Saved By the Bell isn't actually good.

Originally Posted by nuttyturnip

The bans on medications are what I don't get. When I was in elementary school, I had to carry an Epi-pen in case of allergic reactions (my parents were a little overcautious, I think). School officials weren't thrilled about it, but I carried it with me, as opposed to leaving it with a school nurse (lol, we were so rural we didn't have a school nurse). My grandfather even made me a leather pouch to wear it on my belt, which looked a great deal like a knife sheath. Thank god it was pre-9/11.

You got somewhat lucky, as the leather pouch he made for my Epi-pen (which was actually somewhat necessary) looked even more like a knife case. I can't remember how many times kids reported me for carrying a knife. Thankfully all the teachers knew what it was already though.

My middle and high schools had zero tolerance policies for "violence or the threat of violence," and even the teachers got tired of hearing about it. It was heavily abused when I was in 8th grade, the last year of middle school. Our principal was removed after it was discovered that he was accused of burning down his ex-girlfriend's house several years prior, and the three assistant principals all made grabs for power. It basically became a race to see who could suspend more kids. Using the zero tolerance policy as an excuse, teachers were told to send people to the office for as little as saying "I'm gonna hurt you for that" out of frustration. Just saying the word "kill" was supposed to send up a red flag. That and the blanket excuse of "insubordination" were used to suspend lots of kids.

Nothing was ever done about it though, because all the parents cared about was safety. One of those vice principals ended up as the principal of a new school in the area, and another was promoted to principal there for their excellent work. Hard to believe that was all pre-9/11, though only one year prior.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I mentioned it since Columbine didn't really spur much actual change in my area like 9/11 did. It brought about a lot of talk, but nothing came from it except the introduction of a Zero Tolerance policy that existed in name alone and lockdown drills that proved how truly doomed we all were if there was ever an actual shooting. Zero Tolerance didn't have any significant effect until the administration power struggle I mentioned and after 9/11. Before that it was only used to create a sense of general fear.

There's nowhere I can't reach.