6.19.2006

It's MONDAY MEME!...
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This happened right here in my neck of the woods...


CLIO - High School Principal Keith Smith says he doesn't mind being the butt of a good-natured joke, but he wants two graduating seniors to know his backside is off limits.

Smith filed a
'sexual assault complaint' with police after Sunday's commencement ceremony at the Clio Amphitheater, claiming the male students reached around him and grabbed his backside when he tried to congratulate them for their graduation.

"These two chose to touch me on the butt and rub it," Smith said Monday. "They are 18. They are adults. It's not OK."

Still, some thought Smith was going too far over what might have been graduation high jinks.

On Wednesday, Smith
'dropped a criminal complaint' he filed against two male high school seniors who he claimed rubbed his buttocks when he congratulated them on stage at Sunday's commencement ceremony.

WEIGH IN... Do you think the Clio High School principal went too far in filing a police complaint over the butt-grabbing incident!?! Or did the students deserve a lesson!?! (be sure to read why he dropped the complaint before making your decision)

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9 comments:

Hale McKay said...

For laughs, I am making this comment in two parts. The first part is before reading the rest of the story.
..."Could it be, he actually liked it?" Seriously, maybe he misinterpreted the boys' actions.

Part two isafter reading the rest of the story.
..."It appears he over-reacted. It looks like he dropped the charges realizing his claims were exaggerated. He doesn't sound sincere - probably under pressure by a smart(?) lawyer to drop it.

"Then again, maybe he liked it."

Jay Noel said...

Sounds like to me, the principal was just trying to scare the two guys. To be perfectly honest, in the REAL world, while in public, you can't just grab someone's butt cheeks and rub them.

The amoeba said...

On the one hand, insufficient data. Were the boys football players? Did the boys have discipline problems? What was the relationship if any between the boys and the principal before the graduation exercises? Had the school had a lot of issues with inappropriate sexual conduct in the last year? Only with this information can I begin to feel that I might know enough to say something productive.

On the other hand ... in a world full of war (at our instigation!), genocide, torture, racial intolerance, billionaires cavorting in the midst of destitution, a middle class disappearing at the behest of those billionaires and in the swamp of its own wantonness - this has got our attention???

Karen said...

croak~ love your aussie point of view.

hale~ ya got me thinkin'.

phoenix~ yer right...grabbing butt cheeks in the real world would be labeled *sexual harassment*.

o~ "this has got our attention???"...

...here's another follow-up in yesterday's paper:

"Some people might say we hit bottom with our articles on "Buttgate." The response from readers, however, tells me that many of you think otherwise."


btw, here's what I said, it's printed in the 'QUICK TAKE' section of the second article on the right-hand side...
"The Clio High School principal did not go too far in filing a police complaint over the butt-grabbing incident. If it would have been the other way around, the students and their parents would have filed a complaint and everyone would have backed them."

Jolynn said...

This story is weird. It almost reads like a spoof. I guess that maybe criminal charges is a tad bit harsh and he was right not wanting to drag the school district into it making me think it really wasn't a big deal or nothing really happened. I didn't read the entire article so I'm unaware of any witnesses? It's just weird. Why would they want to grab their principals butt?

Fred said...

"Thou dost protest too much, sir"

He probably loved it.

Karen said...

jolynn~ think the butt grabbin' guy thingy should be left on the football field! lol!

fred~ wonder what would have happened if principal would have turned 'round and kicked them in the balls! *snort*

Carina said...

Hey neighbor! :)
I followed that in the Flint Gerbil, and they carefully avoided mentioning the gender of the students unless I missed something.
I wonder if he would've filed a complaint if they were female students. Things that make you go hmmmm.
I think there should have been some consequence but yes, criminal charges was an overreaction and made him look like a wuss.

puppytoes said...

what is it with with high school graduations/so-called disciplinary issues? last week a girl was forced to leave hers for waving at folks in the stands as she walked past them...

as for *this* guy? sounds like a BAD case of over reaction. i'm guessing his days as principal are numbered. talk about "touchy"! yeesh!