Zero tolerance for silly pictures.

YEARS AFTER the letter jackets and class rings have been put away, adults smile with mild embarrassment at their goofy high school yearbook photos. High school senior Patrick Agin a·gin Chiefly Upper Southern U.S.
prep.
1. Against.

2. Opposed to: I'm agin him.

3. Next to; beside; near.

4. By or before (a specified time). , age 17 and a proud member of the Society for Creative Anachronism Society for Creative Anachronism (usually shortened to SCA) is a historical reenactment and living history group founded in 1966 in California, which recreates pre-17th century Western European history and culture. , would really have something to smile about if his school agreed to publish this photo.

But that's not going to happen. Principal Robert Littlefield of Portsmouth High School Portsmouth High School may refer to:

Portsmouth High School (Southsea) — Southsea, England
Portsmouth Abbey School — Portsmouth, Rhode Island
Portsmouth High School (New Hampshire) — Portsmouth, New Hampshire

in Rhode Island Rhode Island, island, United States
Rhode Island, island, 15 mi (24 km) long and 5 mi (8 km) wide, S R.I., at the entrance to Narragansett Bay. It is the largest island in the state, with steep cliffs and excellent beaches. forbade the yearbook to run it. Why? Because of the school's zero tolerance policy zero tolerance policy Substance abuse A stance taken by US government, that any type of drug abuse is punishable by incarceration. See Correctional facility, War on Drugs. regarding ... swords. "Students wielding weapons is just not consistent with our existing policies or the mission of the school," Littlefield told The New York Times. "I think the picture speaks for itself." Littlefield evidently feels that to publish such a photo is to invite a Columbine-style massacre.

Never mind that the school's mascot is a Revolutionary War Minuteman carrying a rifle. "That's an entirely different issue," Littlefield informed the Times. "I don't think anybody could reasonably construe a cartoon depiction of a soldier from 250 years ago as a threat to our educational environment." Just how a photo of a teenaged boy dressed in chain mail with a broadsword slung over his shoulder constitutes "a threat to our educational environment" apparently needs no explanation.

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Title Annotation:	Artifact
Author:	Bailey, Ronald
Publication:	Reason
Date:	Mar 1, 2007
Words:	210
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