""
RSS feed
To talk back:
Send email to my first name at my last name dot com
-Keith Pelczarski
Random Nuttiness
Why go nutty?
Recalling London
Drink me
RageBoy Speaks!
More equal
Wonder Woman
Raging King, Fear Driver
31 Flavors
Refreshing?
On the edge?
Good Morning, Sunshine
Where is that post?
Interesting Voices
Randy Cassingham
Jonathan Coulton
Kevin Fox
Vince Hanks
Mark Hurst
Jason Kottke
Jeffrey Martian
Kerah Pelczarski
Max Pelczarski
Dave Pell
RageBoy
ResearchBuzz
Doc Searls
Tracy Sigler
Oliver Thylmann
Sites of Note
All Music Guide
Boing Boing
Financial Engines
The Fray
Google
Google News
How Stuff Works
Internet Movie Database
Memepool
Metacritic
The Motley Fool
Netflix
The Onion
Slashdot (/.)
Tolerance is not a zero sum game
I spent a few hours today reading about zero tolerance legislation as research for a letter to my state representatives. The full text of the letter is printed below:
Dear Delegate Van Landingham and Senator Ticer:I'll report back if I hear anything interesting from my representatives.
This past weekend I read Marc Fisher's Washington Post Metro column, "Drop That Spork! 'Zero Tolerance' Goes to Richmond" (Thursday, February 7, 2002; Page B01). The article was critical of zero tolerance legislation -- legislation which has long confused me. In a country founded on principles of freedom and fairness, with a constitution and legal system that have served as a model for countless other nations, why have our state and federal legislatures been so quick to mandate such draconian measures? It's as if the Red Queen of Alice in Wonderland fame has been appointed jury, judge, and executioner -- "Off with her head!"
Based on the article, I did some research at the Virginia General Assembly's web site. It seems that both HB512 and HB971 were passed by indefinitely in Education, which is really too bad. At the very least, the public deserves a broader debate on the merits and drawbacks of the zero tolerance approach. Ideally, zero tolerance measures would be repealed, granting school administrators a certain latitude in how their students are disciplined. As a constituent, I would very much like to hear both of your opinions on the matter of zero tolerance in general and on HB512 and HB971 in particular.
I don't write to you because I have a child in school, nor do I personally know anyone who has been subjected to zero tolerance measures. I write to you because zero tolerance is a poor substitute for good judgment, and it reduces disciplinary actions to knee-jerk reactions. Furthermore, zero tolerance measures take responsibility and judgment away from principals and other school administrators by mandating harsh sentences for all manner of transgressions, regardless of specific circumstance. Our school administrators should be given the latitude to make the punishment fit the crime.
Everyone agrees that we want children to be safe in schools. Proponents of zero tolerance would have us believe that these measures provide a strong deterrent to undesirable behaviors, when in fact they are only serving to unduly punish those who have committed minor infractions or no real infraction at all.
Lest you think that I'm just some Pollyanna who doesn't understand the seriousness of the matter, please allow me to share a story with you. On December 14th, 1992, the day that I finished the requirements for my Bachelor's degree at Simon's Rock college, another student went on a shooting spree killing professor Ñacuñan Saez and student Galen Gibson, and injuring four other people. In the hours before the shooting, school administrators had a great deal of evidence that something might be wrong, that evidence including a gun stock, ammo clips, and 200 rounds of ammo. Their judgments erred on the side of respect for individual freedom, accepting the student's story that these things were Christmas presents for his father.
Of course, if those administrators could go back in time, I'm sure that they would react much more quickly and sternly than they did the first time around. It would be easy to be seduced by the siren call of zero tolerance in this case... if such a policy had existed, then the tragedy might have be averted. Nevertheless, I don't believe that the answer is to mandate strict punishments for any gun-related activity. As much as the loss hurts, the institution of a zero tolerance policy would only serve to create more hurt, and would not act as an effective deterrent. For instance, it would be silly to kick a future student out for using a squirt gun, yet this is exactly the type of outrageous disciplinary action taken in the name of zero tolerance.
Zero tolerance is the facile answer for policy makers since it sounds "tough on crime," but in reality pat answers like that just don't work -- murder and other violent crimes are already illegal. Please don't misunderstand me, I am strongly in favor of punishing those who commit crimes. I just don't think that we should extend those punishments to those who don't actually commit crimes and then hide behind a zero tolerance law rather than taking responsible disciplinary actions. I really can't believe that we're so quick to legislate away the very freedoms intended in the Constitution. Again, our school administrators should have the latitude to make the punishment fit the crime.
Zero tolerance makes for a convenient sound bite, not sound policy. Please do whatever you can to support HB512, HB971, and any other measures that seek to return sanity and sound judgment to our public schools.
I look forward to your replies, and thank you in advance for your time and consideration,
Keith Pelczarski
keith@pelczarski.com
507 South Fayette Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
References and resources:
Marc Fisher's Washington Post column
Salon "The Failure of Zero Tolerance"
Harvard University's Civil Rights Project -- Zero Tolerance
This is True "Losing my Tolerance for Zero Tolerance"
Simon's Rock shootings & The trial
Virginia State Legislature, HB512, and HB971
Vote early, vote often.
:: Keith 15:05 [link] :: ::