Hugging Ban Sparks Dispute at Ore. School

BEND, Ore. (AP) - Public displays of affection are against the rules at Sky View Middle School in Bend, and 14-year-old Cazz Altomare found that out the hard way.

She got detention earlier this year after hugging her boyfriend in the hallway as he headed to lunch and she went to gym class.

Her mother, Leslee Swanson was infuriated by the punishment - in fact, when she went to pick her daughter up from detention, she gave her a good, hard hug.

"I'm trying to understand what's wrong with a hug," said Swanson, 42.

But administrators said such policies are standard-issue at middle schools across the country.

"Really, all we're trying to do is create an environment that's focused on learning, and learning proper manners is part of that," said Dave Haack, the principal of Cascade Middle School, also in Bend. "This is not us being the romance police."

Students only end up with detention after repeated warnings, he said.

Outside Pilot Butte Middle School on a recent lunch break, two seventh-grade girls said they disagreed with the school's policies.

"I think we should be able to hold hands or hug at least," Annie Wilson, 12, told The Bulletin in Bend. "Because it's not doing anything bad."

Others are more in favor of the rule, like Christina Barackman, 13, also a Pilot Butte seventh-grader.

"I think they're nice to keep boundaries for kids," she said.

Schools need to define and actively teach what they do want to see in student behavior, said Rob Horner, a University of Oregon professor who works with schools across the nation on "building social culture that supports effective learning."

"To say 'no hugging' really blows it," Horner said. "That's exactly the sort of trap that, as soon as you say that, what is the first thing everyone is going to want to do?"

At home after school on a recent afternoon, Cazz, the Sky View student, described the no-hug rule as "dumb."

"Hugging is like a sign of affection," she said.

Her mother has told her that if she likes Sky View and wants to stay at the school, she'll have to abide by the rules.

But Swanson, the mother, said she wonders if a hugging ban would fly in a more metropolitan place.

For her, this is a politically charged issue.

"The more people blindly accept these fundamental rights being taken away from them, the easier it becomes for them to be taken away," Swanson said.

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Information from: The Bulletin, http://www.bendbulletin.com

My face as I read the title ----->

So stupid.

i think all students should be forced to remain in hyparbaric chambers like that thing prince was stuck in during the '7' video. keeps 'em in line and it prevents the spread of germs.

Anxiety said:

Although you may have something there....

Anxiety said:

wtf?? my friends and i would hug each other all the time in school and nobody said anything...gawd, what the heck's goin on nowadays???

WTF indeed... keep hugging each other kids!!!

GlitterStream said:

i don't want him hugging high school kids either.

Dummy said:

Anxiety said:

what if he gave you one of those special hugs mommy and daddy used to do?

GlitterStream said:

not everyone was raised in an attic like you were, you know.

Anxiety said:

nuh-uh!! i was raised in a hyperbole chamber like everybody else.

When I went to H.S, my principal didn't like girls hugging each other.

There's gotta be more to this. It's probably really about them hugging and their hand disappearing up their gf's ass crack or something.

unlucky7 said:

mine did.

Anxiety said:

what do you mean? Your principal was a pervert getting off on girls hugging?

unlucky7 said:

i bet he did in secret, the perv.

This PC *Protective Chit* is getting way out of hand, it infuriates me as a Non-Mother.. can you imagine how Mothers feel?

REDFEATHERS said:

I don't know what's up with that huggin' shit in the first place. I mean, wtf you gotta hug someone for that badly that it becomes a problem when you can't do it anymore?
[Edited 5/16/05 15:26pm]

JoeyMFinCoco said:

Well I was never huggy at school... but now as an adult I find myself hugging friends family more often.. its to do with social changes.. I mean

NOOOO English person would embrace one another 15 years ago, but now they take on the European tradtion of kissing each other on the cheek.. this was never done before..


so I am not saying hugging smoochiness, just hugging as a friend, like you do too..

REDFEATHERS said:

No, I mean, so you can't hug at school anymore. Big deal. It was probably because they weren't just giving hugs but getting all clingy and shit.

This is the dumbest shit I've heard in a long time.

So when another school shooting happens somewhere and the students are standing around traumatized after the incident, they're to refrain from comforting one another with hugs or they'll get into trouble?

What the hell has happened to this country???

TMPletz said:

it's crazy!*































* don't touch me.

Sweeny79 said:

Even worse someone thought it was newsworthy though.

Come on ya'll, it was in the school's rules. Where was the outrage from the students and parents when it was made a rule? As per usual, folks didn't give a fuck until it affected them personally.

TheOrgerFormerlyKnownAs said:

Some rules have a way of sliding themselves in unnoticed by the greater good. I don't know if that was the case here, however. Need more information.

Where else are you going to learn first base other than school? This is just wrong on so many levels. There is nothing wrong with hugging!

Sweeny79 said:

Agreed.

see...stupid shit like this just makes oregon look bad...geez

when i was in school, we always hugged...in fact i actually told people 'i cant have a hug if i cant have a kiss'...funny, i got more offers 4 hugs after that