Matthew Whalen, a senior at Lansingburgh Senior High School, says he follows the Boy Scout motto and is always prepared, stocking his car with a sleeping bag, water, a ready-to-eat meal — and the knife, which was given to him by his grandfather, a police chief in a nearby town.
But Lansingburgh High has a zero-tolerance policy, and when school officials discovered that Whalen kept his knife locked in his car, he says, they suspended him for five days — and then tacked on an additional 15 after a hearing.
Cripes. If there's anyone I want carrying a knife, it's Boy Scout, and even more so - an Eagle Scout!
What kills me is that the knife never even left his car. It's not as if he was walking around school with a Bowie knife looking for something to skin. It's not as if he had a sawed-off shotgun in his front seat and got it out at lunch to show his pals.
And that they felt the need to tack on an extra 15 days of suspension is unconscionable. Heads on the school board and in the front office of that school need to roll over this one.
Follow the link above and read the full story. It will make your blood boil. It turns out it was a 2-inch knife, and a police officer who was consulted by the school said that he hadn't broken any laws.
As a former scout myself, Destructo is standing with you in solidarity, brother. And for the record: zero-tolerance policies are bullshit.
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