Posted on 04/24/2008 6:37:47 AM PDT by From The Deer Stand
Two students attending suburban St. Paul, Minnesota high schools were expelled last week after purchasing souvenir swords during a spring break choir trip in the United Kingdom. The students had packed the swords in boxes and used duct tape to secure the box for the trip back home. A chaperone found the boxes after the students left the store. The students were disciplined on their return home. One of the students, a 16-year-old sophomore at Eagan High School, was kicked out of school for the remainder of the school year. He purchased a set of three samurai swords for $60. The other student, a senior, was expelled from the School for Environmental Studies in Apple Valley. He also was dismissed for the remainder of the school year. Both schools said the students violated the zero tolerance policy for weapons. Attorney Amy Goetz, a founder of the St. Paul-based School Law Center, noted that too many students who simply make a mistake and do not intend to do harm get punished. Twin Cities talk radio, in discussing the story on Thursday morning, questioned whether confiscating the swords and not returning them constituted theft.
Actually... I “collect” swords.
I buy guns.
I horde food and ammunition.
:)
Not a chance.
I disagree with the policy and how it was enforced, but no court is going to say that a school can't ban weapons on a class trip.
While I realize that just about anything can be used as a weapon and these swords weren't being used as weapons, the courts aren't going to overrule the school's authority to call swords weapons and ban them.
It will never even get to a jury, but if it did, it's still unlikely that they school would lose.
While parents my trust their children, most of them are going to be worried about what some other kid might do to theirs with a sword. It doesn't matter if it is a rational fear or not.
BUT THIS WAS NOT EVEN IN THE COUNTRY!............
Continued stupidity on the part of stupid leaders that are found acceptable by stupid citizens.
It was on a school trip. It wasn't on a trip these kids just took with their families. It was a choir trip on which the chaperones were responsible for looking after the kids.
ping
The chaperons would be acting as “in loco parentis” but not as “in government parentis”..........
I doubt there are many, if any schools that don't enforce their rules on class trips and don't punish students that break them when they get back.
No 2nd admendment in tax payer funded schools. How dare they think that the Constitution extends to students under to control of our government. Put it on their permanant record.
Heh, not really. Something that cheap is a decoration. If you were to swing it too hard the blade would probably depart from the hilt.
Sounds like you are a "bitter" person........;^)
I am...
lol
At least he’s not clinging to a gun, because then he’d be bitter.
the stewardess also kept our Swiss Army knives (that we used for the fork and spoon) during the flight.
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I went on a cruise a few weeks back ,, not thinking about “weapons” like you would for an airline ,, they inspected my swiss army knife for a few minutes before giving it back to me ,, apparently small knives are OK for sea travel as long as they aren’t switchblades..
I believe this is in your area of expertise and interest...
If the boys got three swords for only $60, the things will break the first time they come out of the scabbard and meet the air.
A good battle-ready katana will run you upwards of $300.
A good battle-ready katana will run you upwards of $300.
True. But Miamoto Musashi(sp?) was 13 years old when he used a child's wooden sword to kill an armed and armored Samurai. Then he claimed the Samurai's goods as his own.
That might be their plan...
However, they likely don’t have the aptitude or the training Musashi had.
Makes one wonder just how sharp that wooden sword was! I’ve gotten nasty splinters from one of my daitos. (I need to figure out which one before I put those back in practice.)
IIRC, Musashi was a 16th century warrior. At 13 he challenged a Samurai who stood and laughed. While the man laughed Musashi brought the wooden sword up sharply and shattered his jaw. The man collapsed to his knees and Musashi beat his head into a pulp.
Apparently Musashi was serious about his challenge.
There's a few other versions but that one is my favorite!
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