Blog Post #5

My Article

This article is about Erin Cox, a Massachusetts teen who was punished by her school for driving her drunk friend home. Erin received a text from a friend at a party one night saying that she was drunk and needed a ride home. By the time Erin arrived at the party to pick up her friend, the police were there handing out drinking tickets. They wrote a note pardoning Erin since she was clearly sober and had only just arrived. Soon after, Erin's school demoted her from captain of the volleyball team and required her to miss the next five games in punishment for simply being there, even though the police vouched for her sobriety.
This applies to AP GOPO because it deals with the issue of whether the school system or law enforcement have more control over a student's life. Even though you'd think the school would pay attention to a written voucher from an officer, they didn't. What does this say about this school, you may ask? I think it says that they believe they are above the law. They claim to have a "zero tolerance policy" concerning alcohol. Do they have a policy about being a good person? Clearly not, because if they did Erin wouldn't have been punished for helping a friend out of a potentially dangerous situation.
This article made me very angry. I can't believe Erin Cox's school would punish her when she's clearly in the right. While I understand the school wanting to stand by their zero tolerance rule, I think this situation is overkill. If Erin hadn't helped her friend out, her friend may have been the victim of a drunk driving accident or worse. As my article expressed, how can authorities expect teens to grow up to be good people if they're being punished for doing the right thing?