In these increasingly black-or-white, polarized, all-or-nothing United States, it was refreshing to see common sense prevail in three recently reported cases that teetered on ridiculousness.
In Connecticut, eighth-grade honors student and class vice president Michael Sheridan was suspended from school for three days and stripped of his office after buying a bag of Skittles from a classmate. The New Haven school system banned candy sales in 2003 as part of a district-wide school wellness policy.
Yes, rules are rules. But if case-by-case judgment is applied, an institution is less likely to face national hooting and end up reversing itself on all points, just to stop the jeering, which is what happened to the New Haven schools. Michael Sheridan had never been in trouble before. A three-day suspension for having candy? What do they do to students who actually do something serious?
In Chicago, charges were dropped against a 36-year-old mother of three for leaving her sleeping 2-year-old alone in a locked car. This horrible kind of endangerment does happen frequently, and is rightly taken very seriously. Again, however, judgment must be applied.
In this case, the woman pulled up in front of Wal-Mart. She locked the car and set the alarm, leaving the youngest asleep as she took the other two girls to the Salvation Army Kettle 30 feet away to drop in a donation and snap their picture. She never went inside the store; the vehicle was never out of her sight. Charges of child endangerment and obstruction of justice were dismissed after a firestorm of publicity. To be fair, many also supported the decision to arrest and charge her. But many good, responsible parents can identify with this woman’s situation.
Meanwhile, a Minnesota lawmaker has been convinced to give up her crusade to get schools to ban the wearing of all fragrances. Instead, her bill will encourage education about the hazards associated with allergy-induced asthma attacks and other health problems linked to fragrances, and/or multiple chemical sensitivity.
A ban would lack common sense. Would students have to pass a sniff test every day?
Part of the problem, many say, is the popularity of products such as “Axe” for men. Commercials promise that if a young man douses himself with this product, the women will fall at his feet — apparently from the overwhelming scent. (Yes, young women are just as guilty in trying to create a new world odor.) It might help if Axe stated on its labels that “body spray” is just a figure of speech, and not to be taken literally.
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