S. Carolina case lesson: Police shouldn't be doing school discipline

Janel George, CNN, http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/28/opinions/george-school-discipline-police-south-carolina/index.html 

Who? What? Where? When? Why?

• African-American female student
• Columbia, South Carolina - Spring Valley High School
• Ben Fields, a white police officer working in Spring Valley High School assaulted an African American girl Monday
• He came into a classroom this past Monday because a girl wouldn’t give up her cellphone to her teacher. He asked her to stand up and come with him, she said no, then he grabbed her by the neck, flipping her backward as she sat at her desk, then dragging and throwing her across the floor. No one was hurt, but excessive force was exhibited.
• Officer is now on administrative leave
• Richland county sheriff has asked US justice department for an FBI investigation, justice department hasn’t decided if they will take this case
• growing number of incidents involving aggressive tactics, unnecessary charging, and excessive use of force by school police against students of ethnicities other than white
• Such incidents reflect the broader epidemic of police brutality against blacks

Democratic Values:

Liberty : The ability to live, behave, and believe as one pleases without harsh restrictions, limitations, or the liberties of other individuals.

Although the student did not follow the cop’s instruction, they way he handled the situation put her in a place where her ability to live and behave had harsh restrictions. The girl did not physically threaten the cop in any way, yet he threatened her safety.

Equality: “12% of all African-American female pre-K through 12 students were suspended from school, six times the rate of white girls and more than any other group of girls and several groups of boys -- despite research showing that African-American children do not misbehave more frequently than their peers” - This shows inequality towards African American females.

Another example: “Data clearly show that the majority of incidents for which students of color are penalized are infractions that are very subjective, including "disruption," "willful defiance," or "disobedience" — where stereotyping and bias have the opportunity to influence decision-makers. But reforms are underway.” The color of your skin should not determine whether you have done something wrong, but vague words used by decision makers are allowing them to seemingly accuse African American students for offenses that they might not also accuse white students for.

Biases:
• Teachers need ongoing support and services, not sanctions, to help maintain classroom order and promote student success
• Parents should be involved in formulating school discipline codes and practices
• If police are present in schools, they must be trained on youth development, and de-escalation techniques
• Removing police from schools
• We must stop combining school discipline with school safety
• Students must feel safe and supported in schools by authority figures whom they can trust
• Bias towards the girl and that she did not deserve the violence. The author assumes that the girl doesn’t do anything accept disobey orders, but new information might come out later since the story is so recent.
• The author leaves out some context as to what happened before the police officer assaulted the girl.

Visual:

Attribution: http://mmc-news.com/news-sheriff-says-third-video-shows-south-carolina-student-punching-officer-in-classroom-291209.dbv

Sophie B, Cory L