OK, I don't know how I'm just hearing about this, but apparently, there was a riot at my high school:

SPRING VALLEY, N.Y. (CBS) ? Police in Rockland County arrested more than a dozen students at Ramapo High School after a huge fight in the school's cafeteria sent several teenagers to the hospital.

School officials said a fight that started over the weekend, but continued Monday during school hours.

In fairness to my alma mater, it wasn't really much nicer when I went there. I remember a time around winter break that my 10th grade English teacher rushed us into the room and locked the door behind us, saying kids tended to get crazy right before school breaks started and us pretty much laughing out loud, right before we heard a big commotion in the hall, looked out the glass of the door and saw two kids just punching the shit out of each other. So, needless to say, this is not a new problem they're dealing with. They think this may be gang-related, to which I say, "Uh-duh."

But whatever. Here's the best part of the article. It says that the school suspended all of the kids arrested for 5 days. 5 DAYS?!?!? Way to lay down the law, Ramapo Senior High School. When I was there, if you cursed at a teacher, it was pretty much guaranteed that you'd get suspended for a couple of days. It may not have been a really good, clean, well-mannered school, but you could always count on them doling out a good dose of punitive judgment. They coiuld have at least given them a month or something. What do you have to do to get expelled, organize a mass suicide?

Labels: high school