13 Yr. Old Boy Suspended for Carrying Vera Bradley Purse

[Liza's Headband]

Posted: 11/7/13 at 2:06pm

I think PJ said it best in another thread about this country's view on "gay culture" and equality: it's always one step forward, two steps back. When did being yourself become an offense worthy of suspension from school?




Boy, 13, suspended for carrying Vera Bradley purse

[Kad]

Posted: 11/7/13 at 2:10pm

The school isn't even giving a REASON. Not even the half-assed "it's disruptive" thing they usually trot out for instances like this.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 11/7/13 at 2:10pm

Can we do a kickstarter campaign to get him out of that Hollister shirt and into something better, as well as a couple dozen purses?

[brdlwyr]

Posted: 11/7/13 at 2:12pm

Kansas? What would you expect. Backwards **** hole!

[Kad]

Posted: 11/7/13 at 2:23pm

Namo, maybe he was suspended for poor fashion sense.

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 11/7/13 at 2:25pm

He never would have been kicked out if it was Kate Spade.

[Plum]

Posted: 11/7/13 at 2:34pm

It's always kind of fascinatingly bizarre when gender policing gets literal.

[artscallion]

Posted: 11/7/13 at 2:37pm

In this day and age I can't imagine how the school can defend this...even in Kansas.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 11/7/13 at 2:48pm

Oh no, Toto, I have a feeling we're back in Kansas.

[Liza's Headband]

Posted: 11/7/13 at 2:51pm

"Oh no, Toto, I have a feeling we're back in Kansas."

Or Russia.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 11/7/13 at 2:55pm

Vera Bradley? Yes, he should've been kicked out of school until he learned better!

But seriously, Kansas sucks.

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 11/7/13 at 2:56pm

It seems we hear about a suicide as a result of bullying every other day, and THIS is what they choose to worry about? This is who they choose to punish?

[romantico]

Posted: 11/7/13 at 2:57pm

I'd fire the Assistant Principal. If this is the sort of thing you have to suspend a student for then the AP has a problem. Looking for trouble,that's all it is. If I went to that school I would encourage EVERY STUDENT to start wearing purses in support. I hope they sue this school.Petty matters like this I would think would piss off tax payers and parents.

[Broadwayboobs]

Posted: 11/7/13 at 4:30pm

I hope this kid watches QVC..they have a Vera Bradley TSV set that matches that bag perfectly!

[trentsketch]

Posted: 11/7/13 at 5:51pm

Raw Story got a comment from the superintendent that said no one is allowed to have bags in class and the policy is applied to both genders. That seems to contradict what the children said in response to the suspension and what they told the mother (not to mention how it's an issue 3 months after he started bringing the bag into class). Wouldn't they have told the mother he was suspended for carrying a bag in class, not for carrying the purse, if it was for a blanket ban on bags in the classroom?
Updated story with school comment

[Kad]

Posted: 11/7/13 at 5:57pm

....what kind of rule is "no bags in class"? How are kids supposed to carry things?

Updated On: 11/7/13 at 05:57 PM

[trentsketch]

Posted: 11/7/13 at 6:05pm

The district I work in has the policy in middle school. They have 5 minutes of passing time between classes to go to their locker and get their new books. It's a health measure. Children that age are vulnerable to Scoliosis because of the rapid changes in their bones and studies in the late 90s linked overloaded backpacks with Scoliosis.

Now, I've never heard of a student suspended for carrying a bag because of this kind of policy. The bag is normally taken away and returned at the end of the day or the student is sent to the principal.

And now I remember from the video that there was nothing in the school policy book banning bags. Who has the wrong information: the superintendent or the policies sent home to parents? Updated On: 11/7/13 at 06:05 PM

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 11/7/13 at 7:00pm

Trent, interesting and IMHO sorta ineffectual. I mean I have heard of health issues from overloaded backpacks (especially when only worn on one shoulder, which is what I always did) but surely the trouble would be when bringing books to and from school, not within the school walking from class to class....

[dramamama611]

Posted: 11/7/13 at 7:12pm

My former middle school didn't allow backpacks....but not for the reasons stated above.
1. there really isn't/wasn't enough room in the halls for both the kids and their backpacks. Yes, I'm serious. Old building.

2. kids use their back packs to knock each other around.

[Kad]

Posted: 11/7/13 at 7:34pm

I feel like "get rid of the backpacks!" is a fairly absurdist solution to the question, "students' backpacks are heavy to the point of causing health concerns, what should we do?"

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 11/7/13 at 7:57pm

The lesson is that one should just emulate Veronica Lodge and find a cute boy to carry your books for you, of course.

[StockardFan]

Posted: 11/7/13 at 8:49pm

I feel like there is so much conflicting information here. So all bags are banned in the core classes? Why was he allowed to have it for 3 months? And why can they bring them into non-core classes, but not core classes? That makes no sense.

[Kad]

Posted: 11/7/13 at 9:09pm

And even if bags were not allowed, suspension seems disproportionate to the point of lunacy.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 11/7/13 at 9:24pm

IF its a rule, then the problem is more insubordination.

Kids aren't allowed to use their cell phones in school. not much happens if a kid gets caught (unless it happens a number of times) but a kid that refuses to turn it over to a staff member would be in big trouble.


However, if its not in their handbook that purses aren't allowed: then they have no right whatsoever. They will lose in court.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 11/7/13 at 9:36pm

A purse is not a backpack. A purse has room for your dance belt and a tube of Chap-stick, basically.