Young Marine Possible Expulsion

[SkinnyB78]

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/18 ... etail.html

"DENVER -- For Marie Morrow, the equipment left in the back seat of her car was for an upcoming competition. She said she never expected it would lead to her being suspended from school -- or possibly expelled.

"I take responsibility, it was my mistake," Morrow told 7NEWS. She left three drill team "practice" rifles in plain view of passing students last week."

...

This is the part of the article that saddens me the most:

"The Young Marine Organization is the official youth program of the U.S. Marine Corps and focused on drug reduction and leadership, Proctor explained."

What a way to encourage our young people to want to participate in good things. ARGH!

Please see the hyperlink for the full story

[pedalman]

Gee, these folks would have had a fit in the late 70s. I was in Army JROTC in high school. As a platoon leader, I carried a cast-metal copy of a 1911A1 in a holster/belt rig. Company commanders and above carried sabres.

Every Friday was Inspection Day. We had to wear our uniforms during school. You can imagine how many sabres and pistols were seen in the halls.

[WarHawk-AVG]

zero tolerance policies are a sign of weak minds!

Any leadership or administration that runs on zero tolerance are spineless wimps and need to be removed..all cases should be investigated not just crushed by some stupid "feel good" knee jerk response

[Charles L. Cotton]

zero tolerance policies are a sign of weak minds!

Yes it is!! I have zero tolerance for zero tolerance policies. They are nothing but an excuse for not using reason and judgment.

Chas.

[Wildscar]

I use to be in the army ROTC drill team and rifle team. Our school had a built in range right next to the class room. I alwasy thought my son would be able to do the same. With stories like this I can see that those times are fadeing fast. It truly is a sad thing. Specailly when our football team couldn't get a award for the life of them but would get a ton of cash. We would have to use 2nd hand gear and pay for some of our own uniforms out of our own pockets. Just made the trophies that we did win that much more rewarding.

I have often thought about going back to visit. But I would be afraid that its all borded up and razed to the ground with the thought in this day and age.

[kd5zex]

I was in MCJROTC in high school for all four years. We drilled and PT'ed on school grounds during school hours with demilitarized M14s (welded firing pin and a lead rod in the barrel). You should have seen the looks we would get from nearby residences as 20 "armed" high school students jogged by their homes in formation. Although, we were never allowed to take our rifles home or anything.

We also had a air rifle range in our building. During rifle team competitions we would often walk around other schools with cased air rifles on the way to their ranges.

Looking back, those were some of the best years of my life and I hope Texas remains the same so my children can have the same experiences I did.

[Skiprr]

This item headlined the NRA-ILA Alerts email issued this morning. And good on 'em for bringing it to national attention.

The good news--at least, sort of--is that Marie Morrow will return to Cherokee Trail High School on February 20. The school superintendent, Mary Chesley, ruled Friday (in what is described as "an expedited decision," and one we hope came after due pressure on her from all fronts) that Morrow's official punishment will be "time served." She was suspended February 5, and Chesley ruled Morrow could come back to school as early as February 18 when classes resume after Presidents' Day. My "sort of" comment stems from the fact that any suspension on her record stands at all.

More good news is that the reason she returns the 20th is because she will be able to compete with her drill team (she is a commander of the Douglas County Young Marines drill team) on the 18th at the Merchant Marine Academy in New York, where she plans to go after her graduation from high school. If any college will overlook the suspension on her record, it will be a military academy.

Here's a follow-up article from the Vail Daily newspaper.

During the hearing, Morrow was praised by Cherry Creek Schools officials, [the town's] mayor and retired military personnel as a bright, focused and highly responsible student who simple forgot she left the prop guns in her Dodge Durango parked at the Aurora high school campus...

Her case triggered public outrage, with talk show radio hosts blasting the state law and school officials who said their hands were tied...

State Sen. Kevin Lundberg, R-Berthoud, plans to introduce a measure next week to allow schools to use their better judgment in cases where a facsimile gun is found on school grounds and there is no intent to cause harm.

Here's a link to the homepage of the Douglas County Young Marines: http://www.dcyoungmarines.com/. As you would expect, they've been posting news about Morrow as it becomes available.

Last, another link to an article in the Washington Times about the resolution of the case.

Most "zero tolerance" policies are simply "zero intelligence" policies. This one had me ready to start a letter-writing campaign until I found the information that I was a week late doing it.

[Skiprr]

Ah hah! Another good-news follow-up I'd have seen if I'd read more carefully:

Marie has received a recommendation from a member of Congress to attend the academy. Her supporters, including local talk-radio hosts and politicians, worry that the expulsion could come back to haunt her in a future military career, but district officials said any records related to the case will be destroyed when she graduates in June.

That'll work. I'm happier now.

I like a day with some good news.