Story Archive

Unintended Consequences

Galesburg (Ill.) High School tried to fix a problem by issuing a zero-tolerance policy. “Things like people texting in purses, in class or inappropriate items coming into class,” said Principal Roy Van Meter, “and so it wasn’t a single incident, it wasn’t even two or three, it was a combination of all those.” The new rule: the school banned all purses. That’s why Carri Harding’s 17-year-old daughter got an in-school suspension: she brought a clutch purse into the school. “She carries her personal feminine napkins in it, hand sanitizing lotion and wipes during her monthly cycle,” Harding said, adding the school told her an exception could be made — if she gets a doctor’s note documenting a medical condition. “Really, a medical condition? I mean, every woman has it every month,” her mother said. “It’s not a medical condition, it’s nature.” She says that when it comes to rules “checking for weapons and checking for drugs and checking for all that, I am in compliance with that all the way, but this was the last straw.” (MS/WQAD Moline) ...That’s what it will take to stop ZT: enough parents getting to the last straw.