Bet you never thought I’d write that headline. But after reading the Hour article headlined, “Boozed up prom goers get graduation walk” I arrived at this startling conclusion. Why? Because I think that nanny statism has over reached, when it performs breathalyzers on kids near prom sites. Forget about looking at the pervasive use of Ritalin force fed to kids who naturally would prefer running around to sitting in a classroom all day filling our bubbles on endless tests. No, the anti-alcohol forces want to train your kids to accept a violation of the fourth amendment as being the norm. Let’s look at the incident:
Detective Michael Murray, of the Norwalk Police youth division, said he responded to a phone call that alcohol was present in a bus carrying students at the Stamford Sheraton Hotel.The students were not visibly drunk, and no alcohol was found on the bus, Murray said.
“If it weren’t for a phone call they probably wouldn’t have even been tested,” he said.
The students never entered the hotel where the prom was held, Murray said.
So lacking in details, was the bus pulled over, parked? Who was driving the bus? And why, if the students weren’t visibly drunk, not driving and no alcohol was found, were these kids tested?
Corda said this information was inaccurate. He said the decision not to suspend the students was reached after meeting with Daddona and reviewing the evidence — at a suspension hearing step noted in the board policy.
Daddona did not return phone calls requesting comment.
Corda said the school takes a “very serious” stance on drinking, and did not suspend the students because the drinking did not occur at the event, and the students were never admitted to the prom.
“Being at the prom is different from not being at the prom and being on the way,” he said.
Board of Education Bruce Kimmel said he disagreed with Corda’s interpretation of the policy, saying that students who arrive at the prom venue drunk should be treated to the same penalty as students who arrive on a school campus drunk.
“I’ve been under the impression for a number of years, (if you fail a Breathalyzer test), that whether you’re inside or outside the school (or event) you’d be suspended,” he said, adding that prom is a notoriously dangerous time for student drinkers. “This is not the time you split hairs and make subtle decisions vis-Ã -vis policy. The kids took a Breathalyzer and failed. End of story.”
Corda is right, unless the kids stepped into the prom room, they were not at the prom. They were citizens at a public building subject to the same constitutional protections that govern us all.
source: The Hour, Boozed up prom goers get graduation walk, by Amanda Pinto, June 21, 2007
Yes, Kimmel continues to be the devil’s advocate, but he also trends nanny state (bake sales) so I can agree to disagree him on these issues too.
