NY school's bag ban intrusive, degrading (published 10/22/07)

Tri-Valley Central School in Grahamsville, N.Y. recently instituted a rule banning all bags from classes—except for girls on their periods.

Nancy George, Tri-Valley superintendent, cited two reasons for the new rule: student health, and security concerns regarding students bringing concealed weapons to school.

The concern over student health stems from the back problems both teenagers and adults suffer from as a result of carrying bags that are too heavy. George also noted that backpacks present a risk of tripping.

The real problem—as Tri-Valley students have been saying loud and clear with protests in which girls wore tampons on their clothes and boys stuck maxi pads to their shirts to show support—arises in how the rule is being enforced.

As good as the intentions behind the rule may be, the entire situation not only reeks of poor planning, communication, and implementation, but of insensitivity and totalitarian ideals.

Samantha Martin, 14, was pulled from class for having a purse with her on Sept. 19, when a school sweep was performed. Mike Bunce, the security guard that pulled her from class, asked her what the Times Herald-Record christened "the question:" "Do you have your period?"

In light of the taboo of strange men asking underage girls anything regarding their sex organs, how many parents would not tell their daughters to get away from a man asking that question as quickly as possible?

This is a culture that consistently strives to silence women's complaints about their menstrual cycles—for example, Kotex advertising a quieter wrapper, or media showing women discussing the topic with other women and men always skirting the issue.

A middle-aged man asking a 14-year-old girl if she has her period because she is carrying a purse is on par with a female teacher asking a teenage boy if he is falling asleep in class because had to change his sheets the night before after having a wet dream.

Indeed, after Bunce asked her "the question," Martin refused to answer, instead thinking, "Oh, my God. Get away from me," before returning to class.

George stated, "We're certainly not going to make light of this. It's a very sensitive issue, but it needs to be handled."

She is correct, it is a sensitive issue, but the problem arises in that George is being completely reactionary. No thought was given as to who should approach girls carrying bags, how to phrase "the question," or even the fact that wanting to carry extra maxi pads or tampons is normal. It will always be a sensitive issue, no matter the ages of the people involved, or whether "the question" is voiced in a school hallway or not.

Grown men asking that question is far from being the only flaw in the rule's implementation. The students did not find out that only girls on their period can carry purses from any member of the administration; instead, it started as a rumor the week before the bag check.

Hannah Lindquist, another 14-year-old, approached the school's principal, Robert Worden, after hearing someone might have been suspended for protesting. Lindquist, who participated in the protest, was wearing "her protest necklace, an OB tampon box on a piece of yarn," which Worden confiscated before discussing the code of conduct and backpack rule and then "told her she was now 'part of the problem.'"

Not only was Worden's approach disrespectful and minimized her concerns, it was also controlling and very likely to produce a self-fulfilling prophecy in which Lindquist will indeed become "part of the problem."

Students with health issues are also greatly affected, as insulin kits—which are often similar to a men's shaving kit—asthma inhalers, allergy medications, and even retainers, are difficult to keep track of without a bag of some kind. Another concern is the rule many schools still utilize that requires any medications to be kept in a nurse's office—although it is not clear if Tri-Valley is such a school. In many of these cases, a rule such as that can mean the difference between seconds and minutes when minutes can be fatal.

The bag ban could have worked beautifully. Instead, students are protesting and their parents are furious, as they should be. The only people involved in the situation that deserve any positive recognition are the students who spoke out and their parents for supporting them.