Skittles Sends Student Packing

Kid Suspended for Buying Skittles at School

March 14, 2008

When I was in high school we had vending machines with sodas, potato chips and candy. Never mind that I went to Willy Wonka High but, nowadays many school districts have banned the selling of unsavory products as part of a school wellness policy.

To see what happened to a student in Connecticut, read more.

In New Haven, Connecticut, one kid paid the price for his sweet tooth. Unaware of the "crime" he was about to commit, eighth grader Michael Sheridan bought a bag of Skittles from a classmate. When he was caught doing the deed, the honors student was reportedly suspended for a day, forced to relinquish his throne as class vice president, and banned from an honors student dinner.

This all seems a tad harsh for a sugar high — do you think the punishment fit the crime?

18 Comments

milosmommy 5 years 10 weeks

I'm with you phat...I think it's the parents responsibilty to ensure that their kids eat helthy not the schools. And for goodness sakes let kids be kids once in a while. While eating sweets all the time obviously is bad for you, indulging once in a while isn't going to hurt anything. And it teaches moderation. If you never ever let your child have any sugary treats or "bad for you food" then as soon as they get out from underneath your rule they'll go crazy and over-indulge. I think the school went over board with this one big time.

phatE 5 years 10 weeks

I DON'T agree with the wellness policy, or the no sugar rule schools are enforcing. And this is one of the reasons. A BAG OF SKITTLES. holy crap people, what is more innocent than skittles?! if your child is overweight, it's YOUR job as a parent to take action.. up until recently, skittles, candy, cupcakes on your birthday were all part of childhood! Restricting like this only will lead to more problems down the road.. It's about moderation, and it's unbelievable that now kids can't even celebrate birthdays or buy a bag of candy.. why don't we educate instead of deprive?

LiLRuck44 5 years 10 weeks

I agree with the wellness policy, even though I don't think the school's choices for healthy food are that healthy... at all. Robin you can easily find incredible tasting organic food... and it isn't very hard to find a snack that doesn't have sugar as the first ingredient. I also have to wonder if the rules are very clear at his school? If the kid was being sneaky and dileberately breaking the rules, he should accept the consequences, honor student or not. I mean, suspending him from the dinner... is that a choice by the administration or is it just policy for suspended kids?

bidds626 5 years 10 weeks

that is soooo silly. I used to buy the big bags of sweettart ducks for $1 off of boys in middle school and though it was frowned upon by some teachers ( by learning the discrete nature of drug dealing, perhaps?) it was never reported or punished in such a manner. poor kids can't have any fun anymore. we survived for years doing these "unsafe" things that many kids can't do now.

BlueKitten 5 years 10 weeks

And the wussification of America continues.

RobinFabulous 5 years 10 weeks

We live in AL and our schools have the "wellness" policy too. If you bring a premade treat neither of the first two ingredients can be sugar or HFCS. Its hard. I have a kindergartner that has to provide snack once a month for the class, and a 3rd grader that has to have a snack daily. They also prefer individual servings for the kindergartners. My youngest just had his birthday and I had to order his cupcakes from an organic bakery that used whole wheat flour and some crap for icing. I just wonder how much harder it is in the classes that have food allergies to think about. I want my children to be healthy, but how sad is it that we can't even send cupcakes to celebrate a birthday? My sister is at the high school and they only are allowed milk, 100% fruit juice and bottled water. If a teacher sees them with any other drinks they are supposed to discard them. Which really sucks, because I bought her protein smoothies to drink for breakfast. :-(

sweetnshy5282 5 years 10 weeks

I cannot believe that!! my school used to sell us candy and sugary foods at lunch time... mentos, giant lifesavers, chocolate chip cookies, icecream sundaes. I can see them not wanting those foods served in schools any more because of the obesity crisis...but to suspend a child over a bag of skittles?! it's candy not crack!! and not let him attend the honors student dinner? and demote him from student body vice president? that suspension will always be on his school records and he earned his title as VP and he probably worked very hard to earn good grades to get on honor roll. I am appalled and I hope his parents fight to get him a clean record. Ridiculous!!

kikidawn 5 years 10 weeks

Oh dear Lord that's insane!!!

PJ PJ PJ 5 years 10 weeks

Stina, I'm that old too! We sold all kinds of candies. We even sold frozen pop sticks. Their punishment is ridiculous.

CaterpillarGirl 5 years 10 weeks

I used to sell toothpicks soaked in cinnamon oil at school and got busted, but only warned not to sell them again because they were potentially dangerous, i guess some orally challenged person could accidentally stab thier mouth with them. anyway, we also had alot of people selling candy (mostly peanut m&Ms for some reason) and they were aloud to do so. These days, no one is aloud to do jack squat without the man coming down on them for fear of allergies, unfairness, unhealthiness....how i miss those un pc days.

lickety split 5 years 10 weeks

one step below crack baby. it all starts with that first bag and then you're hooked :ROTFL: when the kid goes for his high school interview and is asked what the suspension was for i want to hear the admissions officer's response. stupid. and yes i know that's a mean word :raspberry:

HipMom 5 years 10 weeks

I agree with the no sugar policy at schools - sugar and artificial flavors (together with allergies) create reactions in many kids that are often mistaken for ADHD, and I understand why the school woulnd't want to deal with that. Junk food isn'r exactly brain food!! I do think, however, that the punishment was a little over the top. What about the kid who was selling the candy??

JennyJen 5 years 10 weeks

This is rediculous. I mean it was a bag of skittles! Insane that our society has com eto this type of treatment. And I bet the lunch menu at this school is completely healthy! Maybe teh parent should start a full blown analysis of what teh school is feeding the kids and compare that to the skittles for health benifits.

Shopaholichunny 5 years 10 weeks

:OY: RIDICULOUS! :OY: Like they have nothing better to crack down on! :COCKTAIL:

Liss 5 years 10 weeks

This is ridiculous! They should be more concerned with the kids smoking in the bathroom!

vinnie 5 years 10 weeks

That is SO over the top! Shouldn't they be concentrating on scholastics?

thegadgetlady 5 years 10 weeks

I couldn't have said it better than stina. Give me a break. That school should be apologizing to him. If I were that kid's parents, I'd fight it to the bone.

stina829 5 years 10 weeks

You HAVE to be kidding me... When I was in highschool, the different clubs would SELL candy bars as a fundraiser??? I'm not THAT old. Ok, I've been out of school over 10 years, but still. Ridiculous. It's just skittles. It's not crack cocaine or something. Give me a break.

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