Teenie Booper Arrested for T-Shirt

[BvBPL]

Let’s say a teenager comes into school wearing a shirt that is arguably outside of the dress code. When a teacher asks the child to change the shirt, the child refuses. What is the appropriate responses? It is really arresting the teenager?

That’s what happened to Jared Marcum in Charleston, West Virginia. He was stopped at lunch by a teacher who told him his t-shirt was in violation of the school’s dress code and instructed him to change his shirt. When Jared refused, he was sent to the office where, subsequently, a police officer arrested him for distributing the educational process and obstructing an officer.

When is it appropriate for the police to become involved in issues related to dress codes at school? This instances seems like the cops jumped in a little too soon.

AP
Local News

 

[Winston Hughes]

He ought to have done as asked in the first place and then later made a complaint about the unfair treatment with regards to dress code. But, assuming there's nothing more to this, having him arrested sounds like a wildly disproportionate response, which suggests that the school's behaviour management is severely lacking.

 

[Peck of Arabia]

Yeah, I would have thought there would have been a raft of disciplinary measures for the school to implement before arresting a student and if there isn't, there really should be

 

[Defiant47]

It achieves nothing except to make a laughingstock of the school.

 

[Cutlass]

No way in hell it is acceptable to get the cops involved. Worst case scenario, the kid should be made to go home for the day. But even that is extreme for the situation.

 

[metatron]

He ought to have done as asked in the first place and then later made a complaint about the unfair treatment with regards to dress code.

No, the dress code should be illegal in the first place.
Anything that would not constitute an offense in any public space (like hate speech or acute nakedness) should be fair game.

 

[Formaldehyde]

What is interesting about this particular case is that the T-shirt doesn't even appear to be a violation of their own school policy:

Logan County Schools' dress code, which is posted on the school system's website, prohibits clothing and accessories that display profanity, violence, discriminatory messages or sexually suggestive phrases. Clothing displaying advertisements for any alcohol, tobacco, or drug product also is prohibited.

 

[warpus]

The police should only get involved when the school isn't able to handle the situation..

And if the school isn't able to handle a situation like this, they need to replace their principal and other staff with people a bit more competent

 

[shadowplay]

A SWAT team would drive the point home to the kid better. Maybe throw in a circling helicopter.

 

[AlpsStranger]

Oh yeah, this case was insane. No idea why the cops got involved. It doesn't just make the school look stupid, it makes the local police look incompetent and meddlesome.

 

[Peck of Arabia]

What is interesting about this particular case is that the T-shirt doesn't even appear to be a violation of their own school policy

At the risk of being a bit old school, if the school had had a uniform, all the ambiguity surrounding a dress code, free speech and arguments about "what's acceptable" and the like would have been neatly side-stepped.

 

[AlpsStranger]

That's an entirely separate issue.

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

What's even more puzzling is, why didn't the cops laugh at the call? Why didn't the cop who responded deal with it differently? Are cops really like those caricatures in movies, they arrest someone whenever they're told to "because I pay my taxes!"

 

[Antilogic]

And if the school isn't able to handle a situation like this, they need to replace their principal and other staff with people a bit more competent

Pretty much this. The shirt is not explicitly prohibited except for perhaps under the violence clause (but it doesn't show an act of violence so I wouldn't think that would stand up to scrutiny). And handling dress code stuff should be well within the school's capability.

 

[AlpsStranger]

Are cops really like those caricatures in movies, they arrest someone whenever they're told to "because I pay my taxes!"

Do you want a balanced, "reasonable" answer everyone can agree on or my actual opinion?

 

[Cutlass]

What's even more puzzling is, why didn't the cops laugh at the call? Why didn't the cop who responded deal with it differently? Are cops really like those caricatures in movies, they arrest someone whenever they're told to "because I pay my taxes!"

There's far too much "zero tolerance" and "I'm in charge, do what I say" in the situation these days. Cops really need to learn to chill. School officials do too.

 

[BvBPL]

What is interesting about this particular case is that the T-shirt doesn't even appear to be a violation of their own school policy:

No, that’s not a particularly interesting aspect.

Teachers and administration should have the discretionary authority to call out students for alleged offenses, even if the actual action isn’t actually in violation of the school’s policy. If the situation had merely been the teacher thought the shirt was in violation of the dress code and the school had sent the child home then it wouldn't be a newsworthy issue even if the shirt did not violate the dress code

.What is interesting is the disproportionate response of both the school in bringing in the police and the policeman in arresting the child.

 

[downtown]

It's stupid, but I can see why a school might do it if the kid refused to change, refused to leave a classroom (or to go to some other space) and if his parents couldn't get him. Paranoia about touching a kid can lead to some silly overreactions.

If the kid had a prior disciplinary record or some issues at home, a school might feel getting the legal system involved, even for a super minor offense, might help with the other factors. I was asked to press charges against a student once for something that I thought probably didn't merit anything, for similar reasons.

I'd like to HOPE there are some aspects to this that we don't know about, because otherwise, that's just dumb as hell.

 

[classical_hero]

This is why every school should have compulsory uniforms.

 

[metatron]

There's far too much "zero tolerance" and "I'm in charge, do what I say" in the situation these days. Cops really need to learn to chill. School officials do too.

!

Btw: Why has nobody posted The War on Kids yet?


Link to video.

Excuse me, i have to cook dinner and maybe after that get back to responding to those who believe US "rape culture" is caused by video games and Seth McFarlane's lack of taste.

*wink* *wink*