Childlike Behavior...

James Tate. Does that name ring a bell? To most it wouldn't, until today. Like most mornings, I turned on the news to catch up on the latest dilemma following the Mississippi River flooding and other such events, only to hear James Tate's story.


With prom approaching, many students are trying to come up with the best way to ask their date to prom. For a Connecticut high school senior, his fun idea landed with with a suspension and a ban from the prom. But what extremity caused this outcome? With the help of a few friends, he taped cardboard letters to the side of the school early one morning before anyone had gotten to school. When school officials saw this, they deemed the act 'dangerous' and accused him of 'trespassing'. His punishment: to remove the letters, one day of out of school suspension (OSS), and being banned from the prom. James Tate apologized for his act, both in person to the school officials and on live tv.

Sonali Rodrigues Will you go to Prom with me? HMU (Hit Me Up) ~ Tate

The TODAY SHOW has an ongoing poll where people can vote whether or not they think the punishment was right, and post their comments. Here's one of my favorites. Marianne from Cincinnati wrote "If the stunt was considered so "dangerous" why did the school make him clean it up? Seems to me they canceled that reasoning out." Great question Marianne! On the other hand, here is what Frosty the Snow Man aka Jack Frost wrote agreeing with the given punishment.  "Overlooking his behavior is an "ok" for others to pull pranks. This sends a strong msg. He shouldn't attend with those who have character." 


Now, I say that the punishment was too severe. He did nothing to harm anyone or the school (the letters were taped on, not spray-painted or chiseled into the brick). The question of trespassing could hold up, but what are the exact rules on trespassing on public school property and isn't the OSS enough punishment? Because most likely, I have trespassed on public school property when I was learning to drive (it was one of the only large parking lots where I grew up) or when playing a pick-up game of soccer or frisbee on the school fields with 20-30 other high school kids. Should I have been suspended from school for utilizing free space that my parents' tax money goes to? I don't think so. But apparently the school officials in Connecticut believe his minor offense is much grander than we all believe. Who's being more childish, the officials or James Tate? What are your thoughts on the decision made by the principle. Is it just or did they go overboard with the punishment?