No Tolerance for Horseplay

What started in 1994 as a tool to help discourage weapons in schools has become a tool for criminalization of immature behavior. Thanks to the zero-tolerance policy etiquette, many students are being targeted as criminals for simple offences such as horse-play. It was only a few years ago when Andrew Makel, a ninth grade student, was expelled for shooting a few spit wads at a student during a lunch period. The initial punishment was for 10 days, but according to John W. Whitehead, school officials brought local law enforcements “which initiated juvenile assault proceeding for criminal assaults against young Andrew.” Andrew Mikel’s suspension lasted a year.

Some officials like, John Lynn, wrote to the administrators, and claimed that he was not comfortable expelling or suspending Andrew Mikel for the reminder of the year, but he was ignored and the school board disciplinary committee upheld the ruling. Kevin Sieff wrote an article and said that the federal Gun-Free-School-Act mandates that schools expel students who take weapons, including hand guns, explosive devices and projectile weapons to school. Therefore, “Mikel's plastic tube, which was fashioned from a pen casing, met the definition of a projectile weapon because it was ‘used to intimidate, threaten or harm others.’ “

Andrew Mikel’s case is an example of a zero-tolerance policy developing into a tyrannical trend. It is blatant that the policy has become an easy getaway for school’s to throw away students that do not meet the school protocol. Imagination has become a thing of the past, horseplay is a treated a threat, and whatever freedom children had to express themselves with has become a warning bell for schools to slaughter.  Whitehead, president of the institute where Andrew Mikel studied, said, "School officials have developed a very dangerous mind-set that allows virtually no freedom for students, while at the same time criminalizing childish behavior.”

Take for instance, Patrick Timoney, a nine year old, fourth grade student, who brought one of his favorite toys: A Lego toy to play with his friends. Unaware of what was about to happen, the principal caught him, pulled him out of the class, and called his parents. The student’s toy apparently had a 2-inch plastic gun. The Department of Education stated that the principal, Evelyn Matroianni, was simply following the “no tolerance” policy code (Miller). Timoney’s mother responded in an article, “This isn't a safety issue…this is a judgment issue. I mean, what's the worst that could happen? It could poke you in the eye?"

The zero-tolerance policy was never proven to help students. These policies tend to ignore the root of misbehavior in favor a brute ruling. They do not look at the intention of the child, the policy is meant to look at the action, punishing the child without thought of consequence. Whitehead wrote, “Andrew Mikel, an honor student active in Junior ROTC and in his church who had hoped to attend the U.S. Naval Academy, can no longer be considered as an applicant.”

• Miller, Carlin. "Two-Inch LEGO Gun Gets 4th-Grader Patrick Timoney in Trouble; Where's the NRA?" CBSNews. CBS Interactive, 4 Feb. 2010. Web. 03 May 2014.

• Sieff, Kevin. "Plastic Pellet Incident at Va. School Ends in Expulsion, Assault Charges." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 02 Feb. 2011. Web. 03 May 2014.

• Whitehead, John W. "Zero Tolerance Schools Discipline Without Wiggle Room." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 08 Feb. 2011. Web. 01 May 2014.