Stronger Than Brain

Reader David Straub points us to this report on Amanda Stiles, the high school sophomore in Bossier Parish, LA who has been expelled for having Advil in her purse.

Call me a relentlessly sunny optimist, but whenever I hear these zero tolerance horror stories, I always figure there must be something more to it—a dispute about whether the stuff was really Advil, a punch thrown during the search, even a prior record or a long-simmering feud between the student and the principal—anything that would suggest there's something more to the insanity than just, well, insanity. No such luck:

Superintendent Ken Kruithof said after the board meeting that the school system is following a state law that requires a one-year expulsion and being consistent in the system's "zero-tolerance" policy.

That, by the way, was a board meeting where the vote was unanimous to uphold Stiles' expulsion after her mother challenged the decision. So a group of adults with open eyes decided expelling a teenager for Advil possession was good pedagogic practice.