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<p>And here I am thinking it’s an under-aged drinking issue.</p>
<p>No, we’re all agreed that there should be punishment, just what punishment should be meted out is being debated.</p>
<p>How sensitive is a breathalyzer? Could it pick up one drink? I know it wouldn’t show up as legally drunk, but would the needle go off the peg at all with one drink? The school has a zero tolerance policy. Even a step off the peg without being drunk could lead to a suspension.</p>
<p>I agree that some of the kids took the party further along on the bus. Is that why only 13 of the 32 were suspended?</p>
<p>I think a breathalyser can pick up one drink, since I was told when I was learning to drive that with CT’s zero-tolerance policy, I could get a DUI if I’d used mouthwash recently. Don’t know that from experience though.</p>
<p>My high school classmate got a similar punishment for underage drinking… she couldn’t walk. For the rest of her life. Granted these kids were on a bus, but I’m not going to second-guess their school’s risk assessment. I can’t help but think we’re not getting the whole story here – obviously someone carried things a bit further than a few sips of champagne poured by a parent.</p>
<p>If the school’s policy was clear, then I have no problem whatsoever with the consequences. Nor do I believe that the only alcohol consumed was for the photographed toast. In the long run, the benefit of the lesson learned may exceed the “walking at graduation” experience, which I personally never thought was a big deal.</p>
<p>The schools in CA have clear policies. Zero tolerance. Almost every time something happens the parents try to challenge the policy. It isn’t rocket science. Zero tolerance is pretty straightforward. I’m not buying the sip of champagne for a picture. What about the pot and the red cups and open container? Give me a break. I hope the school officials don’t cave in.</p>
<p>The lesson is partially lost when the parents argue that it was just an unfair raw deal. The kids start feeling more like martyrs than perps. The parents are not doing their kids any favors.</p>
<p>Exactly cartera! Thank you.</p>
<p>cartera! ******* (that is applause)</p>
<p>The alcohol on the bus could have easily been purchased by a kid on there, as well as it could have been purchased by a parent. People in high school can easily get fakes or get their older brother or sister to pick up something. I think they need to figure out the source of the alcohol that was on the bus, because I hardly believe that those 13 kids were just registering from the champagne. Thank goodness they took the party bus though, too many people I knew just drove themselves while drunk.</p>
<p>It’s hard to believe that that many dumb parents were all in one place at one time. Had none of them heard of sparkling apple cider? Or the legal drinking age? “Let’s put alcohol in the hands of minors and document it in photographs!” </p>
<p>I’ve told my S many times that his father and I will put no time into defending him from the consequences of bad decisions. This qualifies.</p>
<p>I’m a senior here- I graduate on June 14. I’ve never heard of anyone at my school (at least in recent history) being barred from walking at graduation because of failing a breathalyzer test.</p>
<p>My dad on the other hand went to boarding school… as a senior, he was 18. The law allowed him to drink, but the school had rules against it. He got caught with alcohol on campus, and wasn’t allowed to go to his high school graduation… he says his mother was more upset then he was. My dad didn’t walk at graduation, but guess what- he still turned out okay.</p>
<p>Update: the school district kept firm to the original suspension of the 13 seniors. They will not walk at graduation scheduled for today. Public letters to the editor in the local papers are applauding the school district to holding firm and not caving. There is hope in our world…all is not lost!</p>