Guilty By Association?

Imagine your high school son or daughter received a phone call from a friend, who had drank too much at a party and was seeking a safe ride home.  How would you hope they handle that request?

Well, in the case of Erin Cox, a senior at North Andover High School in Boston, it's a story that makes me question common sense.  After receiving that phone call from a friend, Erin drove to the party to give said inebriated friend a safe ride home.  Shortly after she arrived at the party, so did the police, who proceeded to hand out underage drinking tickets.  Erin was cleared by the police as not having had any alcohol.

However, school officials took a different view on the situation.  Erin was demoted from Team Captain of her volleyball team and suspended for five games, because she was in violation of a zero tolerance policy against drugs and alcohol.

Erin's family has filed a lawsuit and the school reciprocated by filing an injunction.  The judge in the case has ruled that the court does not have jurisdiction in this matter.

So the question becomes, should Erin have allowed her intoxicated friend get behind the wheel and drive, to avoid having a punishment handed down to her by association?  Or should she provide a safe ride to her friend?

If you ask me, common sense should rule here and Erin should NOT have been punished for helping a friend who was intoxicated.  Who knows how many lives she may have saved by providing a safe ride?  And while I can appreciate the zero tolerance policy at the school, surely they should understand that Erin was not drinking, but trying to prevent a bad situation from getting worse.

What do you think? Did the school make the right or wrong decision?  Drop us an email.