Seventh Grader Suspended For Touching Pill

It all happened on February 23 at River Valley Middle School in Jeffersonville, Indiana. Seventh grader Rachel Greer was in the locker room during fifth period gym class when a fellow student walked in with a bag of pills.

“She was talking to another girl and me about them and she put one in my hand and I was like, ‘I don’t want this,’ so I put it back in the bag and I went to gym class,” said Rachel. The pills were the prescription ADHD drug, Adderall, and after years of training under the DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program, Rachel knew she had to “Just Say No.”

But that wasn’t the end of it. During sixth period, an assistant principal came and took Rachel out of class. It turned out that the girl who originally had the pills and a few other students got caught. Then came the shocker: “We’re suspending you for five days because it was in your hand,” the administrator told Rachel. Apparently he told the girl that he was very sorry he had to do it, but the rules are the rules. District officials later said that if they’re not strict about drug policies no one will take them seriously.

What lesson can Rachel learn here? Because she said NO to illegal drugs and told the complete truth about what happened in the locker room, she was punished. Presumably she would also have been punished if she had said YES, so maybe next time she’ll choose that route.

What does it take for school administrators to use some common sense? A policy, zero tolerance or any other, is a guideline. Every situation is different, and school officials need to be able to approach each situation individually, and make an appropriate decision, based on the relevant facts.

After hearing the news, Patty Greer, Rachel’s mother, went to school officials to complain. “That’s not a good policy,” Greer said. “We’re teaching our kids if you say no to drugs you’re going to get punished; it’s not right.”

District officials were not impressed. Martin Bell, COO of Greater Clark County Schools, replied that the girl should not have put out her hand. “Someone hands them a pill or a drug or something like that and they say well I said no I didn’t participate. Well the act of saying no is not to be there, not to be involved in the handling the, you know, they didn’t have to put their hand out.” (In case you’re wondering, I am quoting Mr. Bell verbatim here.)

According to Greater Clark County Schools district policy, even a touch equals drug possession and a one week suspension. Wanna get a five-day vacation from school? Just say no, and get yourself suspended!

And this just in: When Mason Jammer, a kindergarten student at Jefferson Elementary in Ionia, Michigan, curled his fist into the shape of a gun Wednesday and pointed it at another student, school officials suspended the 6-year-old until Friday, saying the behavior made other students uncomfortable. Really? Couldn’t the school find any other way to teach Mason not to make a gun with his hand? When will this madness stop?

Creative Commons - Arenamontanus
Judy Molland

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Cindy C.

2:12AM PDT on Apr 5, 2011

OH MY GOODNESS ME

send a green star

Aubrey H.

8:22AM PDT on Mar 23, 2011

I grew up in one of the 'test' areas for zero tolerance (north texas, late 80's early 90's) right along with DARE

asinine, insane, out of touch with reality, big brother at its finest. This looks back to the days of the late 50's, when it wasn't 'education, but indoctrination'

My children, should I ever bring a child into this messed up, screwed up, insane world, will be home schooled...with things like Plato and Kant, Shakespeare and yes, even Twain, and grow up being educated to do things like change oil and balance a checkbook.

Taught to think and reason, and not just follow blindly the orders of those who set themselves above by virtue of their fat wallets.

Beverley A.

11:00PM PDT on Apr 22, 2010

Officious stupidity at its most rampant worst !!

Nellie K A.

6:03PM PDT on Mar 21, 2010

It happened 2 days before my b-day.

Graham C.

5:44AM PDT on Mar 20, 2010

I absolutely despair at the blinkered politically correct people who are supposed to be raising our children.....whatever happened to common sense for god's sake.

Chinmayee J.

3:36AM PDT on Mar 16, 2010

This is not a surprise. I'm sorry to say that the US always takes things to the extreme - of course the 6-year-old pointed a pretend gun, he's probably a little boy who has seen cartoons/TV shows/video games that have violence in them and acted it out in play, what little boy doesn't?? And granted, the 7th grader was holding the pill, and maybe she should have just walked away from the whole thing before the pill was actually taken out, but at least people should get their facts straight before punishing her for doing the right thing? People just don't use their heads.

Tammy S.

4:24PM PDT on Mar 15, 2010

Is that school official DOING DRUGS?

Maira S.

6:14AM PDT on Mar 15, 2010

Gracias!

Seth E.

10:27PM PST on Mar 13, 2010

Zero tolerance is just as moronic as mandatory minimums because they both eliminate common sense and the ability to consider each case individually, and as such, they are embarrassments to fairness in a free society.

The United States was formed to escape tyranny, and yet campaigns such as the Drug War have adopted such oppressive policies because of overzealous leadership as the zero tolerance and mandatory minimums, as well as the scare tactics to divert peoples' attentions and knowledge away from the facts about drugs.

Without rational thinking and proper education about drugs, our whole country will remain as tyrannized by ignorance as if we had become addicts to the very drugs the perpetrators of the Drug War have tried so hard to make us fear.

The truth will set you free, but we will never be free with all the lies of the Drug War.

Stephan B.

4:48PM PST on Mar 13, 2010

Of course I hope these same people don't discourage her from touching at least one pill, THEE PILL, and i hope she swallows it before they weild their aimless authority.

The suspension can stand but the inadvertent pregnency can be averted, unless she learns to conform to the district's rules.