The fact some high school kids drink alcohol is nothing new.
One thing that is new is the ability to post photographs of high school kids partying via popular social networks such as Facebook.com.
That’s what got 13 students at Eden Prairie High School in trouble recently after school administrators found photos of them holding alcohol.
It turns out the punishment for high schoolers drinking isn’t new, either. The administrators handed out sanctions to the students, including suspending them from sports and other extracurricular activities.
What has changed, apparently, is the reaction to the reasonable penalties exacted by the school.
Several parents of the offending students are turning to lawyers, saying they are considering legal action against the school for reacting too harshly.
The parents’ reaction may offer some insight into the phenomena many universities and police departments say they are seeing — college-aged young adults who seem to feel entitled to do what they want and are indignant when they face penalties for their actions.
It’s difficult to suggest Eden Prairie school officials acted too harshly. They questioned 42 students who had questionable photos posted on Facebook. The administration only penalized those in which the evidence supported it.
No one would suggest the students who were sanctioned are bad kids. They simply did something they agreed not to do, got caught, and had to bear responsibility for it.
It’s a simple lesson everyone has to learn as they grow toward adulthood.
It’s a lesson parents should help their kids learn.
The fact that too many parents seem not to have learned that lesson does no favors for their children, or for society.
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