Thirty-one sixth formers were assigned Saturday Detention last week, for most a consequence for skipping the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day special program on January 16th.
The punishment is usually reserved for severe disciplinary situations, such as when a student lands on restriction or on bounds. For missing a mandatory event – whether it be a School Meeting, Reflections, or Special Program – the punishment has always been a Sunday Detention. Never, at least in the Choate lifetime of four-year seniors, has a Saturday Detention been the normal punishment for missing a commitment.
Dean of Students John Ford came up with the crafty punishment, but only after MLK Day had passed and cut slips were ready to be doled out.
Only two weeks before, scores of sixth formers had been issued “Get out of Sunday D” passes as a prize for getting their senior pages for The Brief submitted on time. Many students planned to use their passes in lieu of attending Monday’s program – an early-morning event on an otherwise free day.
When so many students were absent, Mr. Ford cracked down, issuing the Saturday Detentions. Doing so was a classic case of bait and switch. If the Deans’ Office is going to issue “Get out of Sunday D” passes, they are naturally condoning the mentality of “strategically” skipping a surpassingly inconvenient commitment. And if this MLK Day event somehow was more significant than any normal commitment and thus warranted an unusually harsh punishment for those absent, it would only have been fair to tell students in advance.
If the Deans want to encourage trust and goodwill with the student body, such trickery does not help the cause.
Should students have attended the MLK Day program? Yes. But if the deans so abhor the idea of a student skipping one solitary commitment, why did they offer us the opportunity to do just that with the promise of no punishment?
