By NICK SLOAN, nick@kansascitykansan.com
KANSAS CITY, KAN. ----- Actions have consequences, or at least all should.
This is a lesson that needs to be learned by everyone. In America, we are completely free to take any action we want to in life, but we are not free from the consequences from them.
For this reason, I agree with the Turner School District for not allowing six students to walk at the school's graduation ceremony following a food fight (or school prank, as it's being called) at the school.
The school district is being hammered in online commenting sections and social media pages by those interested in the story.
Let me offer a bit of a defense of the Turner School District by simply stating two things: Food fights are not safe and rules are rules.
For those who are being critical of the school district, let me ask you some questions.
How would you feel if your son or daughter was hit by a flying tray or by a piece of fruit that was thrown as hard as possible?
What if your kid had a black-eye from an orange that was thrown by a student?
How about a concussion if a tray hit your kid's head in the wrong area?
Call me crazy, but I would bet you would support the school district's decision on this matter. And for some parents, their knee-jerk reactions would be to jail the students who were involved.
Secondly, rules are rules.
In the most recent student handbook I can find on the Turner School District's Website, the punishment is outlined. If you do something, you can get suspended and you cannot attend any school activity during that time.
Plus, they are graduating and they are receiving their diplomas. That's the most important part of it.
It was a lose-lose proposition for the school district.
Not allowing these students to walk at graduation was not a popular decision. If they chose not to follow their own guidelines, they would have given a free pass to students who clearly deserved punishment for the case.
The district did not make the popular decision, but they made the right decision in this matter.
