This morning, if accounts in Kalispell and Missoula newspapers are accurate, 16-year-old Demari DeReu should be back in class at Columbia Falls High School after the School Board last night showed the good sense that this column accurately suggested – “for the sake of argument” – would be the case.
There are several lessons to be learned by educators throughout the Northwest, including right here in Washington, where the story has gotten considerable reaction from members of the Hunting-Washington forum. Chief among lessons to be learned from these Montana school officials is that common sense and compassion should always trump zero tolerance, and that while adversity can build character, it can also demolish community good will. Fortunately, existing Montana statute on "zero tolerance" wisely gives local authorities flexibility that is all too frequently not demonstrated by school officials in other parts of the country. As stated by this column earlier, this is the West and "We do things differently here."
Is it fair to wonder how a school district in Washington, particularly in the Puget Sound Basin, might react to the same situation? Washington is still in the West, but Seattle all too often seems to be somewhere south of the Twilight Zone.
Considering what Miss DeReu and her mother have been through since the honor student and junior varsity cheerleader was suspended after Thanksgiving for having inadvertently left an unloaded, cased hunting rifle in the trunk of her car following a family hunting excursion, the case could be a blessing in disguise.
Instead of a Zero Tolerance policy putting Demari DeReu on trial, it is the other way around. The controversy in Columbia Falls has properly put Zero Tolerance to the test, and it flunked.
Expulsion is outlined in district policy, which was originally based on information from the Montana School Boards Association, which in turn was based on the federal Gun-Free Schools Act. The 1994 law says that each state that receives federal funding must have a law requiring schools to expel for at least one calendar year students who have brought or possessed a firearm at school.
The law does, however, allow school districts to modify the expulsion requirements on a case-by-case basis. And, as DeReu’s attorney Sean Frampton pointed out, there is an exception spelled out in the federal law for firearms “lawfully stored inside a locked vehicle on school property.”—Daily Interlake
On the other hand, the school board and school administrators, including Superintendent Mike Nicosia get a passing grade. If nothing else, they have set a new high standard for grace under fire. High marks also go to the 150 or so public-minded citizens who turned out on a chilly Monday evening to support Miss DeReu, some coming from great distances. It was reported that a couple of police officers were in the gym at Glacier Gateway Elementary, where the meeting was held. Why? Did they expect the good citizens of Montana to be as irrational as the Zero Tolerance philosophy they came to challenge?
One issue this case exposed should be cause for public alarm anywhere in the United States. It was revealed that on certain occasions throughout the school year, a “contraband-sniffing” dog is brought to school to sniff around in search of drugs, alcohol and the scent of gunpowder, according to the Daily Interlake newspaper in nearby Kalispell. During these searches the school is in lockdown. Yes, we know such searches have been upheld. That does not make them right, or even palatable in a free society. For some reason, the image that comes to mind is from that great 1953 William Holden film, Stalag 17, about a German POW camp during WWII, where guards patrol with dogs along a barbed wire fence.
Such searches have been standard procedure since 1997, high school Principal Alan Robbins told the board. The district has between four and six searches with a dog each year. In addition to finding alcohol and drugs — illegal, prescription and over-the-counter — the dogs can smell gunpowder.
When searches are going on, the school is in lockdown. Students are not allowed to leave their classrooms until the search is over.—Daily Interlake
This column has said before and will repeat it now, this is still the United States, not a police state. Whatever else school authorities may be doing, one must seriously question whether these exercises aren’t subconsciously conditioning a generation of American youth to the notion that gulag law enforcement is acceptable. Of course, all of this is done with good intentions, but we are reminded that the road to Hell is paved with the same stuff.
Kudos to Republican State Rep. Jerry O’Neil, whose district includes Columbia Falls. He has reportedly offered to draft legislation that will “clarify” state law so what happened to Miss DeReu won’t happen again. We might wonder if anyone in Olympia has the same backbone.
Some observers have argued that this is not a gun rights case, and that is nonsense. Zero tolerance violations by model students like Miss DeReu appears to be – she carries a 3.0 grade point average, and is already thinking about college and a career, and what this incident might do to derail that – demonize firearms possession, and to claim otherwise is a bald-faced lie. How many cases have there been in which a child is punished under Zero Tolerance for having a tiny rubber gun from an action figure in his pocket? How many alarms have been raised over a child’s art project or just some doodling? Read about them here.
The Columbia Falls school board has wisely not been drinking the same stuff as their contemporaries around the country. Their common sense approach to a case that has made their community famous, or perhaps infamous, should not merely be admired, but become the benchmark for similar situations from Fairbanks to Ft. Lauderdale.
The teenager has a 3.0 GPA and no disciplinary record, and became emotional when she described to board members how the suspension has derailed her academic work. She worried the smirch on her record would jeopardize her acceptance into the University of Montana.—The Missoulian
One final thought. Teens like Demari DeReu will one day assume positions of leadership in this country, and from all indications, she’s already proven that she is up to that task. Our generation, try as we might, does not always provide good examples to our youngsters. In the case of the Zero Tolerance policy, we have failed miserably to allow such a thing to become the law of the land, and thus open the door for its widespread abuse.
Think of it this way: Demari DeReu could be a future president of the United States.
No, wait a moment. She has already revealed what many politicians and political busy bodies consider a fatal flaw in her character that has already gotten her in trouble.
She’s honest; honest enough to have come forward and admit a fairly common mistake among hunters of all ages that brought her more grief and notoriety than a good kid deserves.
What kind of lesson does that teach every other 16-year-old who enjoys hunting and spending time in the outdoors with their families? What kind of lesson does it teach about being honest, especially if they attend school somewhere else than Montana?
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Comments
Another excellent missive, Dave!
I'm SO glad that this school board has reached this decision. Good for them.
JJ Swiontek
Denver, CO
It's so wrong when the Federal Government uses our money to extort compliance with their "zero tolerance" and zero common sense needs.
Yes Amprobe,
Zero Tolerance, shown best in Salem, or Seattle!
http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/salem.htm
"Zero tolerance" = "Zero intelligence". Since the zero tolerance concept comes from the same deranged politicians that believe gun control laws actually work, the only solution is to vote such idiots out of office.
We're working on it. We got rid of a bunch of anti's last month. Now if we can just keep up the trend.
I'm glad there is at least one school board in this country with some common sense.
"This column has said before and will repeat it now, this is still the United States, not a police state."
Frankly I'm not seeing much difference anymore. Blatantly unConstitutional searches? Cops - presumably armed - at a peaceable meeting of innocent citizens? To say nothing of the unending atrocities from TSA. What part of the Bill of Rights *hasn't* been raped, shredded, and set on fire?
How much more of this are we going to take?
Glad to hear this. Zero tolerance is more often just a euphemism for no common sense.
As I understand it, Ms. DeReu's record has not been expunged. She is on "probation" and must avoid getting into trouble "again" before they school board will clear her record. At the same time, no faculty or administrative personnel have been disciplined for their actions in violating the young lady's rights.
This is not a win. And the lesson for educators at this point is that they can screw over their students with impunity.
As one who is sometimes seen here as a liberal, I am glad to agree completely with Dave on this one. There are major issues with state/federal relationships in areas ranging from funding mandated restraints to unfunded mandates that span Democratic and Republican admins. More basically, students do not have adult civil rights. Perhaps they should, but they don't.
One thing that concerns me, however, is the concept of "forgetting" one has a gun in one's car. However innocent the young lady may be, common sense dictates that one ought to be very mindful of the status of one's weapon at any given time. It is not acceptable to "forget" one has a gun in their possession/control. It may be forgivable given that she is a teen who doesn't have the life experience that some other older, wiser citizens have--experience that even a responsible gun owner must acquire *over time*. But as a gun owner/user/etc she, as well as all such persons, needs to be more aware. All such persons need to set an example for many (obvious) reasons, as well as perhaps a less obvious reason: any "mistake" (real or perceived) in regards to gun ownership/usage/etc is used by anti-gun groups and individuals as propaganda against rightful bearing of arms. We *must* not allow ourselves to be seen as the lazy, unintelligent, careless rednecks such groups portray us to be.
RickD,
Why do you feel it is necessary to buy into the liberal, socialist agenda? Why does it trouble you that someone might leave a legally cased, unloaded, and locked firearm in the trunk of their vehicle? How does that make one a "lazy, unintelligent, careless redneck"? What part of "shall not be infringed" do you not understand? Do your shackles rest lightly upon you, Rick?
Perhaps it is time for some brave soul to do a midnight drive through the parking lots of a few schools, spreading a wee bit of old gunpowder for those dogs to sniff. Or perhaps sprinkle some upon the vehicles of the school staff that harassed this innocent young lady.
Why should it be acceptable to apply "zero tolerance" to legal behavior, since the federal legislation (albeit unConstitutional) itself permits having a cased, unloaded firearm in the vehicle upon school grounds? While this outcome is better than expected, it is still not a win for anyone.
Reg T I understand how you could come to those conclusions, but chill a sec dude 'cause I think you are misunderstanding me-- I'm on your side of the argument here. What agenda do you think I am buying into? I don't see any problem with what this girl did-- it is just that it is irresponsible to "forget" where your gun may be at any given moment--it shows a lack of gun awareness that the anti-gun crowd would love to disseminate as typical gun-owner mentality. When I carry, or when I store my guns, I know where they are and if they are loaded, etc. I don't lock my guns away or store them separate from my ammo because frankly what is the point of having a gun (for defense, in the scenario I am speaking of) if it cannot be readily available for its intended use? Laws about keeping a gun in a lock box, unloaded, with a need for a key, to me, is radical overkill and also overreaching (by the government, that is)--if I really need my weapon right NOW, i want it to be ready for its intended purpose. So keeping a gun in her trunk is fine by me--that was never the issue that I raised--as far as I am concerned she could leave it loaded and ready to go. It troubles me not one bit what she did with her gun, only her *lack of awareness about doing it*--*that* shows irresponsibility on the part of the gun owner (and that is critical here because that argument is used against us), but as I said, given (cont'd)
(cont'd) that she is a teen with a still yet developing sense of personal responsibility, etc., I completely understand it. I never said that the fact she left it there made her a "lazy, unintelligent, careless redneck", but rather that these kinds of situations give ammunition (pardon the pun) to freedom-hating, anti-gun/gun-control socialists to paint us all with that broad brush. As far as infringement, I don't even think the government has the constitutional right to require me to have their permission to exercise the God-given right to defend myself and others by carrying a weapon wherever I damn well please. How could we as patriots, like the Founders, be expected to stand (cont'd)
(cont'd) up against tyranny if we can't exercise even that basic right? You and I both know that the 2nd Amendment isn't about hunting or clay target shoots as liberals and other deluded folks would have us believe--it's primarily about defending our freedom from tyrannical government. Now *that* is something "they" won't stand for--because it puts them in the crosshairs, figuratively and, God forbid, if necessary, literally, speaking. Furthermore, I think the justices are dead wrong in ruling that these kind of searches are constitutionally sound. BS. The ruling I read made me sick; how sad it is we have come to a point where we can have police dogs sniffing around and making suspects out of innocent, law-abiding folks and without any justifiable cause we then have the government, whether they be police or they be school officials, searching, raiding, confiscating, etc. It shouldn't be a crime to be free and exercise our God-given inalienable rights, but as you know all too well, that's what they have done--they've made it a crime to be a constitutionally aware patriot. Maybe we need to start wearing "eau de gunpowder" cologne and really mess with their convoluted minds. Cheers.
Sorry I forgot to change the name from "anonymous" on those last couple posts, but you can tell it's me... :-)
What we don't know about the cops was where they there to support the young lady or observe? I would assume that just because an officer showed up in uniform on his break to show support he is being condemned. we should clear that issue up before we go lambasting them. As for the administrator he should read his laws before acting and if the young lady is not in violation whether the dog finds the gun or not then he should have backed off and just asked her to plan her time better next time. I am glad the board was reasonable and hopefully it will be catching and spread througout the west but I am not holding my breath on it although we have had our kid hunter versus the schools issues right here in California with recalls resulting.
What we don't know about the cops was where they there to support the young lady or observe? I would assume that just because an officer showed up in uniform on his break to show support he is being condemned. we should clear that issue up before we go lambasting them. As for the administrator he should read his laws before acting and if the young lady is not in violation whether the dog finds the gun or not then he should have backed off and just asked her to plan her time better next time. I am glad the board was reasonable and hopefully it will be catching and spread througout the west but I am not holding my breath on it although we have had our kid hunter versus the schools issues right here in California with recalls resulting.
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