Both the Los Gatos Town Council and the Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union High School Board of Trustees listened last week to protests of "unfair" punishment. In the case of the council, it was Frank Jones, an unsuccessful candidate in last November's council race who challenged a $50 fee he was charged for removal of a campaign sign on public land.
Not fair, he claimed. No evidence of culpability. Besides, $50 is too steep for a simple sign removal.
Meanwhile, the high school board heard the laments of Saratoga students who defied the rules in favor of "tradition" and wound up paying a big price.
Since 1995 when a group of drunken students ran nude not only through Saratoga High School, but also through a middle school, the rule has been: Streakers don't attend graduation ceremonies.
Students complained to board members that the punishment was unfair, particularly to family members who were looking forward to graduation.
Some students conceded that they expected punishment, but not anything so severe.
The council candidate received a copy of the sign ordinance when he filed candidate's papers. He was notified of the fee on election day and claims he was not given a three-day period to remove it; the town did it instead. That's because of the unwritten rule that a three-day grace period is not permitted in the last week of the election.
Councilmembers mulled it over, agreed that the unwritten rule needs to be written down and then stood firm on the $50 fee.
Rules are rules, after all. Give in to one guy, and then how do you explain it to the next one who breaks the rules?
Because the streaking issue was not on the high school board's agenda, the board could take no action last week. Now the ball's back in the court of Saratoga High School Principal Kevin Skelly, for which the board is undoubtedly breathing a collective sigh of relief.
Like Frank Jones, parents and students complained that they didn't receive a written warning. Last year, a written warning went out; this year, the streakers made their dash before the letter could be sent.
Did the students and their parents think that the rules had changed? More likely, the students figured they could get away with it.
An act of youthful rebellion is not very rebellious without an element of risk associated. So the students should know: Don't do the crime if you can't do the time.
On the other hand, the administration should also be clear in its messages. Is the ban on streaking a ban on full frontal nudity or does that include topless wind sprints as well? And is collective punishment the correct punishment, or should personal responsibility for individual actions be the moral of the story?
The principal will have to send a clear and unambiguous message, as next year's potential streakers will be watching.
[ Back to Contents Page | Los Gatos Weekly-Times Home Page | Archives ]
This article appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, May 14, 1997.
©1997 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.