Saturday, March 15, 2008
Connecticut principal saves honor student from food fascists
MSNBC reported this week on what just might be the most ridiculous example of nutritionist zealotry yet. Michael Sheridan, an eighth-grader in New Haven, CT, was recently caught - horror of horrors! - buying a bag of Skittles from another student. He was unfortunately unaware that in 2003, as part of a "wellness policy", the New Haven school system completely banned the sale of candy in its schools, even from one student to another. For his "crime", he was suspended for three days, barred from attending an honors dinner, and stripped of his title as student council vice president. Watch the video below for interviews with the student and his mother, both of whom are understandably confused.
As mentioned in the video, Sheridan's suspension was reduced from three days to one after his mother complained, and this past Thursday, his school's principal agreed to give him his student council post back. That reduces his total punishment for buying a bag of candy to being barred from having his academic achievements recognized at the school's honors dinner and being suspended for one day - one day when the students are, according to the principal, "in the middle of taking the Connecticut mastery test".
Sheridan appears in the video above to be a rather normal-shaped kid, maybe even a bit on the skinny side. But even perfectly healthy Americans have something to fear from the nutritionist mafia now. It's terrifying to think that someone has actually succeeded in turning sugar into contraband in American schools. Isn't is illegal for a public institution to control the purchase - not the sale, the purchase - of something that is not a controlled substance? If it isn't, anyway, it should be. But that wouldn't stop them even if it were the case. Goodbye, free market...it's been nice knowing you.
As mentioned in the video, Sheridan's suspension was reduced from three days to one after his mother complained, and this past Thursday, his school's principal agreed to give him his student council post back. That reduces his total punishment for buying a bag of candy to being barred from having his academic achievements recognized at the school's honors dinner and being suspended for one day - one day when the students are, according to the principal, "in the middle of taking the Connecticut mastery test".
Sheridan appears in the video above to be a rather normal-shaped kid, maybe even a bit on the skinny side. But even perfectly healthy Americans have something to fear from the nutritionist mafia now. It's terrifying to think that someone has actually succeeded in turning sugar into contraband in American schools. Isn't is illegal for a public institution to control the purchase - not the sale, the purchase - of something that is not a controlled substance? If it isn't, anyway, it should be. But that wouldn't stop them even if it were the case. Goodbye, free market...it's been nice knowing you.
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That's funny because I just wrote a post a few days ago about how some kid in my school was trying to get them to serve healthy food.
It's stupid for the state to try and get kids to eat right. They either will, or won't, regardless of food at school. Besides, a lot of kids don't need to necessarily. I eat a lot, both healthy and not so healthy, and I'm perfectly healthy; I even run 5Ks in the fall. I don't think the state needs to tell me how to live.
There's no point to legislating eating habits, and it's scary that some people think it's a good idea.
It's stupid for the state to try and get kids to eat right. They either will, or won't, regardless of food at school. Besides, a lot of kids don't need to necessarily. I eat a lot, both healthy and not so healthy, and I'm perfectly healthy; I even run 5Ks in the fall. I don't think the state needs to tell me how to live.
There's no point to legislating eating habits, and it's scary that some people think it's a good idea.
Wow, that's ridiculous. I'm so sick of the government acting like the collective babysitter. If people want to eat unhealthy, that should really be their business.
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