Bam! Pow!

Students find out cartoons are no laughing matter

Comments (0) By Todd Spivak Thursday, May 4 2006

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Some parents of the students who were punished for breaking curfew question Deason's ability to appropriately handle disciplinary problems. They criticize her for taking a week to announce the punishments and for rescinding several threats after parents lined up to protest.

Despite the controversies, the 16-year DeBakey principal has her supporters.

Daniel Kramer

Andrew Franco and his dad, Bob, say the punishments were unfair and unequal.

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"Those kids know the standard of conduct expected of them," says John Clark, DeBakey PTA president for the last three years. "They can't legislate their own punishments."

Clark goes on to compare the curfew violation to the recent troubles at Madison High School, where the principal was reassigned after allegations of sexual lewdness during a school dance. "If they weren't in their rooms and someone got raped or killed, what then?" Clark asks. "It's the Madison High School scenario. The principal would get moved from the school."

But parents who are critical of Deason's decisions contend that the punishment should fit the actual crime -- not a hypothetical one.