Rantings of a New Yorker

Schools all over the world are banning fun activities in their attempts to eliminate “sexual behavior.”

One girl was given detention for hugging.

Just last week, a school in Illinois disciplined a student for the very same thing and a Texas student got in trouble for holding hands with a friend.

In 2005, New Zealand students were also being threatened with detention if their hugging and kissing becomes a distraction or is inappropriate.

The most ridiculous aspect comes from a St. Louis school district.

District Superintendent Sam McGowen said that he thinks the penalty is fair and that administrators in the school east of St. Louis were following policy in the student handbook.  It states: “Displays of affection should not occur on the school campus at any time. It is in poor taste, reflects poor judgment, and brings discredit to the school and to the persons involved.”

Are you kidding me?  Hugging your friends now discredits the schools reputation?  And how the hell is a hug acting in poor judement?

Joining in on the party is the United Kingdom.  Mossbourne Academy in Hackney, London has added detentions for those caught hugging as well.  The ban, which was enacted by the school’s prinicpal, was created because of fears that hugging encourages inappropriate behavior between girls and boys.

While hugging your friends has resulted in detentions, another school time favorite, tag, has also been banned.  Again, a few parents complain and there’s no tag for anyone.

Colorado Springs schools are not alone. Schools in Cheyenne, Wyo., Spokane, Wash., and Attleboro, Mass., have banned tag at recess. A suburban Charleston, S.C., school not only banned tagged, but outlawed all unsupervised contact sports.

You can read some of the comments over at reddit and see just how ridiculous most people think these bans really are.  You can also head over to the home of FreeHugs and check out how you can hug a stranger today.