The right to write

By Meagan Maguire,Tripp Middle School

Someone has just given you an important date you have to write down or you’re sure to forget. There’s no paper in sight, so what do you do? Write it on your hand, of course! Well, not if you are in my school, that’s for sure. Writing on yourself is considered a “self destructive behavior.” Other self destructive behaviors include cutting, bulimia, and drug abuse. If you are caught writing on your person by a teacher they must immediately send you to the guidance office. Failure to do so is a serious offense as they are not acting “in the child’s best interest” and could lead to them being fired. Students caught receive a session with the guidance counselor, a meeting or phone call to parents, and follow-up sessions. If writing on yourself is self destructive then people with tattoos must be institutionalized for the good of the public and if, God forbid, you should have a piercing, you should begin psychiatric counseling immediately.

Now, if schools don’t want people to write on themselves, fine. Then they make a rule saying so. But putting writing on yourself on the same level as cutting yourself blows drawing out of proportion but undermines the actual seriousness of other self destructive behaviors. Also, needlessly adding even more (and in this case frivolous) cases to an already overworked system is laughable.

The point is that the school is making a mountain out of a mole hill. You are not mentally unwell for writing a phone number on your hand, and should not be treated so.