Students Suspended for Biking to School

[estilley]

From Outside Magazine:

A high school principal in Michigan on Tuesday suspended 65 seniors for biking to their last day of classes. Principal Katharine Pennington suspended the students for the day, told them they could not participate in Wednesday's traditional senior walk, and threatened to keep them from attending graduation. Pennington cited safety reasons and traffic delays for imposing the suspension. The students, however, had secured a police escort for the ride and were accompanied by Alpine Township's mayor, who rode alongside in a car and handed out donuts. The punishments have since been rescinded and students who missed scheduled final exams will be allowed to retake them without penalty.

http://www.outsideonline.com/news-from-the-field/Students-Suspended-for-Biking-to-School.html

[monkeybanana86]

what a psycho

[learningtoride]

...

[slidey]

*Raises purist bottle to toast*

To idiocy! :cool:

[TMB]

I would like to know what has happened to her.

Punishment?
Bonus?

[Bob Loblaw]

Good heavens. What are we becoming?

BL

[TMB]

Good heavens. What are we becoming?

BL

Becoming?

Got there a long time ago.

[Louis]

Kind of silly on several levels though, because if it's going to take a police escort to keep kids safe from careening SUV's (and the mayor to feed them donuts along the way) I don't think this is setting quite the example you would hope for.

[charliedid]

I sold a helmet to a 15 yr old kid and his sister today. He said he was not allowed to ride his bike to school...

What planet is this?

[1happygirl]

If I had kids, I think it would really depend on the roads and a lot of factors before I would let my kid ride to school.

Also I saw this 'protest' on CNN and looked very disorganized and really did impinge on the road and others trying to get places. I didn't remember them saying the part on CNN about the stiff punishment that was given or that the mayor handed out donuts etc and was with them with police escort. I'll have to see if I can find it on CNN.com.

Anyway this was probably dumb by the kids I think and I don't understand the point? The main thing CNN emphasized was the blocking traffic etc (I think they showed a view from above?). Now the overarching idea about bikes, that's a separate issue....

[binxnyrwarrsoul]

"What planet is this?"

Bizarro world.

[bicycletricycle]

u cant ride to high school anymore?

[oldpotatoe]

If I had kids, I think it would really depend on the roads and a lot of factors before I would let my kid ride to school.

Also I saw this 'protest' on CNN and looked very disorganized and really did impinge on the road and others trying to get places. I didn't remember them saying the part on CNN about the stiff punishment that was given or that the mayor handed out donuts etc and was with them with police escort. I'll have to see if I can find it on CNN.com.

Anyway this was probably dumb by the kids I think and I don't understand the point? The main thing CNN emphasized was the blocking traffic etc (I think they showed a view from above?). Now the overarching idea about bikes, that's a separate issue....

Wonder if it was a 'critical mass' type ride. Those rides where the intention is to block traffic and piss people off.

Those I have no time for.

[firerescuefin]

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/05/high-school-students-stage-celebratory-bike-ride-get-suspended-for-senior-prank/


It's a senior class celebration in small town, not critical mass.

This is what happens when underqualified/insecure people get put in positions of power.

Congrats to the principal. This will be the defining moment of your career. Given this decision, it's probably in line with others you've made....and I'm sure more than a few of your peers and suboordinates are snickering today.

[Matt-H]

Kind of silly on several levels though, because if it's going to take a police escort to keep kids safe from careening SUV's (and the mayor to feed them donuts along the way) I don't think this is setting quite the example you would hope for.

65 kids riding through town anywhere isn't exactly typical and expected by motorists, so requesting a police escort sounds intelligent and responsible to me. A town's mayor supporting some happy seniors doesn't sound too silly either.

I didn't see any allusion to a protest ride. Maybe these kids just wanted to get to their last day of school together, rather than arrive in 65 different cars...

[1happygirl]

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/05/high-school-students-stage-celebratory-bike-ride-get-suspended-for-senior-prank/


Idk all the specifics but the url above is titled senior prank. It just looked gnarly from the air on cnn with cars not able to get through etc. taking up the whole highway no helmets etc.
I can only say my reaction if the mayor and everyone knew and didn't notify via news this was gonna happen and I was an adult with responsibilities and a place to go, I would be pi*ssed. And I love bikes. Err ahh
TOUCHE'
Those rides where the intention is to block traffic and piss people off.

Those I have no time for.
excellent

[firerescuefin]

Idk all the specifics but the url above is titled senior prank. It just looked gnarly from the air on cnn with cars not able to get through etc. taking up the whole highway no helmets etc.
I can only say my reaction if the mayor and everyone knew and didn't notify via news this was gonna happen and I was an adult with responsibilities and a place to go, I would be pi*ssed. And I love bikes. Err ahh
TOUCHE'

excellent

I can't speak for the IT guy that created the URL...but the entire body of the article makes it pretty clear it wasn't a "prank"....Mayor bought off on it, police are escorting it...kids are celebrating a milestone in their lives.

Sorry if I am not alarmed or offended....except at the myopic/over the top reaction of the school administrator.

[killacks]

The nature of my work has me traveling to school campuses every day at these times, so I've been to a lot of different campuses.

Before-school and after-school traffic in and around school campuses can be CRAZY! Laws, rules, common courtesies are often lost in the shuffle/struggle.

[TPetsch]

Wow, That's just Nuts to me.

I would of never made it to High School if I didn't have my Skateboard or my Scrambler. ...But mostly my Skateboard due to it's easy totability.

[Seott-e]

Or.....Union contracts ?..... I have heard of this before in other school districts / other States. I use to ride my bike to school from time to time some 30 & years ago. We live in such a litigious society it's amazing we are even allowed to breath....

[akelman]

Or.....Union contracts ?

Have you seen any word that organized labor had something to do with this decision?

[Louis]

Have you seen any word that organized labor had something to do with this decision?

OK, if it's not the union's fault, then it's Obama's fault.

[Seott-e]

Here's something of interest.

http://www.bicycling.com/news/advocacy/why-johnny-cant-ride

http://www.saratogian.com/articles/2009/05/23/news/doc4a176696ca884152592474.txt

http://freerangekids.wordpress.com/2010/03/23/why-is-this-radical-a-town-debates-letting-kids-ride-their-bikes-to-school/

http://www.azcentral.com/12news/news/articles/2012/05/11/20120511gilbert-charter-school-edu-prize-bans-bikes.html