The Official Student News Site of Parkway West High

Pathfinder

The Official Student News Site of Parkway West High

Pathfinder

The Official Student News Site of Parkway West High

Pathfinder

The Parkway Disciplinary Policy Should Be Changed To Solve the Pressing Issue

Fights broke out the end of February in the cafeteria and senior lounge, raising the issue of the current disciplinary policy.

The Parkway Disciplinary policy outlines student expectations for behavior at school. During the 2015-16 school year, there were 56 Principal Suspensions and 29 Superintendent Suspensions at school.

With that being said, there are two major details that are left out of the disciplinary policy. The first issue is that students do not have rights to defend themselves and secondly, students do not have rights to record the incident.

These two details both go hand in hand and can be solved by allowing students the right to defend themselves and to record the incident. Any student should also have the undebatable right to defend themselves when they are physically attacked by another, as if not, students have no ability to immediately stand up to a bully since there will not always be a teacher around to handle the issue.

A video of the incident can also be shared to help the Principal or Superintendent who decide on the disciplinary action to prove the validity of any claim of self-defense. The video would show exactly what happened in the incident and does not lean in the favor of just one of the students involved in the incident.

From what I have experienced with this issue, going to teachers doesn’t really work, teachers can only do so much and they know this. The only way to have these issues resolved each time is stand up for yourself, defend yourself and take the target off your back and refuse to let it happen again.

Furthermore, students must have the right to record and share any incident that may occur. This right allows the available footage to be shared and seen, to show what truly occurred during the incident, providing visual evidence that will back up the victim’s case. This prevents issues of conflicting stories from conflicting parties, offering video proof to support the victim of the incident.

It is a necessity that students have the rights to defend themselves against an aggressor. Students also need to have the ability to record incidents that occur so those videos can help the Principal or Superintendent who decide on the disciplinary action by providing an accurate view of what happened in the issue being looked into. The Parkway disciplinary policy needs to be updated to address these issues.

 

Leave a Comment
Donate to Pathfinder
$175
$800
Contributed
Our Goal

Your donation will support the student journalists of Parkway West High School. Your contribution will allow us to purchase equipment and cover our annual website hosting costs.

More to Discover
About the Contributor
Bennett Davis, STAFF WRITER

Grade: 10

Years on staff: 2

Life soundtrack: "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen

Most passionate about: "Right to an education, rights for students with special needs and making West High better for students."

Favorite dance move: Cotten Eyed Joe

 
Donate to Pathfinder
$175
$800
Contributed
Our Goal

Comments (0)

Please use your own name and keep your comments respectful!
All Pathfinder Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Activate Search
The Official Student News Site of Parkway West High
The Parkway Disciplinary Policy Should Be Changed To Solve the Pressing Issue