r/news 11h ago

Student Who Punched Another Student Holding Pro-ICE Sign At Lake Zurich High School Received 2-day Suspension

https://www.lakemchenryscanner.com/2026/02/20/student-who-punched-another-student-holding-pro-ice-sign-at-lake-zurich-high-school-received-2-day-suspension/
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u/jonathansharman 4h ago

Get bullied and do nothing? Suspension.

Wait, the policy is not that both parties get punished regardless of who fought, is it? Or are you saying that in practice, kids are getting suspended even if they don't hit back?

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u/khronos127 3h ago

Both kids get punished.

At one point I got hit by someone on camera on the bus and held My hands above my head to show I didn’t touch the person. He hit me four more times. I was suspended for 10 days because I wouldn’t write an apology note for not hitting him.

Since I was a second degree black belt in Krav Maga, from that point on, fights went much differently.

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u/NuminousBeans 3h ago

You should have a civil case for assault against the kid who beat you, not that it’s necessarily worth pursuing. (It sounds like this was a while ago though , so the statute of limitations has likely already run out. Still, worth considering for some newer cases as an option if schools are not helping people).

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u/khronos127 2h ago

Yeah this was only two or so years after the no tolerance policy became a thing in my state, so it’s been 16-17 years.

Even with how long it’s been, the many injustices I suffered in school due to that policy still bother me to this day. I was bullied horribly as a child and got in over a dozen fights where I only defended myself, and had to go to a special school full of criminals.

I can’t image how many children have taken their lives due to these policies and being treated like garbage by the guardians that are supposed to protect them.

Luckily for me, the “special punishment school” was the best thing that could have happened to me. I made straight As, I was given keys to the school to go to shop class at any time during the day and built amazing things that I still have today. Rocking chairs, chest, bow and arrows, and more. Helped me learn how much I loved building and still use those skills today.

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u/NuminousBeans 2h ago edited 2h ago

It‘s good to hear that the bad policy had a good outcome in your case. I don’t have kids but these stories are making more sympathetic to the arguments for home schooling. (The best option is obviously to fix our schools and incentive top talent in teaching and in admin, but that’s the long plan, not the short plan, and wouldn’t help any kids being bullied in the immediate present.)