Those deadly rubber bands

[Maxinquaye]

Rubber Band Boy
Sunday, February 27, 2005

"On top of Old Smokey, all covered with sand, I shot my poor teacher, with a red rubber band. ..."

That children's parody of the traditional folk song may not be so funny to 13-year-old Robert Gomez of Orlando, Fla.

He's been suspended for two weeks, and could be expelled, for allegedly shooting a rubber band at his seventh-grade science teacher at Liberty Middle School (search), reports WKMG-TV of Orlando.

His mother, Jenette Rojas, said she was shocked to find her son had been deemed guilty of a "Level IV offense" — a category that includes selling drugs or alcohol, robbery and using or possessing weapons.

The school district reasons that a rubber band is a weapon, and that the boy threatened assault.

Robert says he just picked up the rubber band and slipped it around his wrist — and that when the teacher asked for it, he put it on her desk.

His mother's statement seems to allow for some rubber-band flying time.


"They said if he would have aimed it a little more and he would have gotten it closer to her face, he would have hit her in the eye," Rojas told the TV station.

Nevertheless, she says, suspension or expulsion is a stretch.

"It's ridiculous," the aggravated mother said. "It's a rubber band."

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,148849,00.html

 

[Joe Demko]

Already under discussion here.

 

[myrockfight]

Might want to hear more before concluding...

There always seems to be an abnormally large amount of odd happenings in Florida schools.

From our perspective it certainly seems quite ridiculous that a boy should be suspended or have a mark on his record equivalent to selling drugs or physically assaulting someone. Don't get me wrong, I believe it is.

Unfortunately, the kid might be one of the "problem children" and this just happens to be the straw that broke the camel's back. Now the school district is calling the rubber band a weapon, not because of what it is, but because of how it was used and the intent of the person using it (demonstrated by his previous behavior).

Many of us have argued or agreed with the fact that a knife or gun is simply a tool. Any tool or object can be classified as a weapon, due to the manner in which it was used by an individual and what their intent with the object in question was.

I am simply demonstrating what the reasoning of the school officials may be. However, I am not saying that I agree with them or disagree with them. I would have to know more about the incident and the kid's history to be able to "take a side."