Hugs not Drugs
An eighth grade girl in Illinois was suspended after hugging two of her friends after school the other day. She said that she was just hugging them good bye since school was out, though they were still on school grounds. The school quoted their handbook on Msnbc, saying that their policy states that "Displays of affection should not occur on the school campus at any time. It is in poor taste, reflects poor judgment, and brings discredit to the school and to the persons involved." The girl, on her appearance on the Today show, said that they had just come from a "Hugs not Drugs" school presentation. Hmmm, something's fishy here.
What kind of double standard are we sending our kids today? I understand the school's position, partly, because of all the current emphasis on sexual harassment, not only in the workplace for adults, but in schools as well. I understand their intentions, but someone, in some distant school board meeting had a rock-solid reason for implementing this policy. So much so, in fact, the the school directors passed, stamped, and sealed it as law. And policy, once in place, is very difficult to repeal. One school said that they put their policy in place because the students were coming into classes late because they were hugging their friends in the hallway.
So the school is between a rock and a hard place; they were, as they said, "just following policy". But what kind of a world is it where hugging a friend goodbye is considered "poor taste and poor judgment"? Where is the allowance for intentions or circumstance? Is there no defense for the student? Why should the student even have to defend her actions? I hugged my friends practically every day when I was in middle school. I can certainly tell you, I'd rather have kids being late for class from hugging rather than from drugs, or alcohol, violence, or indifference, or any of the myriad issues that assault our youth. Don't the desperately bleak problems facing our schools today deserve more attention (both from the school board and the media) than a girl hugging her friend?
Come on people, let's focus on the real problems here, not a spontaneous moment of friendly affection. I, for one, would have our youth be a generation who want to hug their friends rather than kill them. Isn't that the entire point of social education?
What kind of double standard are we sending our kids today? I understand the school's position, partly, because of all the current emphasis on sexual harassment, not only in the workplace for adults, but in schools as well. I understand their intentions, but someone, in some distant school board meeting had a rock-solid reason for implementing this policy. So much so, in fact, the the school directors passed, stamped, and sealed it as law. And policy, once in place, is very difficult to repeal. One school said that they put their policy in place because the students were coming into classes late because they were hugging their friends in the hallway.
So the school is between a rock and a hard place; they were, as they said, "just following policy". But what kind of a world is it where hugging a friend goodbye is considered "poor taste and poor judgment"? Where is the allowance for intentions or circumstance? Is there no defense for the student? Why should the student even have to defend her actions? I hugged my friends practically every day when I was in middle school. I can certainly tell you, I'd rather have kids being late for class from hugging rather than from drugs, or alcohol, violence, or indifference, or any of the myriad issues that assault our youth. Don't the desperately bleak problems facing our schools today deserve more attention (both from the school board and the media) than a girl hugging her friend?
Come on people, let's focus on the real problems here, not a spontaneous moment of friendly affection. I, for one, would have our youth be a generation who want to hug their friends rather than kill them. Isn't that the entire point of social education?
posted by Laura Francabandera at
9:17 PM
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