crap from up high about that because it would impact their "arrest stats" so they wouldn't be "solving crimes".

 easysauce wrote:
how the heck does the school have any authority to issue punishments based on events that happend

1. outside of school hours
2. outside of school property

....

or are schools the newest branch of the TSA and get a free pass at ignoring peoples rights?

 Grey Templar wrote:
We really need to get a handle on this Zero Tolerance crap. Fire everybody who came up with the idea and/or get rid of their pensions.

 Andrew1975 wrote:

 Grey Templar wrote:
We really need to get a handle on this Zero Tolerance crap. Fire everybody who came up with the idea and/or get rid of their pensions.

Sounds like Zero Tolerance for Zero Tolerance!

 Da Boss wrote:
Wow, that is completely unreal! Airsoft guns in the back yard?

Maybe the administrators in these schools should focus a bit more on improving educational attainment, seeing as the US is quite a bit behind the competition at High School level!

 Easy E wrote:
To play devil's advocate:

She signed a contract with the school to allow her to play Volleryball. When that contract was violated, her ability to play volleyball for the school was revoked.

RAW

 Frazzled wrote:

 Easy E wrote:
To play devil's advocate:

She signed a contract with the school to allow her to play Volleryball. When that contract was violated, her ability to play volleyball for the school was revoked.

RAW

Except of course the contract was not violated.

 Frazzled wrote:
Alcohol is not illegal. Purchasing it as a minor is.

 djones520 wrote:

 Frazzled wrote:
Alcohol is not illegal. Purchasing it as a minor is.

Being in the unlawful presence of use of alcohaul. It's what they are nailing her for. It is illegal for minors to consume/purchase/possess booze.

 djones520 wrote:

 Frazzled wrote:
Alcohol is not illegal. Purchasing it as a minor is.

Being in the unlawful presence of use of alcohaul. It's what they are nailing her for. It is illegal for minors to consume/purchase/possess booze.

 Frazzled wrote:
In Texas, good athletes are pretty invulnerable.

 Gentleman_Jellyfish wrote:

 Frazzled wrote:
In Texas, good athletes are pretty invulnerable.

A whole state of Steubenvilles!

 Frazzled wrote:

 djones520 wrote:

 Frazzled wrote:
Alcohol is not illegal. Purchasing it as a minor is.

Being in the unlawful presence of use of alcohaul. It's what they are nailing her for. It is illegal for minors to consume/purchase/possess booze.

Show me the law on that. Its illegal to purchase. No one said they purchased it.
A little semanticy I know but the whole thing is that.

Clearly certain admins need their cars keyed. Justice old school style.

Also she must suck at volleyball, or their team does. In Texas, good athletes are pretty invulnerable.

Frazzled wrote:Que? You got me, whats that?

djones520 wrote:http://alcoholpolicy.niaaa.nih.gov/APIS_State_Profile.html?state=MA

Apparently of the three I listed, only consumption is not illegal. Possession is though.

 Alfndrate wrote:

Frazzled wrote:Que? You got me, whats that?

Steubanville, Ohio where a young lady was raped at a party by two football players, who were subsequently 'protected' for a while by school and city officials.

djones520 wrote:http://alcoholpolicy.niaaa.nih.gov/APIS_State_Profile.html?state=MA

Apparently of the three I listed, only consumption is not illegal. Possession is though.

How does one consume alcohol without possessing it? Do you like sneak a straw into someone's drink?

 Alfndrate wrote:

Frazzled wrote:Que? You got me, whats that?

Steubanville, Ohio where a young lady was raped at a party by two football players, who were subsequently 'protected' for a while by school and city officials.

How does one consume alcohol without possessing it? Do you like sneak a straw into someone's drink?

chaos0xomega wrote:
Seriously, does nobody read my posts?

There is an exemption for the possession of alcohol by minors that can be claimed from your parents or spouse, hence why consumption isn't illegal, because your parents have a right to decide whether or not you are allowed to possess and/or consume alcohol, its a fairly common sense law (though I believe some states don't allow this exemption).

chaos0xomega wrote:
There is an exemption for the possession of alcohol by minors that can be claimed from your parents or spouse, hence why consumption isn't illegal, because your parents have a right to decide whether or not you are allowed to possess and/or consume alcohol, its a fairly common sense law (though I believe some states don't allow this exemption).

chaos0xomega wrote:
Seriously, does nobody read my posts?

There is an exemption for the possession of alcohol by minors that can be claimed from your parents or spouse, hence why consumption isn't illegal, because your parents have a right to decide whether or not you are allowed to possess and/or consume alcohol, its a fairly common sense law (though I believe some states don't allow this exemption).

In college (in New York), one of the ways we avoided possession/the open container law was to simply put the container down and stand near it... unless they saw it in our hands physically we didn't possess it, it just happened to be there.

 Alfndrate wrote:

Steubanville, Ohio where a young lady was raped at a party by two football players, who were subsequently 'protected' for a while by school and city officials.

 Alfndrate wrote:

chaos0xomega wrote:
Seriously, does nobody read my posts?

There is an exemption for the possession of alcohol by minors that can be claimed from your parents or spouse, hence why consumption isn't illegal, because your parents have a right to decide whether or not you are allowed to possess and/or consume alcohol, its a fairly common sense law (though I believe some states don't allow this exemption).

In college (in New York), one of the ways we avoided possession/the open container law was to simply put the container down and stand near it... unless they saw it in our hands physically we didn't possess it, it just happened to be there.

I read it, it's just funny trying to imagine a high schooler that is obviously drunk tell an officer they never possessed the alcohol they consumed

Noir wrote:

 Alfndrate wrote:

Steubanville, Ohio where a young lady was raped at a party by two football players, who were subsequently 'protected' for a while by school and city officials.

Not protected for a while, the DA drop the charges and has yet to recharge. Even after the girl's house was burnt down.

chaos0xomega wrote:
Seriously, does nobody read my posts?

There is an exemption for the possession of alcohol by minors that can be claimed from your parents or spouse, hence why consumption isn't illegal, because your parents have a right to decide whether or not you are allowed to possess and/or consume alcohol, its a fairly common sense law (though I believe some states don't allow this exemption).

In college (in New York), one of the ways we avoided possession/the open container law was to simply put the container down and stand near it... unless they saw it in our hands physically we didn't possess it, it just happened to be there.

Noir wrote:

 Alfndrate wrote:

Steubanville, Ohio where a young lady was raped at a party by two football players, who were subsequently 'protected' for a while by school and city officials.

Not protected for a while, the DA drop the charges and has yet to recharge. Even after the girl's house was burnt down.

 Frazzled wrote:
Alcohol is not illegal. Purchasing it as a minor is.

chaos0xomega wrote:
Seriously, does nobody read my posts?

There is an exemption for the possession of alcohol by minors that can be claimed from your parents or spouse, hence why consumption isn't illegal, because your parents have a right to decide whether or not you are allowed to possess and/or consume alcohol, its a fairly common sense law (though I believe some states don't allow this exemption).

In college (in New York), one of the ways we avoided possession/the open container law was to simply put the container down and stand near it... unless they saw it in our hands physically we didn't possess it, it just happened to be there.

 Da Boss wrote:
Wow, that is completely unreal! Airsoft guns in the back yard?

 Frazzled wrote:
Now lots of lawsuits, claiming the school's counsel lied to the judge.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/10/16/lawyer-for-girl-suspended-for-trying-to-help-drunken-pal-to-sue-school-over-lie/

On the flip side, this is a First World problem and one reason why schools are so follow the policy. No principal was ever fired for successfully following procedures. Multiple lawsuits for being suspended from a couple of volleyball games? Come on..

 daedalus wrote:
MADD's level of credibility is barely above PETA.

 Kovnik Obama wrote:

 daedalus wrote:
MADD's level of credibility is barely above PETA.

Hell yeah. My parents burned my entire World of Darkness collection when that craze hit us... damn, that reminds me, I still owe Jack Chick an autodafe...

 Frazzled wrote:

 Kovnik Obama wrote:

 daedalus wrote:
MADD's level of credibility is barely above PETA.

Hell yeah. My parents burned my entire World of Darkness collection when that craze hit us... damn, that reminds me, I still owe Jack Chick an autodafe...

Can you translate that to English for me?

 Frazzled wrote:
Now lots of lawsuits, claiming the school's counsel lied to the judge.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/10/16/lawyer-for-girl-suspended-for-trying-to-help-drunken-pal-to-sue-school-over-lie/

On the flip side, this is a First World problem and one reason why schools are so follow the policy. No principal was ever fired for successfully following procedures. Multiple lawsuits for being suspended from a couple of volleyball games? Come on..

 Kovnik Obama wrote:

 daedalus wrote:
MADD's level of credibility is barely above PETA.

I still owe Jack Chick an autodafe...

 daedalus wrote:

You reminded me of Chick.

I've spent the last 10 minutes reading tracts for entertainment purposes. I like the part where he blames the 9/11 attack on the US trying to force peace talks in the middle east that would result in dividing Israel. As in, God making all of that happen in retaliation of the above.

 Frazzled wrote:
Really, how? Are there volleyball scholarships? Thats a serious question. In Texas the only recognized sport is football (and of course full contact thumbwrestling) so I am unfamiliar. .

 djones520 wrote:

 easysauce wrote:
how the heck does the school have any authority to issue punishments based on events that happend

1. outside of school hours
2. outside of school property

....

or are schools the newest branch of the TSA and get a free pass at ignoring peoples rights?

This goes back to the school that wanted to expel kids for playing with airsoft guns in their yard.

 KingCracker wrote:

 djones520 wrote:

 easysauce wrote:
how the heck does the school have any authority to issue punishments based on events that happend

1. outside of school hours
2. outside of school property

....

or are schools the newest branch of the TSA and get a free pass at ignoring peoples rights?

This goes back to the school that wanted to expel kids for playing with airsoft guns in their yard.

Uhg dont even get me fething started on that whole mess.

 Andrew1975 wrote:

It is a first world problem, that really shouldn't be a problem though. Think about it, if this girl is a talented athlete this could effect college recruiting and scholarships...that's big money! I know no good deed goes unpunished.....but really?

 Frazzled wrote:
Really, how? Are there volleyball scholarships? Thats a serious question. In Texas the only recognized sport is football (and of course full contact thumbwrestling) so I am unfamiliar. .

 Kovnik Obama wrote:
Kid shoplift after school hours : kid get expelled from school.
Kid spits on the ground at a bus stop a mile from school, school's principal sees him : kid get detention.
Kid break another kids teeth at a house party, during weekend, parents phone principal : kid get 20 hours of charity work to do.

These are all exemples of punishment my fellow classmates got during my high school years. Rights have nothing to do with it, it's the school's prerogative to uphold their image by punishing students that conduct themselves in a manner that is contrary to that image.

 insaniak wrote:

 Kovnik Obama wrote:
Kid shoplift after school hours : kid get expelled from school.
Kid spits on the ground at a bus stop a mile from school, school's principal sees him : kid get detention.
Kid break another kids teeth at a house party, during weekend, parents phone principal : kid get 20 hours of charity work to do.

These are all exemples of punishment my fellow classmates got during my high school years. Rights have nothing to do with it, it's the school's prerogative to uphold their image by punishing students that conduct themselves in a manner that is contrary to that image.

The fact that your school did these things doesn't make it any more right than any other school exceeding their authority in a similar fashion.

The school has a defined duty of care. While the specifics of this will obviously vary from country to country, here in Oz this basically means that the school is responsible for you during school hours, on your way to and from school unless your parents drop you off at the gate and pick you up again afterwards, and on any outside-school school-run activity. And that's it. If you run afoul of the police, and it's outside of the time in which you are the school's responsibility, it is absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with the school.

 Kovnik Obama wrote:

No, that's their legal responsibility of you. Any school that isn't bound by a student rights law they are either legally forced to follow or decide willingly to, can punish their students in any way they can. Of course, kids do not have any legal responsibility toward the completion of the punishment.

Now that the case has been publicized she can point to several, freely available, news articles as evidence that she did nothing wrong; at least assuming no other information comes out. Indeed, it could be argued that this event betters her chances of receiving aid as it provides her with a story to tell; making her memorable.

 daedalus wrote:

 Kovnik Obama wrote:

No, that's their legal responsibility of you. Any school that isn't bound by a student rights law they are either legally forced to follow or decide willingly to, can punish their students in any way they can. Of course, kids do not have any legal responsibility toward the completion of the punishment.

I'm trying to figure out where the legal default for level of enforcement from government bodies designed to educate was "anything except what the law prevents us from doing".

Perhaps I misunderstand the purpose of law, but it seems odd that human beings require the law to protect them from the government, on any level.

Noir wrote:

 Alfndrate wrote:

Steubanville, Ohio where a young lady was raped at a party by two football players, who were subsequently 'protected' for a while by school and city officials.

Not protected for a while, the DA drop the charges and has yet to recharge. Even after the girl's house was burnt down.

 Andrew1975 wrote:

Now that the case has been publicized she can point to several, freely available, news articles as evidence that she did nothing wrong; at least assuming no other information comes out. Indeed, it could be argued that this event betters her chances of receiving aid as it provides her with a story to tell; making her memorable.

Sure, now that is the case, after she and her family made a big stink out of it, which they should not had to have done.

Yes, 247 women's programs in D1 NCAA are sponsored.