Texas high school ensures that another good deed does not go unpunished. - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

MSD · 10-10-2003, 08:37 PM

Quote:

Local - KPRC Click2Houston.com

Discipline Decided In Student Inhaler Incident
Fri Oct 10, 6:33 PM ET

A meeting was held Friday for a student accused of breaking school rules and state law by giving his girlfriend his inhaler when she had trouble breathing, News2Houston reported.

Andra Ferguson and her boyfriend, Brandon Kivi, both 15, use the same type of asthma medicine, Albuterol Inhalation Aerosol.

Ferguson said she forgot to bring her medication to their school, Caney Creek High School, 16840 FM 2090, on Sept. 24. When she had trouble breathing, she went to the nurse's office.

Out of concern, Kivi let her use his inhaler.

But the school nurse said it was a violation of the district's no-tolerance drug policy, and reported Kivi to the campus police. He was suspended for three days and charged with delivering a dangerous drug. He faced expulsion and being sent to juvenile detention on juvenile drug charges.

On Friday, school officials decided to expel Kivi but not press criminal charges. They said it was an amicable agreement.

"I'm happy. Everything's final," Kivi said. "I'm expelled 'til after Christmas and I can come back after Christmas, but I won't."

Ferguson said Kivi possibly saved her life and should never have been punished.

"I still think he did the right thing 'cause he was just doing good and he did the right thing," Ferguson said.

Conroe Independent School District officials released the following statement. "Texas school districts are required by law to expel students who commit certain offenses. Delivery of a dangerous drug is one of those offenses."

Kivi's family is relieved it's over.

"I won in a way, but what they (did) to my son was unfair. I'm still angry," said Theresa Hock, Kivi's mother.

Kivi said the ordeal taught him the lesson of a lifetime.

"If I had this to do again, I would do the right thing and ask the nurse before I do it, to keep out of trouble," Kivi said.

Ferguson was not disciplined over the incident.

Both Kivi and Ferguson decided to withdraw from Caney Creek High School to be home-schooled.

The families received calls of support from around the world after their story was made public.

The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Zero-tolerance means that people stop thinking and let a piece of paper do it for them.

If a kid is selling crack or giving his prescription painkillers to someone after a brokoen bone heals, that's when you take serious action, not when someone hands his girlfriend his inhaler when she is having trouble breathing and forgot hers.

lordjeebus · 10-10-2003, 08:43 PM

The term zero-tolerance only exists because if they used the pre-existing English term "intolerance," which means the same thing, local politicians and school administrators wouldn't be able to brag about it to get reelected.

Sledge · 10-10-2003, 08:44 PM

This is why every school needs an Official Dumbledore to bend the rules and save your ass at the last second.

Oh, wait. Not every school will boot you for helping asthmatics, you say? Never mind then, carry on.

little limey · 10-10-2003, 08:47 PM

Man, if he had only done it in secret and charged her money like all the drug dealers at that school do! I hate public schools. In order to try to control the bad kids, many good kids get examples made of them. I almost got put in detention because I was in the hall during class time but it was because I had just come back from taking an AP test. I know that's not nearly as huge as this story, but it's the same principle.

juanvaldes · 10-10-2003, 09:03 PM

He did the right thing, to bad it taught him to not do the right thing in the future.

Reese · 10-10-2003, 11:28 PM

This kinda thing makes me steaming mad. I just pisses me off that all the scum can go around breaking the rules and get away with it, but a person saving someone's life gets expelled.

dnd · 10-11-2003, 06:03 AM

that school is just crazy, "well done mate u saved a students life, umm don't come back til after xmas, we don't want u here!" what was he supposed to do?
life sucks sometimes

gloveshot3 · 10-11-2003, 06:39 AM

zero-tolerance=zero-intelligence.
what ever happened to the concept 'innocent until proven guilty'

sexymama · 10-11-2003, 07:42 AM

Schools definitely need to look at things more "case by case" rather than following the "rules" rigidly.

As a kindergarten teacher I have students play "gun" all the time. I don't expell them; rather I talk with them about why we can't play guns at school. I also acknowledge that it is fun to play guns at home.

The system can be very rigid when it really needs to bring human relationships back to the forefront! (And we wonder what is wrong with kids these days!)

lurkette · 10-11-2003, 10:23 AM

I think the days of "zero tolerance" policies are numbered because of things like this. Eventually enough happy, well-off, well-adjusted middle-class families will be affected that they'll kick a huge fuss and demand a more flexible system.

DownwardSpiral · 10-11-2003, 10:29 AM

Pathetic, what has this nation come to when a kid cant give his girlfriend a hand with his own inhaler? Stupid school systems these days.

Moreland · 10-11-2003, 10:31 AM

Thats sicking, that texas policy needs to be addressed quickly I can see why that policy is there, but it isnt setup in the right way.

hucklebuck74 · 10-11-2003, 04:12 PM

I could understand this if he had given her his prescription Valium or something but it was the same asthma medicine that she uses. What a bunch of crap

santafe5000 · 10-11-2003, 04:26 PM

I guess the good samaritan law doesn't apply to high school. Had the girl died from Asphyxiation, he could have been charged with failing to render aid, since he had the correct medicine she needed.

Xell101 · 10-11-2003, 06:42 PM

I've said it before and I'll say it again, someone needs to get exploded for that.

nukeu666 · 10-12-2003, 01:18 AM

as long as the drug is non-addictive..there shouldnt be a problem

expelled for an inhaler! HA!

bundy · 10-12-2003, 04:05 AM

that is absolutely appalling.
he got expelled for doing that.
i´m asthmatic, and if i was getting wheezy and someone refused to let me use their inhaler then i´d think that was indecent...
but this kid, getting busted for doing the good, appropriate thing... thats astonishing.

71classic · 10-12-2003, 09:13 AM

Being an asthma sufferer, I have inhalers everywhere, my coat pocket, my deskat work, my nightsand etc. In the eyes of the Texas school districts this must be horribly criminal especially when you add in the fact that I share them on occasion. This is as stupid as it gets!!!!

rainheart · 10-12-2003, 11:23 AM

Woaaaah okay...
What. A. Bunch. Of. Fucking. Nazis.

Zero tolerance, zero common sense.

cjgallen · 10-12-2003, 03:25 PM

wow...that's just.....dumb

sailor · 10-12-2003, 04:22 PM

Shit like this is why I hated high school so much. More bullshit than brains.

Johnny Rotten · 10-12-2003, 04:40 PM

There are some dangerously stupid people in charge of our childrens' education.

chavos · 10-12-2003, 05:40 PM

i wonder why the state licensing division isn't looking in to the nurse that thinks an asmatic that doens't have her inhaler during an attack isn't an urgent situation. biatch....

Semi-Normal · 10-12-2003, 07:24 PM

My jaw dropped as I read that. I just can't believe how stupid it is. The world is a fucked up place.

Sixteen · 10-12-2003, 08:02 PM

I'm split on the issue... is this incredibly stupid, or extremely moronic?

Lyaec123 · 10-13-2003, 06:37 AM

WTF, some of this stuff is so lame. It's seriously amazing that there are any kids left in school at all after stuff like this.

Dibbler · 10-13-2003, 07:03 AM

I'm sure the people in charge can't be that stupid. They're just stuck in a system we allowed to be created. If they don't uphold the rules, no matter how rigid, they're screwed by the system. They would lose their jobs, subject to criminal and civil suits, etc.. If they do uphold the rules they're stupid or morons.

Which would you choose. Called stupid or sued for everything you have?

Nefir · 10-13-2003, 07:55 AM

This kind of mindless rule-following drives me up the wall! Unlike the kid they've punished, the adults certainly have the power to fight the system if it comes down on them for not upholding the rules.

If that nurse treated the boy with the respect and admiration an upstanding member of the human race deserves, instead of punshing him like a drug offender, she would have gained the support of so many people if the book was thrown at her...

But now, even the boy himself is afraid... He would never repeat the good deed out fear of being sent to jail for it. This is just sad.

merkerguitars · 10-13-2003, 02:31 PM

Another thing I just can't believe. I hope his parents fight the system. I would fight to the end.....Being a good samaritan should be praised and not punished.

Journeyman · 10-13-2003, 03:51 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Dibbler
I'm sure the people in charge can't be that stupid. They're just stuck in a system we allowed to be created. If they don't uphold the rules, no matter how rigid, they're screwed by the system. They would lose their jobs, subject to criminal and civil suits, etc.. If they do uphold the rules they're stupid or morons.

Which would you choose. Called stupid or sued for everything you have?

I know you're just playing devil's advocate, but as a school administrator, I would have looked over the situation and tried to quietly inform the two children and their parents that what had gone on was a good thing but was somewhat illegal, and left it at that. If any higher ups had called me on some sort of inaction towards an infraction of "Zero-Tolerance" drug policy, that's about the time I'd play the press to get me public backing.

In the end, the school may have had no balls, which is understandable considering what a school can be held civilly liable for, but it still boils down to some dipstick choosing not to let the kid off the hook for something he shouldn't have been on the hook for.

Think about this: Dangerous drug? It was *dangerous* not to administer the drug at that point, which would certainly nullify any danger it had when being administered illicitly.

mingusfingers · 10-13-2003, 07:22 PM

What a nurse. Hate to have her as my mom.

PredeconInferno · 10-13-2003, 09:16 PM

I read this story a few days ago, and honestly I think it sucks.

I would have done the exact same thing if I was in the kids shoes. They have the SAME PRESCRIPTION for christ's sake.

I'll give that school a perfect 5.0/5.0 on the "burn down this place" scale

Willy · 10-13-2003, 10:18 PM

Zero Tolerance = Zero Common Sense

Just Say No (to idiotic zero-tolerance policies)

powder · 10-14-2003, 07:51 AM

He has just been taught a valuable lesson. "Don't trust authority." If he learns his lesson he is farther ahead in life than he would have otherwise been plus, he has been rewarded with time off school. What could be better. His parents are not going to be pissed at him and make him stay at home for his suspension. The kid is probably going to be down at the skate park or out ripping it up on his bike or doing whatever he likes.

Fire · 10-15-2003, 10:08 PM

TEXAS - ITS LIKE A WHOLE OTHER COUNTRY-

yeah, nazi germany-
an education system that teaches that there is no way to win-
Submit! and become the mindless cog that we intend you to be!
realy, I wonder why there is not more public outcry about these things- this is (or was) supposed to be a democracy, so why can we not effect a change? why do we not write these assholes- (anybody got a link, or address?)

Xiangsu · 10-16-2003, 02:18 AM

(insert all negative comments about that school from everyone else on this thread here)

K-Wise · 10-16-2003, 02:38 AM

Theres all kinds of stupid fuckin rules in Texas. I should know I live in Texas. When I was younger and you got in a fight at school it was the person who started the fight that got in trouble not the person who just defended himself. Then when I got to about 7th grade the rules changed and both parties whether just defending yourself or not would both be arrested and fined for it. Now what kinda shit is that I'm just supposed to let some asshole kick my ass and not do a damn thing about it? They bring up some bullshit about how you should come to the teachers or the principle and tell them about it instead of fighting back and the student would be punished. If they didn't fuckin see it how the hell can I prove it? They'll just have some of their stupid fuckin buddies say they never did anything and what do ya know? They can't do anything and now the kid knows you told so he really wants to kick your ass. I always tell them "And what would you do? Just let him beat you up?" it's fuckin stupid and that story absolutely disgusts me. Zero tolerance, school uniforms/dress codes, rules, etc. None of these things have changed a fuckin thing about school. The same shit still goes on that always has and always will. Lesson learned...be tough and don't tell the authoritarians anything.

Asta!!

dy156 · 10-16-2003, 06:34 AM

that's worse than the kid getting expelled for having a box of his grandmother's stuff he was in the process of moving which contained kitchen knives!

H12 · 10-16-2003, 09:14 AM

Well well well...I'm sure the school would rather have a student die inside the building, anyways.

WhoaitsZ · 10-16-2003, 09:54 AM

hey nurse. i hope you drive home tonight and have a wreck. i hope you rupture your liver and i hope you can see people who can help but cannot see you. i hope you survivelong enough to realize the bitch you are. i hope you die.

i am sick of these people. i pray god kills everyone.

10-10-2003, 11:28 PM	#6 (permalink)
Reese Delicious	This kinda thing makes me steaming mad. I just pisses me off that all the scum can go around breaking the rules and get away with it, but a person saving someone's life gets expelled. __________________ “It is better to be rich and healthy than poor and sick” - Dave Barry

10-11-2003, 06:03 AM	#7 (permalink)
dnd Psycho Location: London...no longer a student	that school is just crazy, "well done mate u saved a students life, umm don't come back til after xmas, we don't want u here!" what was he supposed to do? life sucks sometimes __________________ "Never underestimate a dumb question"-- Brandon Boyd

10-11-2003, 07:42 AM	#9 (permalink)
sexymama My own person -- his by choice Location: Lebell's arms	Schools definitely need to look at things more "case by case" rather than following the "rules" rigidly. As a kindergarten teacher I have students play "gun" all the time. I don't expell them; rather I talk with them about why we can't play guns at school. I also acknowledge that it is fun to play guns at home. The system can be very rigid when it really needs to bring human relationships back to the forefront! (And we wonder what is wrong with kids these days!) __________________ If you can go deeply into lovemaking, the ego disappears. That is the beauty of lovemaking, that it is another source of a glimpse of god It's not about being perfect; it's about developing some skill at managing imperfection.

10-11-2003, 10:23 AM	#10 (permalink)
lurkette My future is coming on Moderator Emeritus Location: east of the sun and west of the moon	I think the days of "zero tolerance" policies are numbered because of things like this. Eventually enough happy, well-off, well-adjusted middle-class families will be affected that they'll kick a huge fuss and demand a more flexible system. __________________ "If ten million people believe a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing." - Anatole France

10-11-2003, 10:29 AM	#11 (permalink)
DownwardSpiral The Funeral of Hearts Location: Trapped inside my mind. . .	Pathetic, what has this nation come to when a kid cant give his girlfriend a hand with his own inhaler? Stupid school systems these days. __________________ "So Keep on Pretending. Our Heavens Worth the Waiting. Keep on Pretending. It's Alright." -- H.I.M., "Pretending"

10-10-2003, 08:43 PM	#2 (permalink)
lordjeebus ‚±‚Ìˆó˜U‚ª–Ú‚É“ü‚ç‚Ê‚© Location: College	The term zero-tolerance only exists because if they used the pre-existing English term "intolerance," which means the same thing, local politicians and school administrators wouldn't be able to brag about it to get reelected.

10-10-2003, 08:44 PM	#3 (permalink)
Sledge Pasture Bedtime	This is why every school needs an Official Dumbledore to bend the rules and save your ass at the last second. Oh, wait. Not every school will boot you for helping asthmatics, you say? Never mind then, carry on.

10-10-2003, 08:47 PM	#4 (permalink)
little limey Psycho Location: Room Nineteen	Man, if he had only done it in secret and charged her money like all the drug dealers at that school do! I hate public schools. In order to try to control the bad kids, many good kids get examples made of them. I almost got put in detention because I was in the hall during class time but it was because I had just come back from taking an AP test. I know that's not nearly as huge as this story, but it's the same principle.

10-10-2003, 09:03 PM	#5 (permalink)
juanvaldes Banned Location: shittown, CA	He did the right thing, to bad it taught him to not do the right thing in the future.

10-11-2003, 06:39 AM	#8 (permalink)
gloveshot3 Crazy	zero-tolerance=zero-intelligence. what ever happened to the concept 'innocent until proven guilty'

10-11-2003, 10:31 AM	#12 (permalink)
Moreland Tilted Location: United Kingdom	Thats sicking, that texas policy needs to be addressed quickly I can see why that policy is there, but it isnt setup in the right way.

10-11-2003, 04:12 PM	#13 (permalink)
hucklebuck74 Upright Location: Oklahoma	I could understand this if he had given her his prescription Valium or something but it was the same asthma medicine that she uses. What a bunch of crap __________________ First comes smiles, then lies. Last is gunfire

10-11-2003, 04:26 PM	#14 (permalink)
santafe5000 EVIL! Location: Southwest of nowhere	I guess the good samaritan law doesn't apply to high school. Had the girl died from Asphyxiation, he could have been charged with failing to render aid, since he had the correct medicine she needed. __________________ When all else fails, QUIT.

10-11-2003, 06:42 PM	#15 (permalink)
Xell101 Junkie	I've said it before and I'll say it again, someone needs to get exploded for that.

10-12-2003, 01:18 AM	#16 (permalink)
nukeu666 Junkie Location: India	as long as the drug is non-addictive..there shouldnt be a problem expelled for an inhaler! HA!

10-12-2003, 03:25 PM	#20 (permalink)
cjgallen Insane Location: Beverly Hills, CA	wow...that's just.....dumb

10-12-2003, 04:05 AM	#17 (permalink)
bundy . Location: Tokyo	that is absolutely appalling. he got expelled for doing that. i´m asthmatic, and if i was getting wheezy and someone refused to let me use their inhaler then i´d think that was indecent... but this kid, getting busted for doing the good, appropriate thing... thats astonishing. __________________ Ohayo!!!

10-12-2003, 09:13 AM	#18 (permalink)
71classic Upright	Being an asthma sufferer, I have inhalers everywhere, my coat pocket, my deskat work, my nightsand etc. In the eyes of the Texas school districts this must be horribly criminal especially when you add in the fact that I share them on occasion. This is as stupid as it gets!!!! __________________ The only normal people are the ones you don't really know.

10-12-2003, 11:23 AM	#19 (permalink)
rainheart Psycho	Woaaaah okay... What. A. Bunch. Of. Fucking. Nazis. Zero tolerance, zero common sense.

10-12-2003, 04:22 PM	#21 (permalink)
sailor beauty in the breakdown Location: Chapel Hill, NC	Shit like this is why I hated high school so much. More bullshit than brains. __________________ "Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws." --Plato

10-12-2003, 04:40 PM	#22 (permalink)
Johnny Rotten lost and found Location: Berkeley	There are some dangerously stupid people in charge of our childrens' education. __________________ "The idea that money doesn't buy you happiness is a lie put about by the rich, to stop the poor from killing them." -- Michael Caine

10-12-2003, 05:40 PM	#23 (permalink)
chavos Banned Location: St. Paul, MN	i wonder why the state licensing division isn't looking in to the nurse that thinks an asmatic that doens't have her inhaler during an attack isn't an urgent situation. biatch....

10-12-2003, 07:24 PM	#24 (permalink)
Semi-Normal Insane Location: Christchurch, New Zealand	My jaw dropped as I read that. I just can't believe how stupid it is. The world is a fucked up place. __________________ I'm not lazy, I'm "motivationally challenged."

10-12-2003, 08:02 PM	#25 (permalink)
Sixteen Upright	I'm split on the issue... is this incredibly stupid, or extremely moronic?

10-13-2003, 06:37 AM	#26 (permalink)
Lyaec123 Crazy	WTF, some of this stuff is so lame. It's seriously amazing that there are any kids left in school at all after stuff like this.

10-13-2003, 07:03 AM	#27 (permalink)
Dibbler Psycho Location: Initech, Iowa	I'm sure the people in charge can't be that stupid. They're just stuck in a system we allowed to be created. If they don't uphold the rules, no matter how rigid, they're screwed by the system. They would lose their jobs, subject to criminal and civil suits, etc.. If they do uphold the rules they're stupid or morons. Which would you choose. Called stupid or sued for everything you have?

10-13-2003, 07:55 AM	#28 (permalink)
Nefir Junkie Location: Louisville, KY	This kind of mindless rule-following drives me up the wall! Unlike the kid they've punished, the adults certainly have the power to fight the system if it comes down on them for not upholding the rules. If that nurse treated the boy with the respect and admiration an upstanding member of the human race deserves, instead of punshing him like a drug offender, she would have gained the support of so many people if the book was thrown at her... But now, even the boy himself is afraid... He would never repeat the good deed out fear of being sent to jail for it. This is just sad. __________________ You do not use a Macintosh, instead you use a Tandy Kompressor break your glowstick, Kompressor eat your candy Kompressor open jaws, Kompressor release ants Kompressor watch you scream, Because Kompressor does not dance

10-13-2003, 02:31 PM	#29 (permalink)
merkerguitars Buffering......... Location: Wisconsin...	Another thing I just can't believe. I hope his parents fight the system. I would fight to the end.....Being a good samaritan should be praised and not punished. __________________ Donate now! Ask me How! Please use the search function it is your friend. Look at my mustang please feel free to comment! http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/showthread.php?t=26985

10-13-2003, 07:22 PM	#31 (permalink)
mingusfingers Psycho Location: uhhhh	What a nurse. Hate to have her as my mom. __________________ Still Looking

10-13-2003, 09:16 PM	#32 (permalink)
PredeconInferno Reclusiarch Location: Unfortunately Houston, TX	I read this story a few days ago, and honestly I think it sucks. I would have done the exact same thing if I was in the kids shoes. They have the SAME PRESCRIPTION for christ's sake. I'll give that school a perfect 5.0/5.0 on the "burn down this place" scale __________________ Samurai in Training Knowledge is power. Guard it well.

10-13-2003, 10:18 PM	#33 (permalink)
Willy Insane	Zero Tolerance = Zero Common Sense Just Say No (to idiotic zero-tolerance policies)

10-14-2003, 07:51 AM	#34 (permalink)
powder Loser Location: ski town	He has just been taught a valuable lesson. "Don't trust authority." If he learns his lesson he is farther ahead in life than he would have otherwise been plus, he has been rewarded with time off school. What could be better. His parents are not going to be pissed at him and make him stay at home for his suspension. The kid is probably going to be down at the skate park or out ripping it up on his bike or doing whatever he likes.

10-15-2003, 10:08 PM	#35 (permalink)
Fire Warrior Smith Location: missouri	TEXAS - ITS LIKE A WHOLE OTHER COUNTRY- yeah, nazi germany- an education system that teaches that there is no way to win- Submit! and become the mindless cog that we intend you to be! realy, I wonder why there is not more public outcry about these things- this is (or was) supposed to be a democracy, so why can we not effect a change? why do we not write these assholes- (anybody got a link, or address?) __________________ Thought the harder, Heart the bolder, Mood the more as our might lessens

10-16-2003, 02:18 AM	#36 (permalink)
Xiangsu Addict Location: Illinois	(insert all negative comments about that school from everyone else on this thread here)

10-16-2003, 02:38 AM	#37 (permalink)
K-Wise It's All About The Ass!! Location: In a pool of mayonnaise!!	Theres all kinds of stupid fuckin rules in Texas. I should know I live in Texas. When I was younger and you got in a fight at school it was the person who started the fight that got in trouble not the person who just defended himself. Then when I got to about 7th grade the rules changed and both parties whether just defending yourself or not would both be arrested and fined for it. Now what kinda shit is that I'm just supposed to let some asshole kick my ass and not do a damn thing about it? They bring up some bullshit about how you should come to the teachers or the principle and tell them about it instead of fighting back and the student would be punished. If they didn't fuckin see it how the hell can I prove it? They'll just have some of their stupid fuckin buddies say they never did anything and what do ya know? They can't do anything and now the kid knows you told so he really wants to kick your ass. I always tell them "And what would you do? Just let him beat you up?" it's fuckin stupid and that story absolutely disgusts me. Zero tolerance, school uniforms/dress codes, rules, etc. None of these things have changed a fuckin thing about school. The same shit still goes on that always has and always will. Lesson learned...be tough and don't tell the authoritarians anything. Asta!! __________________ "I love music and it's my parents fault (closing statement)." - Me..quoting myself...from when I said that...On TFP..thats here...Tilted Forum Project *It ain't goodbye, it's see ya later! I'll miss you guys!* - Asta!! Last edited by K-Wise; 10-16-2003 at 02:42 AM..

10-16-2003, 06:34 AM	#38 (permalink)
dy156 cookie Location: in the backwoods	that's worse than the kid getting expelled for having a box of his grandmother's stuff he was in the process of moving which contained kitchen knives!