Should the School Punish Students for Activities Done Off School Campus?
St. George’s is a school with an outstanding history, as well as a reputation of the highest standings. However, with that reputation, comes strict punishments and discipline. One of the more debatable topics and policies within Saints is the off-school-campus disciplinary actions they take for students involved in inappropriate or illegal activities off campus.
The large majority of the time, these inappropriate or illegal activities involve the use of alcohol or drugs (the most common drug use happens to be marijuana). On page twenty one of the school’s student handbook, the guidelines relating to drugs and alcohol incidents are clearly outlined. “All boys must refrain from use of such substances at all times and in all places. The bringing of drugs or alcohol onto any school property (e.g. dances, social occasions or school events at our school or other schools) or appearing on school property while under the influence of drugs or alcohol is absolutely forbidden. The suspected use or possession of drugs or alcohol (e.g. the smell of marijuana or alcohol), possession of related paraphernalia, suspicious behaviour, and/or signs of impairment, are subject to the fullest investigation, including the possible use of drug testing and/or a breathalyzer.”
The rules go on to point out important points such as the fact that all offences are reviewed on an individual basis and the previous record, attitude, circumstances, acts of restitution and future risk to self or the student body, are all taken into account when deciding on the punishment. The consequences include suspension and membership review with the possibility of expulsion. Near the end of that section within the rulebook, it is also mentioned that any student who obtains drugs or alcohol and spreads them around to friends and acquaintances are considered trafficking, whether or not they charge money. These cases will be dealt with very seriously and the student found “trafficking” may expect to be expelled.
Most cases the administration have to deal with involve the use of drugs or alcohol but rarely anything relating to trafficking. The most common situations revolve around a student or group of students getting caught purchasing or using those illegal substances. The question that is constantly asked is whether or not the students should be punished for things they are doing off school campus?
The situation and guidelines for boarding students are even stricter due to the fact that Harker Hall is directly involved with school life. What this can lead to is boarders getting punished by the school for an incident that a day student may not get punished for. An example of this would be a student being caught smoking weed. As a day student, you are less prone to having a punishment handed down by the school due to the fact that in those types of situations, parents typically deal with it themselves and hand out punishments to their child accordingly. Whereas boarders are almost guaranteed to be punished by the school if they’re found smoking weed whether it be a suspension or some other consequence. When Co-Captain of Boarding Jorge Alamillo was asked about the topic he said “I feel like the boarding population is more susceptible to get in trouble for making bad decisions, as the school has the legal guardianship of all the boarding students. I feel that the sanctions students receive are not fair and the harsher consequences tend to lean towards the boarding population rather than the day boys.”.
When asked about his thoughts on the consequences the school has for students being involved in these inappropriate activities Jorge added “I think there should be more clarification as to what these rules are and what the consequences for these will be. As Saints is a prestigious school, there have to be a certain amount of expectations to keep it that way”
It is an impossible argument to argue against the school having punishments in place for students doing foul activities on school campus but it is possible to question whether or not they should punish students for activities done off school campus. In this video we went around asking a few senior students what their thoughts were on the school punishing students for things they do off school campus; take a look.
Obviously, actions have consequences. Therefore, students getting involved in illegal or inappropriate activities should be fully aware of the risks they take. However, the teen years are very explorative years. Teenagers are prone to making stupid mistakes, and do things they shouldn’t do. It is part of growing up and learning about life and consequences and then hopefully growing positively from those mistakes. Saints has high expectations of its students – and its disciplinary policies extend to behavior both on and off campus, which some people feel is overreaching. What are your thoughts?
Dylan Enright is currently a Grade 11 boarding student at St. Georges School in Vancouver, B.C. He was born and raised in Hong Kong until he was 14 years...