Have a Little Faith
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- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
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The hoopla this past week in Scarsdale caused me to reflect on our family’s experiences with the police and the administration at Scarsdale High School. Thinking back to my son’s senior year, I realized that we had been confronted with a similar situation, but unlike the Labor Day incident this year, it was quickly resolved. Though parents today are reluctant to involve the authorities when there is trouble, we had no choice.
On a frigid January night, unbeknownst to his parents, my son witnessed a fight at the Golden Horseshoe parking lot, which pitted a few Scarsdale boys against some kids from New Rochelle. To this day, I don’t know exactly what happened, but a golf club was pulled from a car trunk and a friend of my son’s emerged from the fight with a broken hand.
My son drove the injured boy away from the scene and his parents called the police. The next day, the Scarsdale police asked my son to come in and tell them what had occurred. We were not aware that he went to the police, but in typical fashion my son wrote a lengthy account of the fight. Calling on his experience in the mock trial and debate clubs, he saw no need to consult his parents or a lawyer.
A day later we found out about his visit to the police and we were terrified. Would his early decision acceptance to college be rescinded or would he be suspended from school? My son seemed certain that he had only been called in as a witness and that he was not in trouble.
We held our breaths and waited a few weeks, and as my son promised, nothing whatsoever happened.
A good friend shared a similar story of her daughter’s brush with the law when she was a senior at Scarsdale High School and a captain of the Varsity Soccer Team. While her parents and the parents of several teammates were enjoying dinner in the city, she held a gathering at her house. One thing led to another and she was suddenly surrounded by way too many kids who were drinking at the house.
The police arrived and the distressed girl decided to take the rap for her friends. She was given a summons for serving alcohol to minors, which is a misdemeanor, and had to go to court. The judge required her to do 20 hours of community service and the SHS Soccer Coach pulled her from two soccer games. No mark appeared on her school transcript and today she is a very successful college senior who plans to go into public service.
In both instances, the students were dealt with fairly by the law and the school and they learned a valuable life lesson.
In my current role as a reporter, I have the pleasure of meeting weekly with the Scarsdale Police to review the blotter. When incidents involving kids under the age of 18 are reported, their names are omitted from the reports. In addition, those under 18 have youthful offender status and their records are sealed. I have found that the Scarsdale police do everything they can to teach young offenders a lesson while safeguarding their identities and records so that their mishaps will not affect their futures.
Scarsdale High School has a philosophy similar to the police. In the student handbook it says, “Scarsdale High School generally believes in maintaining confidentiality in matters of student discipline. Our goal is to help students learn from their mistakes, most of which are minor violations of school rules, and thus we consider most disciplinary infractions an internal matter among students, their parents, and the institution.
In discussing the Labor Day incident many commented that the Code of Conduct did not apply as school was not in session and the incident occurred off school grounds. However, the Scarsdale student Code of Conduct clearly states that students must abide by the code whether they are on or off school property, when school is in session and even when it is not. Here is the wording from the handbook:
These expectations apply to every student involved in sports or club activities whether on or off the school premises and regardless of whether school is in session at the time of the conduct. Students who do not adhere to those standards are subject to disciplinary action by the school administration and/or the Fairness Committees.
Though it is a far-reaching policy, it is the one we have adopted and must respect. If we do, I think we will all be better for it. In my view, trust needs to be restored between the police, the school and parents so that together we can instill good morals and good judgment in our kids. When students go astray it is essential that parents follow protocol and trust in the authorities and the school to take action according to code. Their children should be fairly treated and learn that some rules cannot be broken. Hopefully they will emerge from their travails as better young adults. I fear that those who do an end run around the authorities to protect their children ultimately sabotage themselves.
What About That Fight?
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- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
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Many SHS parents were surprised to receive a September 29 letter from Principal John Klemme discussing a fight that had occurred at a private party over Labor Day Weekend where two students were seriously injured.
Though no one is talking, the story on the street is that up to 30 students, including some members of the football and boy’s soccer teams were involved in a brutal fight at a private home. One student’s nose was shattered and another had injuries to his ribs. Both were taken to the hospital for treatment, though police were not called and no incident report was filed.
Since the Scarsdale High School Athletic Code dictates that students who misbehave on or off school grounds will be punished and may lose their privilege to participate on the team, Principal John Klemme and Assistant Principal Fred Goldberg interviewed suspects and attempted to find out what happened and who is to blame.
From his letter, it is clear that no one wanted to talk, including the students who were battered or their parents. According to Klemme, “Perhaps more disheartening for our school and its relationship with the community, however, is that while we teach and rely upon honesty, respect, trust, and integrity, some students and adults have adopted a "code of silence" that protects the guilty and sends disturbing messages to all.
Unlike the infamous homecoming event in 2003 where drunk students were taken straight from the high school to the hospital, this event occurred off campus and there were no official witnesses. After the homecoming incident, Klemme made extensive inquiries and some students were suspended from school, based on information gleaned from other students. As the suspensions appeared on student’s transcripts there were many heated exchanges between angry parents, students and the administration at that time.
In this case, there was a brutal fight and perhaps someone should be called on the carpet rather than sweeping the entire incident under the rug. No one seems to want to be caught in the glare of the police headlights or be held accountable in the principal’s office. The Athletic Code does not appear to be enforceable when students and parents refuse to cooperate with coaches and school administrators.
By shielding their children from any disciplinary action parents may be doing them a disservice. When bad behavior goes unchecked, children can be empowered to continue to act out and get into even bigger trouble, assuming their parents can bail them out.
Rather than simply let this blow over, should the school enforce a punishment for the two teams that were involved? Even though the entire teams were not present, should the school let students know that this kind of behavior will not be tolerated in the future? How about canceling a game, scheduling a face-to-face meeting with the two teams or requiring a day of community service? This would give students the opportunity to ponder what happened, diffuse the anger and hopefully give them pause before engaging in another brutal exchange.
What do you think? Is what happens outside of school a private matter or should the school take action? Please share your thoughts below.
Con Edison to Make Infrastructure Improvements in Greenacres
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Con Edison is working to improve Scarsdale's power infrastructure. Work will be done in Greenacres where continued non-storm and storm-related outages were brought to the attention of Assemblywoman Amy Paulin. After being told about the outages by a Greenacres resident, Paulin held a meeting with Scarsdale and Con Edison officials. During the meeting Con Edison laid out their plans to fix the electrical problems.
The work will include the installation of new poles, transformers, and 6,500 feet of new insulated wire to reduce power outages caused by tree contact. Additional fuses will be installed to help isolate power outages so fewer homes are affected when an outage does occur. The utility company said the improvements are set to be completed by the beginning of 2011. According to Con Edison Electric Operations General Manager Anthony Suozzo, "The infrastructure upgrades and installation of additional fuses will serve to improve electric reliability in that area."
People who live in the Greenacres are relieved to hear about the upgrades. "We appreciate Assemblywoman Paulin's effort in bringing together power company and village officials in response to our neighborhood's concerns," said Deborah Pekarek, President of the Greenacres Neighborhood Association. Scarsdale Mayor Carolyn Stevens said, "I'm hopeful that this will be a solution for the folks in Greenacres who have been dealing with these problems over the last 20 years. This is a step in the right direction from Con Edison."
Often Con Edison cuts down trees when working on the wires. Scarsdale10583 called and emailed a Con Edison spokesperson to find out how many trees would need to be removed, if residents would be informed before a tree was taken down in front of their house and to determine if there is an official policy on tree removal. Calls and emails were not answered.
New Green Space Planned For The Village
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The trailer that housed the sales office for the Christie Place apartments at the corner of Christie Place and Chase Road has finally been torn down. The Ginsburg Development Corporation owns the property and landscaping plans to make this into a green corner of the Village were part of the original deal.
Though there has been a long delay in restoring the property, the Village is awaiting a final site plan from GDC. Once approved, GDC is committed to installing a bluestone or stamped concrete walkway from the Chateaux Apartments to Chase Road as well as shrubs and greenery. Hopefully the landscaping work will serve to shield residents of the Chateaux Apartments from the noise from the patio at Chat Restaurant.
The project is slated for completion this fall.
Fall Happenings from the Scarsdale Forum
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The Scarsdale Forum (TVCCEF) presents its first Sunday Speaker Series program on Sunday, October 17th at the Scarsdale Woman’s Club, 27 Drake Road at 3 p.m.
Financial journalist Tom Herman who wrote for The Wall Street Journal for more than 40 years will discuss “The Economy and the 2010 Elections”. Herman currently teaches an undergraduate seminar “Behind the Headlines: The Press, Business and the Economy” at Yale University and a course on business and financial news coverage at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. He writes a weekly column “Ask Dow Jones” in The Wall Street Journal Sunday, a personal finance section that appears in approximately 70 newspapers and is a columnist for The Fiscal Times, an online news organization.
The Sunday Speaker Series programs are open to the public, free of charge and are underwritten in part by a generous grant from the Irving J. Sloan Education Fund, made possible by the Liz Claiborne-Arthur Ortenberg Foundation.
On Thursday October 7, The Forum invites the public, free of charge, to its membership meeting in the Scott Room of the Scarsdale Library at 8 pm. A welcome reception will begin at 7:30 p.m.
At the meeting, Mayor Carolyn Stevens will present the “State of the Village” and Eric Staffin of the Intergovernmental Relations Committee will moderate a panel discussion “Being Prepared: Emergency Management, the Village and You”. Panelists include Scarsdale’s Chief of Police John A. Brogan and Fire Chief Tom Cain as well as Commissioner Anthony W. Sutton, DES, Westchester County.
The Scarsdale Forum is a 106 year old civic club dedicated to improving life in Scarsdale. The Forum studies issues before the Village and County governing boards and provides input to them via reports and recommendations. Scarsdale residents are encouraged to join and participate in the process.
For more information, visit their website, call (914-723-2829) or e-mail office@scarsdaleforum.com.
