Editorial

Everything isn’t as bad as it seems. No matter what the newspaper

headlines say, our children have not turned into savages from “Lord of

the Flies.”

Yes, two Aliso Niguel High School students allegedly made threats that

were real enough for most of their classmates to skip school. A

9-year-old brought a .45-caliber handgun -- complete with ammunition --

to his Norwalk elementary school. And, of course, the shootings across

the nation over the past two weeks have everyone concerned and on edge.

But, fortunately, these aren’t the norm. They are indeed horrible acts

-- some of tremendous violence -- that need to serve as reminders that

society is not perfect. Shootings and threats should never occur, let

alone in the nation’s schools.

With this said, however, the headlines may be getting the best of the

school districts. They are obviously on full alert and, as a result, may

be a bit hasty in their decisions.

For example, Corona del Mar High School administrators last week

suspended a seventh-grader for five days after drawing a picture of a

teacher with an arrow through the teacher. Was that student going to head

to the nearest sporting goods store to stock up on arrows? And if so,

would they have ended up at school? Probably not. But even if it were

illegal for the student to be artistic in such a threatening manner --

1stAmendment rights aside -- five days seems extreme.

In the midst of this wave of violence, the Newport-Mesa Unified school

board added to its zero-tolerance policy Tuesday night. Just like drugs,

alcohol and weapons before them, bullying, intimidation and violence will

no longer be tolerated. The revision would include drawings such as the

seventh-grader’s, but it also allows district administrators to use their

discretion when such instances arise. Thus, it’s not quite “zero

tolerance,” and that is all for the better and wiser.

In this case, five days is much too extreme. In fact, one day pushes

it too far. Unless there’s more to the student’s background that warrants

such an action, such a student should be sent to the principal’s office

and a letter should be sent home. If that action doesn’t strike a chord,

then there’s obviously something wrong and counseling and a brief

suspension should occur. But five days sounds more appropriate for a

third strike.

If that same seventh-grader was to have shown the same artistic

expression before the Santee shooting, would there have been a five-day

suspension? Highly unlikely. School districts everywhere obviously should

not ignore such threatening drawings, but they should still be rational

and allow cooler heads to prevail.