COMMUNITY COMMENTARY -- Ila Johnson

The Newport-Mesa School District’s zero-tolerance policy threatens to

go too far. I support the district’s current policy -- I’ve said so

publicly -- but the language of the proposed revision is too broad,

overreaching, open to subjective interpretation and possibly raises free

speech issues.

The proposed policy states: “The District will not tolerate any

gestures, comments, threats or actions, either written, verbal or

physical, which cause or threaten to cause or are likely to cause bodily

harm or personal degradation.”

The language of the proposed revision also raises questions regarding

the assurance that the interpretation and enforcement of the policy will

be uniform across the district. The revision reads: “The Board of

Education, through the superintendent, delegates to the principal of each

school the authority and responsibility for developing and maintaining

student behavior/conduct guidelines.” Some board members at the last

board meeting raised these concerns.

Although the proposed revision has not yet received final approval it

is already being enforced, resulting in the suspension and remanding to

counseling of a seventh-grader at Corona del Mar Middle School for an

apparently harmless drawing (“Pranks No Longer Funny on Campus,” March

10).

In an era when broad interpretation of 1st Amendment rights has

stretched the Constitution to the point where virtually anything is

permissible -- in art, speech, entertainment, the written word, the

Internet or demonstrations in the public square -- it seems ironic that a

middle school student’s childish drawing now “has a new significance.”

The action taken by the district is inappropriate, paranoid and a

grave and chilling violation of freedom of expression. What’s next: The

Thought Police?

This society is hostile to children. We abandon them emotionally and

physically, abuse them, bend their impressionable minds by slinging every

conceivable form of violence and depravity at them, teach them relative

morals in our public schools and abort 4,000 of them every day. When some

of them are damaged to the point that they become angry and erupt in

violence, we then scratch our heads and ask why.

The answer is not, as some suggest, because another student or

students have taunted or bullied them. It is because society has betrayed

them and shown them little or no respect. The tragic result is that some

have not learned to respect society at large, other individuals, or

sadly, even themselves. Those so affected have a distorted perception of

right and wrong. They sometimes act out in many ways, which may include

bullying and violent rampages, both of which are reprehensible and must

not be tolerated.

The human spirit being what it is, most children survive and do as

they always have and always will, eventually growing out of their

childish ways. They tease each other, perform childish pranks, engage in

name-calling, and yes, occasionally draw mean but harmless cartoons for

the mutual amusement of themselves and others.

Indications are that this student’s intent was simply that. The

Newport Beach Police Department determined the student posed no threat;

therefore, the student’s action does not even fall within the parameters

of the proposed policy revisions.

With all due respect, the decision to suspend and remand this student

to counseling was uncalled-for and serves to create an environment of

fear and repression. Those administrators responsible should themselves

be remanded to counseling, and for the reasons cited above, the

district’s Board of Trustees should reject the proposed revision to its

zero-tolerance policy.

*ILA JOHNSON is a Costa Mesa resident.