School punishes honor student for buying Skittles candy

[Dope Nose]

http://www.nhregister.com/WebApp/appmanager/JRC/BigDaily;jsessionid=LN1BHYJGZ8rjfCSj9JpVVJsMz9x6X1jRD2PhQsnLJfpgLr4m56dB!-1300426846?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pg_article&r21.pgpath=%2FNHR%2FHome&r21.content=%2FNHR%2FHome%2FTopStoryList_Story_1720457

Young candy buyer finds penalty unduly bitter
By Elizabeth Benton, Register Staff

NEW HAVEN — Sheridan Communications and Technology Middle School eighth-grader Michael Sheridan was suspended from school for three days, barred from attending an honors student dinner and stripped of his title of class vice president.

His offense?

He bought a bag of Skittles.

The punishment was meted out because the New Haven school system banned candy sales and fundraisers in 2003 as part of the districtwide school wellness policy.

“There are no candy sales allowed in schools, period,” said school spokeswoman Catherine Sullivan-DeCarlo.

Sullivan-DeCarlo said, while candy sales are strictly prohibited, there could be some that slip through.

Michael’s mother, Shelli Sheridan, is lobbying to reduce her son’s punishment, claiming he’s a top student with no previous disciplinary problems. According to Shelli Sheridan, the student who sold the candy, whom she did not identify, also was suspended.

“Why did we go to that extreme?” she said.

While Michael’s suspension was reduced to one day, he has yet to be reinstated as class vice president, she said.

“It’s too much. It’s too unfair,” Shelli Sheridan said. “He’s never even had a detention.”

Michael Sheridan claims he was in a school hallway after lunch Feb. 26 when a classmate asked if he wanted some candy. The student had a lunch box filled with candy and a wad of money, he said.

While Michael said he was unaware the sale was against school policy, he admitted the student selling it “was being secretive.” When a school administrator noticed the transaction, Michael said the student “threw the candy.” He said he pocketed the Skittles, still not sure anything was wrong.

Michael said the administrator asked to see the contents of his pockets. At that moment, Michael said he realized he was in trouble.

According to Sullivan-DeCarlo, Sheridan School had a problem with candy fundraisers last fall, and Principal Eleanor Turner “made it clear for months this was not to happen.”

Turner had repeatedly warned students that she would not allow any candy to be sold in schools, nor did she want money changing hands in school, said Sullivan-DeCarlo. She said it was her understanding that the student was suspended for insubordination, which is what the district considered the candy exchange.

Aside from the nutrition issue, Sullivan-DeCarlo maintained the money students carry presents a security concern.

A copy of the district’s policy given to the New Haven Register Tuesday says that “no candy or junk food fundraisers will be allowed on school grounds” and that only “healthy snacks will be sold in vending machines selling food products.” It also prohibits bake sales and other food sales during school hours. The policy does not address snacks shared between students at school when no money changes hands.

Turner referred all comment on the case to Sullivan-DeCarlo.

 

[Spidey-Bat]

Schools need to stop trying to be parents.

 

[Poetic Chaos]

He didn't buy them. He stole them.

 

[amazingfantasy15]

First it's just a bag of skittles, next it's cigarettes, beer pot, coke, crack, heroin. It's time to put a stop to skittles, they're the true gateway drug!

 

[Drakon]

Taste the Rainbow............OF SIN!

 

[Lighthouse]

I will be disappointed if Skittles sales don't go up for the next couple days.

 

[Tron5000]

The school has backed off of its punishment. The kid's suspension was expunged and he was allowed to retain his position in the student government.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/03/13/skittles.suspension.ap/index.html?section=cnn_latest

NEW HAVEN, Connecticut (AP) -- School officials have decided to go light on an eighth-grader caught with contraband candy in New Haven, Connecticut.

Michael Sheridan, an eighth-grade honors student who was suspended for a day, barred from attending an honors dinner and stripped of his title as class vice president after he was caught with a bag of Skittles candy in school will get his student council post back, school officials said.

Superintendent Reginald Mayo said in a statement late Wednesday that he and principal Eleanor Turner met with student Michael's parents and that Turner decided to clear the boy's record and restore him to his student council post.

Michael was disciplined after he was caught buying a bag of Skittles from a classmate. The classmate's suspension also will be expunged, school officials said. Video Watch boy explain case »

The New Haven school system banned candy sales in 2003 as part of a districtwide school wellness policy, school spokeswoman Catherine Sullivan-DeCarlo said.

"I am sorry this has happened," Turner said in a statement. "My hope is that we can get back to the normal school routine, especially since we are in the middle of taking the Connecticut mastery test."
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Turner said she should have reinforced in writing the verbal warnings against candy transactions.

Michael had said that he didn't realize his candy purchase was against the rules, but he did notice that the student selling the Skittles on February 26 was being secretive.

 

[Captain Planet!]

Skittle ma' rizzle nizzle

 

[terry78]

I like how they played it out like a drug deal. The kid was being secretive about it, and threw the candy.


"Yo, man...yo, yo, yo..check this out. You want some Skittles? I got the good **** right here...just a little bit, man."

"Nah, I don't do Skittles."

"Come on, man....you can taste the rainbow with these little sons of *****es. Come on...the first one is on me. The purple ones...will get you HIGHER than a mother****er, swear to God."

"Well...ok."

 

[amazingfantasy15]

"Hey man, what you holdin'?"
"I got it all man, Skittles, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Kit-Kats, Snickers, you want it, I got it"
"Cool man, gimme a couple Snickers, I just need a quick fix"

 

[amazingfantasy15]

I like how they played it out like a drug deal. The kid was being secretive about it, and threw the candy.


"Yo, man...yo, yo, yo..check this out. You want some Skittles? I got the good **** right here...just a little bit, man."

"Nah, I don't do Skittles."

"Come on, man....you can taste the rainbow with these little sons of *****es. Come on...the first one is on me. The purple ones...will get you HIGHER than a mother****er, swear to God."

"Well...ok."

Damn, you just beat me to it!

 

[Ghostvirus]

I thought underhanded candy deals like this only went down a fat camp.

 

[Apollo]

Hooray for destroying childhood happiness!

 

[Tron5000]

Man, I'm glad I went to high school in the 90s. We had vending machines with sodas, candy, gum, and cookies. That was pretty dope.

Now they're ridding the schools of the evil sodas, candies, cookies, etc, and replacing them with "healthy" substitutes.

It must really suck to be a kid right now...

 

[Captain Planet!]

It must really suck to be a kid right now...

It does.

 

[Symbiotic]

Schools need to stop trying to be parents.

Amen.

 

[Tron5000]

Schools need to stop trying to be parents.

Parents need to stop sending their kids to government schools to be indoctrinated.

 

[amazingfantasy15]

Man, I'm glad I went to high school in the 90s. We had vending machines with sodas, candy, gum, and cookies. That was pretty dope.

Now they're ridding the schools of the evil sodas, candies, cookies, etc, and replacing them with "healthy" substitutes.

It must really suck to be a kid right now...

That what happens when you don't have self control about eating junk food and spend all day in front of the TV either watching it or playing video games instead of getting outside.

My friends and I ate plenty of junk food as kids, but we also worked it off playing baseball, basketball, soccer, football, riding bikes, having snowball fights, swimming, doing tons of psychical activity without even really realizing it. In my opinion, junk food is fine (in moderation) as long as you're active, kids these days aren't active though.

 

[Tron5000]

That what happens when you don't have self control about eating junk food and spend all day in front of the TV either watching it or playing video games instead of getting outside.

My friends and I ate plenty of junk food as kids, but we also worked it off playing baseball, basketball, soccer, football, riding bikes, having snowball fights, swimming, doing tons of psychical activity without even really realizing it. In my opinion, junk food is fine (in moderation) as long as you're active, kids these days aren't active though.

Agreed. I used to down a bag of Lay's Sour Cream and Onion chips and a 6-12 pack of Coke daily. But I also played sports (for school and just around the neighborhood with my friends). I burned those calories. Now you got these fatass kids (I have some in my family) who stuff their face all day while playing Halo 3 or Call of Duty 4 online.

When I was a kid, I was always outside during daylight. I would play my video games and stuff, but that was after the sun had gone down and I was back at home.

 

[Captain Planet!]

I don't like fatass kids. I have a few them as friends, but it gets on my nerves when we're doing activities and after 10 minutes they want to just lay around.

 

[zanos]

Why isn't the dealer being punished? It seems like they're always coming down on the users.

 

[amazingfantasy15]

Why isn't the dealer being punished? It seems like they're always coming down on the users.

The article says the dealer was also punished.

 

[terry78]

We had video games in the 1980's too, but nowadays it's gotten downright obsessive. The online thing only made it worse, to be honest. Now fat kids from all over the globe are slowly gaining weight together.

 

[Tron5000]

We had video games in the 1980's too, but nowadays it's gotten downright obsessive. The online thing only made it worse, to be honest. Now fat kids from all over the globe are slowly gaining weight together.

Times were much simpler when your only goals in a video game were to a) get the high score, b) beat the game faster than you did before, and c) beat the game and lose as few men as possible.

Now you got Porky and the Fatman trying to gun down aliens halfway around the world from each other. XBox 360 and PS3 should come with obesity and lethargy monitors. You get too fat, sit in the same place for over 6 hours, your ass gets zapped, and the game shuts off till you shave some of that bacon off your back.

 

[Captain Planet!]

We had video games in the 1980's too, but nowadays it's gotten downright obsessive. The online thing only made it worse, to be honest. Now fat kids from all over the globe are slowly gaining weight together.

It's their way of bonding.