12yo Suspended for Bringing SI Swimsuit Issue to School

[The_herd]

I'm ashamed to live in this day and age.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?id=1742267

ESPN.com news services

A 12-year-old student at a Belpre, Ohio, school apparently has been suspended for bringing a copy of Sports Illustrated to school.

Of course, it wasn't just any old edition of the magazine.

Sixth-grader Justin Reyes was suspended for three days for bringing Sports Illustrated's swimsuit edition to his public school, Pittsburgh TV station WPXI reported on its Web site on Monday.

Belpre City School District officials said sexually suggestive material is not allowed on school property.

"You saw bad stuff on the Super Bowl halftime show," Justin said. "You could see more on that than in [the magazine]."

A teacher confiscated the magazine and officials recommended Justin spend time at an alternative school. His mother, Nicole, refused, adding that she's outraged the school district considers the magazine to school a delinquent act, WPXI reported.

"That is not sexual harassment. I doubt my 12-year-old is the only one looking at Sports Illustrated," she was quoted as saying.

[k0ruptr]

yea I saw this. middle schools are so retarded.

[Cuckoo]

I say that it doesn't belong at school, but suspension is too much.

[BishopMVP]

"Officials recommended Justin spend time at an alternative school" for bringing in a magazine filled with scantily clad women. Interesting.

[Draft Dodger]

well, my carpenter asked for all the "soft porn" be removed from our bathroom while he was working.

soft porn being Maxim, Stuff and the swimsuit issue

[johnnyshaka]

Originally Posted by Draft Dodger

well, my carpenter asked for all the "soft porn" be removed from our bathroom while he was working.

soft porn being Maxim, Stuff and the swimsuit issue

Yikes...he wants hardcore stuff?

[JonInMiddleGA]

I saw this earlier and the only thing that really blipped across my radar was ...
"Well damn, they would have suspended us for that 25 years ago, surely this kid didn't think he wouldn't get drilled if he got caught."

[k0ruptr]

I got suspended for bringing a 2600 magazine to my highschool a few years back.
unless its clearly in the rules not to, its bogus and bullshit.

[yabanci]

I guess they didn't want to be "soft on crime" by just taking it away from him like a rational person would do.

[sterlingice]

Just a hunch, but I'm guessing this isn't the entire story. You don't suspend a kid to go to "alternative school" for three days if this is the first thing he's ever done to cross the school. Again, just speculation, but I bet this kid is a bit of a troublemaker and got it picked up because he was reading it in class or something.

SI

[sabotai]

Apparently sterlingice is not caught up on all of the "zero tolerance" stuff going around school boards these days.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

Just a hunch, but I'm guessing this isn't the entire story.

Very intuative.

http://www.wtap.com/schools/headlines/644142.html

Basically, he was ordered to an alternative school as punishment.
He was suspended from school entirely for refusing to go to the alternative school.

Big difference in that and the way the ESPN/wire version was written.

[Maple Leafs]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

Just a hunch, but I'm guessing this isn't the entire story.

No kidding.

Isn't anyone else getting tired of these quickie stories that all follow the same template? Kid gets suspended, quote from mom explaining the circumstances in the most innocent way possible, non-descriptive statement from school (who of course can't say anything because they'd be sued for defaming little Johnny)... mix it together, and instant outrage!

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Very intuative.

http://www.wtap.com/schools/headlines/644142.html

Basically, he was ordered to an alternative school as punishment.
He was suspended from school entirely for refusing to go to the alternative school.

Big difference in that and the way the ESPN/wire version was written.

I can't get to the WTAP story. It won't connect.

The WPXI story cited is identical to the ESPN one so I'm guessing they put their story on the wire and ESPN plucked it off. Seriously, tho. I was in middle school about 10 years ago... whoa, that just caught up to me- it's been that long.

But, anyways, I went to middle school about 10 years ago and there's no way someone gets in that kind of trouble for something like that unless they were reading it class or something while the teacher was teaching. Then again, I was in honors type classes and I know we got a wider berth with rules and such. For instance something as little as wearing hats wasn't allowed but I had at least 3 of my 7 teachers each year let me wear mine and you know the real hardass principals didn't like it so you took extra delight in holding (not wearing, of course) your hat while walking by them.

Back to the issue at hand, do people not get warnings for anything any more? Is a lot of stuff really zero-tolerance or is that just what the school district claims to cover their ass. I mean, I learned that if I got a warning about something, the teacher meant business and I should knock it off, but if the teacher didn't warn, it's no big deal. You know, stuff like chewing gum, etc. If they really don't get warnings or anything, that's just stupid. Geez, let kids make stupid mistakes- it's a good way to learn.

SI

[General Mike]

I rememeber somebody getting in trouble for bringing the swimsuit issue to school when I was in 6th grade. It was 10 years ago, but it didn't seem that big of a deal to me at the time. I don't know.

[panerd]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

I saw this earlier and the only thing that really blipped across my radar was ...
"Well damn, they would have suspended us for that 25 years ago, surely this kid didn't think he wouldn't get drilled if he got caught."

Right on Jon! As a teacher we get ragged on all the time about having no standards and "what is wrong with education nowadays?" and then a kid gets a consequence for breaking a school rule and everyone wants to know what is wrong with schools the other way. I usually don't see eye to eye with you on other conservative issues, but at least you are consistant and I applaud that.

And you and Sterlingice also hit it head on with the non-disclosure (CYA) on all of the details. We had a girl sent home from our middle school for flashing her panties to a bunch of guys in one of these new 3-inch skirts. I will give you that she is just a kid doing what kids do, but then the rest is just modern society. Basically the kid was given the option of putting on her gym clothes or having her mom come to the school and bring her a more appropriate outift. Would you believe this issue made it all the way to the school board? We were taking away her way her freedoms and putting her on the spot! Believe me there is a lot more to this SI story then we will ever read about. Kids don't just get suspended nowaways for first offenses.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by General Mike

I rememeber somebody getting in trouble for bringing the swimsuit issue to school when I was in 6th grade. It was 10 years ago, but it didn't seem that big of a deal to me at the time. I don't know.

Yeah, and I remember having to sit through an entire English class where we were lectured about the evils of role playing stuff when a couple of friends and I were passing around stuff for the original Final Fantasy for the NES (keep in mind, I was at a parochial school at the time). But we didn't get detention or suspended or anything.

SI

[panerd]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

Back to the issue at hand, do people not get warnings for anything any more? Is a lot of stuff really zero-tolerance or is that just what the school district claims to cover their ass. I mean, I learned that if I got a warning about something, the teacher meant business and I should knock it off, but if the teacher didn't warn, it's no big deal. You know, stuff like chewing gum, etc. If they really don't get warnings or anything, that's just stupid. Geez, let kids make stupid mistakes- it's a good way to learn.

SI

I am sure the kid has been warned about a lot of things and like someone said earlier he was probably either passing it around class or harassing girls with it. Just my opinion, but so is the other side. And I have had some experiance with this type of situation.

[Samdari]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

I saw this earlier and the only thing that really blipped across my radar was ...
"Well damn, they would have suspended us for that 25 years ago, surely this kid didn't think he wouldn't get drilled if he got caught."

Well, I took this thing to school every year while in middle/high school. If the teachers caught us with it, they took it away - so they could leaf through it in their lounge. It would have been absolutely no big deal. This is a total overreaction.

[MacroGuru]

Few words

NO TOLERANCE

remember it, it's where the schools and the school boards are going.

[The_herd]

I know my middle/high school would have taken the magazine away if it caused a distraction, then they would have given it back at the end of the day. No controversy, no feelings hurt.

[Eaglesfan27]

I really hope this kid doesn't get sent to an alternative school for just this incident. I also suspect as others have said that there is more to the story. The alternative schools in many states are deplorable. In Louisiana, the alternative schools are filled with kids who have had several past episodes of violence, and in general appear to be poorly run.

[Easy Mac]

It was on the rack in the library in both my old middle school and high school. Back in the day, if you had a magazine, you got it taken away, period.

[tucker342]

Hell back in 9th grade I would take Playboys to school.

Zero Tolerance sucks

At my High School, we aren't allowed to bring water bottles to school, because 1) they cause a distraction and 2) we might have alcohol in them.


High School sucks

[kcchief19]

Originally Posted by Easy Mac

It was on the rack in the library in both my old middle school and high school. Back in the day, if you had a magazine, you got it taken away, period.

BINGO! I would have been this kid's age 20 years ago, and I went to school in the self-described buckle of The Bible Belt. Like clockwork, once a year, somebody would bring in this issue. And like clockwork, if you got caught, the only punishment was having it conficascated. This wouldn't get you suspended -- it's just "boys being boys."

As for the "more to the story," you make it sound like the fact that ESPN's story missed a step in the process somehow makes the punishment fit the crime. Punishing the kid by sending him to "alternative school" seems to be a bit too much. If my school system had tried this on me, my mother would have said there's no way I'm going to the alternative school, so I would have been suspended too.

I think the general "outrage" over this is on many fronts, primarily that the kid is being punished for having material that does not met any legal criteria for pornography and that the punishment seems out of whack compared to the "crime." I mean, c'mon, how different is a kid showing this issue to his friends than from when the guys all giggle in health class whenever the teacher says "vagina."

Frankly, on the list of things I don't want kids brining to school, this isn't even in the top million. If you're going to make an example of a kid, I sure hope this school is cracking down on kids bringing weapons and drugs to school or cracking down on bullies who pick on other kids and make their lives miserable.

[Anthony]

me-thinks someone was picked on by bullies.

get me a drink, nerd!

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Hell Atlantic

me-thinks someone was picked on by bullies.

get me a drink, nerd!

Heck, I was a nerd but was mostly left alone to my anonymity. But I can't help but pile on when someone plays the game of "one of these things just doesn't fit" in their argument.

"Frankly, on the list of things I don't want kids brining to school, this isn't even in the top million. If you're going to make an example of a kid, I sure hope this school is cracking down on kids bringing weapons and drugs to school or cracking down on bullies who pick on other kids and make their lives miserable."

Just inserting a simple "..bringing weapons and drugs to school or even cracking down on bullies..." would have worked but when you try to put the "crack down on bullies" up there with guns and drugs, well...

SI

[WussGawd]

Originally Posted by Maple Leafs

No kidding.

Isn't anyone else getting tired of these quickie stories that all follow the same template? Kid gets suspended, quote from mom explaining the circumstances in the most innocent way possible, non-descriptive statement from school (who of course can't say anything because they'd be sued for defaming little Johnny)... mix it together, and instant outrage!

I heart this post.

And trust me, a 12 year old boy? This kid knew exactly what he was doing.

Hell, at 12, we were smuggling dad's old Playboys to school.

[WussGawd]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

Heck, I was a nerd but was mostly left alone to my anonymity. But I can't help but pile on when someone plays the game of "one of these things just doesn't fit" in their argument.

"Frankly, on the list of things I don't want kids brining to school, this isn't even in the top million. If you're going to make an example of a kid, I sure hope this school is cracking down on kids bringing weapons and drugs to school or cracking down on bullies who pick on other kids and make their lives miserable."

Just inserting a simple "..bringing weapons and drugs to school or even cracking down on bullies..." would have worked but when you try to put the "crack down on bullies" up there with guns and drugs, well...

SI

Try to look at it from a girl's perspective or a female teacher's perspective. Especially the latter. To not crack down on it would put the school at a very real risk for a sexual harassment complaint from a teacher, or the parent of a female student.

[WussGawd]

Originally Posted by Easy Mac

It was on the rack in the library in both my old middle school and high school. Back in the day, if you had a magazine, you got it taken away, period.

Not sure when you went to school, but during my middle-school days, the SI Swimsuit Issue was a lot less risque than it is now. Of course, we didn't have old hags baring nipples on TV at Super Bowl halftime shows either.

[mckerney]

Originally Posted by tucker342

Hell back in 9th grade I would take Playboys to school.

Zero Tolerance sucks

At my High School, we aren't allowed to bring water bottles to school, because 1) they cause a distraction and 2) we might have alcohol in them.


High School sucks

So they want you to get drunk before school?

I don't get what the issue with that is though. Having 5 or 6 drinks in me better helps me understand what the hell is going in math classes.

[WussGawd]

I'd be very curious to know what this kid's track record with the school is. These are the sort of things that are always omitted from these stupid stories. Perhaps, if this had been an isolated incident it might have been handled differently than if the kid were a constant source of discipline troubles.

On the other hand, I have definitely seen the negative side effects of zero tolerance on at risk kids, so it wouldn't shock me if this was one teacher or principal overreacting.

[Dutch]

It was probably a Nazi who suspended the kid.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Dutch

It was probably a Nazi who suspended the kid.

I thought it was a terrorist

SI

[Dutch]

LOL. I guess we'll have to get a clarification from Mr. Paige and the NEA. They are the experts.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Dutch

LOL. I guess we'll have to get a clarification from Mr. Paige and the NEA. They are the experts.

I just like that we managed to get that full circle with the other thread

Anyways, I badly need to stop reading this for the night and get back to work so I'll leave my petty arguing until tomorrow.

SI

[Desnudo]

Originally Posted by The_herd

I'm ashamed to live in this day and age.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?id=1742267

You couldn't bring the swimsuit issue to my public high school back in the early 1990s. Like locker searches, it's been proven time and again that public schools can regulate student behavior.

Edit: All we did was wait until lunch or 3 PM to read it. Whereas now you apparently alert the media anytime someone tells you that you can't do something, no matter how trivial. I may have to file suit for not being able to watch pornography in Home Ec..

[mckerney]

Yeah, and I remember having to sit through an entire English class where we were lectured about the evils of role playing

At my High School, we aren't allowed to bring water bottles to school

Well, I took this thing to school every year while in middle/high school. If the teachers caught us with it, they took it away

What kind of schools did you guys go to? Back in my high school days the swim suit issue of SI would most likely be readily available in the library, while many students brought magazines like Maxim with them. And using an aerosol can and a lighter to make a flame thrower plus damaging a podium got my friends a few hours detention. Add to that I spent a good portion of my programming classes playing classroom games of Tribes, and a decent amount of other classes watching cable TV.

Ah, my high school days. Where I did whatever I wanted without worrying about the consequences.

[Desnudo]

Originally Posted by mckerney

What kind of schools did you guys go to? Back in my high school days the swim suit issue of SI would most likely be readily available in the library, while many students brought magazines like Maxim with them. And using an aerosol can and a lighter to make a flame thrower plus damaging a podium got my friends a few hours detention. Add to that I spent a good portion of my programming classes playing classroom games of Tribes, and a decent amount of other classes watching cable TV.

Ah, my high school days. Where I did whatever I wanted without worrying about the consequences.

I walked to a little red school house uphill through ten feet of snow.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by kcchief19

BINGO! I would have been this kid's age 20 years ago, and I went to school in the self-described buckle of The Bible Belt. Like clockwork, once a year, somebody would bring in this issue. And like clockwork, if you got caught, the only punishment was having it conficascated. This wouldn't get you suspended -- it's just "boys being boys."

Bingo. I went to government-run schools up until 8th grade. I specifically remember in 6th grade that a kid brought it to school, and several boys AND girls were looking at it between classes. A teacher caught a glance and took it up, and quickly we all started defending them--"Mrs. Greene, it's just Sports Illustrated!!!"--and she gave it back and made him promise not to distract class by getting it out once the bell rang. I don't know where kcchief went to school, but I *seriously* doubt it was any more Bible Belt than Columbus, GA. (If you drink a glass of wine once in a blue moon with your meal down there, many down there will question your salvation. )

All of that being said, a few observations:

• Working with teenagers every day, I can't imagine the difficulty as a parent or teacher to try to determine what is and isn't appropriate in a culture that bombards the kids with this stuff like it does. Yeah, someone said that the SI swimsuit issue is more risque' than back in the day, but I'm quite sure it is far LESS risque' than other mediums to which these kids have access.
• Following up on the last point, why in the world is this kid relying on SI for his fix of scantily-clad women??? I haven't seen a swimsuit issue in a few years, but I'm sure he can get just as much or more titillation from MTV. Heck, even though I try my best to block it, I still get e-mails with explicit sexual content a few times a week.
• I *REALLY* hope there's more to the story than "he refused to go to an alternative school." Sending him to an alternative school for just this offense sounds wayyyyyyy too harsh. I'm thinking/hoping that this was a "straw-that-broke-the-camel's-back" rather than an isolated incident.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by SkyDog

(If you drink a glass of wine once in a blue moon with your meal down there, many down there will question your salvation. )

"Quick, hide it!"
"What?"
"It's the Bible police!"
"Aw man, busted."
"Agent Smith, looks like he's drinking wine with his meal. That's many years in purgatory, for sure."
"Indeed, Agent Jones. Mister, you're looking at 50 years for this offense."
"Uh-oh. It's worse than I thought."
"Yup. It's white wine with a steak."
"To hell with him."
*whoosh*
"Aiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiie!"

(Moral of the story: kids, don't stay up all night switching off between programming and studying for a computer theory course. It's like mixing beer and liquor, only much much worse)

SI

[ice4277]

Originally Posted by mckerney

Ah, my high school days. Where I did whatever I wanted without worrying about the consequences.

If I hadn't worried about consequences in high school, I would have enjoyed ignoring them in college a lot less

[Maple Leafs]

Once again, reading all the outrage in this thread leads me to the conclusion that some people here aren't anywhere near as media-savvy as they probably think they are.

Let's see, I know I have my old reporter's checklist somewhere... oh yes, here it is:

- "Child gets suspended for (something innocent)" - Check
- Shocked statement from mommy - Check
- Statement from school that doesn't really say anything because it's been run by all the lawyers first - Check
- Cute quote from the kid that really puts the whole thing in perspective even though it doesn't sound at all like something a kid would ever say - Check

OK, I think we covered it for the first story. Now on the to the followup story:

- A recap of the first story, only with hints dropped in that there was actually a lot more to the story than (something innocent)
- Another statement from school that doesn't really say anything because it's been run by all the lawyers first, but makes references to all the facts not being reported yet
- Anonymous statement from teacher and/or other kids' parents saying that the kid has been a problem for a long time and they're glad he was suspended
- Vaguely threatening statements from mommy about lawsuits

That story should be coming out... hm, today, maybe tomorrow at the latest.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Maple Leafs

Now on the to the followup story:

So far, it looks like this one may break the formula a little bit.

http://www.newsandsentinel.com/news/...sionBegins.asp

But what's now being explained more thoroughly is that the student was not suspended for bringing the magazine, he's suspended because his mother refused to accept the originally determined punishment.

[QuikSand]

Brilliant post, Maple Leafs. BRILLIANT!

People suck.

[corbes]

So... going to an "alternative school" is their term for two days of in-school suspension. That's hardly as drastic as making him transfer, which is what the first article implied.

[MacroGuru]

I actually applaud the mother on refusing the outlined "2 days in-school suspension"

I myself, would rather my son or daughter serve the suspension "out of school" than have them in some of the "alternative learning schools" out there.

Hell, in middle school, or In School Suspension was a freaking small ass room, with 4 desks and a teachers desk, with a teacher who was waiting for trouble makers such as myself.

We generally did detention like things, such as essays and what not on why we were there. The horrible thing about it, the guy that ran the ISS was a fresh graduated English Teacher desperate for a job, so our papers had to be perfect or we rewrote them.

[Maple Leafs]

Originally Posted by QuikSand

Brilliant post, Maple Leafs. BRILLIANT!

I sense sarcasm.

[MIJB#19]

Makes me think of the day a student brought a Playboy magazine to class not so long ago and the teacher decided to postpone the software engineering class for 15 minutes.
Good times...

[Desnudo]

"Quote:
Originally Posted by QuikSand
Brilliant post, Maple Leafs. BRILLIANT!

I sense sarcasm."

Brilliant deduction Maple Leafs. BRILLIANT!