13-Year-Old Suspended For Doodling Gun

Arizona School Says "Zero Tolerance" Policy Means Drawing Of Gun Merits Suspension

(CBS/AP)  Officials at an Arizona school suspended a 13-year-old boy for sketching what looked like a gun, saying the action posed a threat to his classmates.

"My son is a very good boy [who] doesn't get into trouble," the boy's mother, Paula Mosteller, told CBS affiliate KPHO correspondent Mary Valenzuela. "There was nothing on the paper that would signify that it was a threat of any form."

"He was just basically doodling and not thinking a lot about it."

The Chandler Unified School District declined to give more details about the incident. Spokesperson Terry Locke said in a statement, "Federal privacy law forbids the school or district from discussing student discipline."

There's nothing in a portion of the student handbook that addresses conduct to indicate the drawing of a weapon poses threat, KPHO reported.

There is, however, a rule that says students should not engage in "threatening an educational institution by interference with or disruption of the school."

The drawing, which is covered with smiley faces, did not show blood, bullets, injuries or target any human, the parents said. The East Valley Tribune reported that the boy said he did not intend for the picture to be a threat.

"We're not advocates for guns," Mosteller said. "We don't have guns in our home. We don't promote the use of guns. My son was just basically doodling on a piece of paper."

The boy's father, Ben Mosteller, said when he went to the school to discuss his son's punishment, school officials mentioned the seriousness of the issue and talked about the 1999 massacre at Colorado's Columbine High School, where two teenagers shot and killed 12 students, a teacher and themselves. Mosteller said he was offended by the reference.

The boy was initially suspended for at least five days, but after his father spoke to the principal, it was reduced to three.

[kernj1]

The message here is -
GET YOUR KIDS OUT OF THE GOVERNMENT-RUN SCHOOLS!

[erasmus6]

klingon69

"The original picture was NOT what the child drew, this is."

Then what was the other picture? And what makes you so sure that the kid didn''t draw it?
I find it hard to believe that a 13 year old did this picture. It is pretty bad for a kid of that age.

[erasmus6]

Like I said earlier, this picture isn''t the same as the first one. This looks like a picture drawn by a small child not a thirteen year old. This picture looks non threatening but the other wasn''t so innocent looking.

[my2centss]

Good thing the kid didn''''t draw a Mushroom Cloud. He would have been expelled.
Posted by TimanTane at 02:18 PM : Aug 24, 2007

For zero tolerance of drugs even.

[timantane]

Wow, what kind of Thought Police are running this Arizona school?

Good thing the kid didn''t draw a Mushroom Cloud. He would have been expelled.

You can''t even draw things now? Utter stupidity!

[enlightenu]

School systems have their own set of laws without an internal system of justice in which to prove a transgression and in which to appeal. This may seem excessive but when administrators start abusing students with their power such a system is necessary. It would also help the legal system from becoming even more overburdened than it is. There are injustices like this that occur everyday in public schools but are unreported. It damages the mental well being of the child that is affected. They created a situation where going to school is like visiting North Korea. They make up charges and dish out severe punishment at a whim. Now an unbalanced student might seek retribution in an unhealthy way, but I bet this little guy is man enough to forgive and forget. He is better than they are.

[klingon69]

GrammaWhamma and kansas1946

The picture that they are showing now is not the original one that was there. The first picture that was shown had a gun drawn on it and a knife and there was no mistaking what they were. In fact I thought they were drawn quite well.
Posted by erasmus6 at 01:43 AM : Aug 24, 2007
The original picture was NOT what the child drew, this is.

[gunownerdan]

When I was in public school for an art project in the 9th grade I drew a part of a Glock pistol and got an A on it.
For a while the teacher even had my drawing hanging on the wall in front of class!
I also would regularly bring "Guns & Ammo" magazine with me to class and on the front of my notebook I had a used paper target full of bullet holes.
Seems like if I did all this today I would be expelled from school!
We need to bring back the Bill Of Rights.

[delta5243]

wow, you have got to be kidding me......

[paganwitch]

Totally stupid. Over-reaction to an innocent doodling. Another example of extreme "zero tolerance" nonsense.

Zero tolerance has gone too far when kids can''t play "cops & robbers" or "cowboys & indians" without being suspended.

[jenw304]

This is ridiculas! What "normal" 13 year old boy doesn''t doodle guns? Don''t boys still play games like cops & robbers? Do they not still play GI Joe? What 13 year old doesn''t see guns on the news everyday? Over & over again our children are exposed to weapons by the media-The War in Iraq, etc. Everyone wants to play patriotic & support our military & police, etc., but when it comes to self expression of a teenager, we close our minds & freak out screaming another Columbine! Give me a break- Everything is blown out of proportion these days. Quite frankly this irritates me-Let''s dig a little deeper & find out some statistics about this kid in relation to the rest of the school & area. I have a hunch that he must not be the sports star, honor student, or rich kid. I bet he''s just an average guy that''s sits in the back of the room & never bothers anyone but the teacher, because he doesn''t suck up! He might even wear black occassionally or have hair a little longer than others, or GASP! ride a skateboard! What do they want him to draw, a happy shiny family going to church in a station wagon w/ the family dog running behind w/ a dollar hanging from his mouth?

[whatithink-2009]

This is beyond ridiculous!

[elz523]

This is why it is always a good idea for policy setters to take their policy to their logical extremes in order to see where extremists will (justifiably in thier own eyes) take it.

For these school officials to pretend not to know the difference between the threat a real gun possesses in the hands of someone who intends to do harm and the gun a kid doodles with happy faces on it is just effing stupid!

[clariham]

I think the drawing lacks perspective, I think if the child had any art lessons we would see something completely different as he could add demention to the picture. I have never seen so many happy stick people playing by jumping off a building with what looks to me like parachutes. The other happy faces are watching from the windows as the others have fun. The one on the top is waiting his turn. I see the square at the top right as the aircondioner and the rectangle on the bottom left as the sidewalk coming out of the building! Give us all a break and quit trying to find sick meanings to silly drawings. If it hadn''t been for the school shootings nobody would think a thing about this drawing. I really believe there is nothing behind this drawing except for a kid doodling in class. He has no behavior in his past to think it could be anything other than doodling!! Concentrate on the troubled kids you have in school that are capable of horrendous things and leave the doodlers alone. I find that people tend to back off when they think there is a REAL problem kid to contend with and go after the kid like the artist here. They are not capable of approaching the troubled kid because they are not educated enough in how to approach them and how to help them.

[grammawhamma]

This is the only picture I saw in this article when I first read it at 1pm central time on 8/23/07. Strange. Erasmus6 you should write to cbs and ask them to clarify this.

[erasmus6]

Why would they show one picture and then put a different one there?

The first picture looked like it could be drawn by a 13 year old but this one looks like it was drawn by a 6 year old. So which picture is the right picture?

[erasmus6]

GrammaWhamma and kansas1946

The picture that they are showing now is not the original one that was there. The first picture that was shown had a gun drawn on it and a knife and there was no mistaking what they were. In fact I thought they were drawn quite well.

[michellem99-2009]

I can''t draw that well and I am 52. What are they teaching the kids today. Are they getting a good education. Are this nation''s kids going to be so dumb they can''t think and do. It is scarey..The teachers are not taught that well today. So how can they teach a kid.

[toolmangler-2009]

A Gun is a piece of matter. it is composed of alloyed steel and or other components. even after it has been constructed and placed on a surface it is harmless. It must be loaded with ammunition picked up and discharged before it can hurt a living thing. It just depends on the mental make up of its operator to be dangerous. A knife is also an alloyed steel impliment. If it is put on a surface it is harmless. If you take it in your hand and stroke the pointed edge against your other hand, it will seperate the individual cells of your skin and muscles, this is known as cutting. Both of these devices require an action from a sentient source to become killing instruments. The knife is actually more dangerous than the gun. you can cut your arm off with a knife. you can''t with a gun (unless you are REALLY determined). Work on the reasons for killing and a gun, knife or bomb are harmless. Its all in the way you think..

[keithle1]

The world has officially gone insane.