Sunday, May 23, 2010

The Sugar Police: Riding In to a Town Near You

Student Gets Detention for Possessing Piece of Candy

Ten-year-old Leighann Adair came home in tears, terrified to tell her parents she'd been slapped with a week's worth of detention for possessing a contraband substance:

The forbidden fruit: a piece of Jolly Rancher candy.

When I was in sixth grade, our music teacher informed us at the beginning of the year that she would give any student caught with candy a "U" (for "unacceptable," the worst you could get) in citizenship for that six weeks. The challenge was too great for me, and I was determined to eat candy in her class every. single. day. My candy of choice was Hot Tamales, since I could suck on those and they weren't quite so obvious. Alas, eventually I was caught and received the first (and only) "U" of my school career. My parents were furious, but there was no other punishment. The idea that I would have gotten a week's detention is absurd.