A Virginia beach middle school suspended sixth grader Adrionna Harris for ten days — and recommended expulsion — because she was briefly in possession of a razor blade after she confiscated it from a friend who was trying to kill himself.
Last week at Bayside Middle School in Virginia Beach, Va., Harris found a classmate attempting to cut his own arm with a tiny razor blade. She grabbed it from him and threw it away. Harris told WAVY.com that she didn’t have time to get a teacher or administrator–the boy was in the act of trying to harm himself.
“There was not a teacher in sight while this boy was cutting himself, she felt like it was almost like a 911 situation that sh had to help immediately, like there wasn’t time to find a teacher,” said Adrionna’s mother in a statement.
Adrionna noted that she threw the razor blade away immediately. (RELATED: School forces half-naked, sopping wet student to stand outside, frostbite results)
“I was just trying to help,” she said. “I didn’t like flash it or wave it at anyone. I took it and threw it away.”
But possession of a razor blade — even for mere seconds, even if there was a very good reason — violates the school district’s zero tolerance weapons policy. Harris was suspended for 10 days. Administrators recommended her for expulsion. (RELATED: Felony weapons charge for student who brought fishing supplies to school)
Still, even knowing the punishment she faces, Harris told reporters she would have done it the same way all over again.
“Even if I did get in trouble, it didn’t matter as long as I am helping him,” she said.
Thanks to media scrutiny of the incident, administrators moved up Harris’s disciplinary hearing to Thursday. The family hopes that the board will deem Harris innocent after hearing the story again.
Zero tolerance policies are increasingly drawing fire from all sides of the political spectrum. (RELATED: Obama agrees: School officials upholding suspension of finger gun-wielding kid are idiots)