Cuffs for Doodles

Writing on your desk is wrong! It is very wrong! But should a kid be arrested for it? Well, a 12 year old in New York was arrested for it. Along with some other children who were accused of putting stickers on the wall. I understand that there is a need to punish for graffiti but isn't this taking it a bit far? This is all in the name of zero tolerance.

Now I am not a stranger to seeing zero tolerance in effect. Being raised with in the Clovis Unified system here in Central California I got to see it from the front row. I remember being in high school and watching a kid get hit and then get suspended for pushing the aggressor to the ground. I remember a girl being threatened with expulsion for giving a friend Tylenol and it being "drugs" (even thought the school could take you to get an abortion). I even remember a kindergartener being suspended because his hair was to long.

So what do you think of zero tolerance. I guess abstractly the line has to be drawn somewhere but cuffing and arresting a 12 year for writing "I love my friends Abby and Faith. Lex was here 2/1/10 :)" seems to be going a little far.