At MacArthur Fundamental Intermediate, Principal Mr. Ray Gonzales began the “Good Morning MacArthur” video announcements with a rule reminder:  “There is no more outside candy, if you bring outside candy to school it will be confiscated and the students will receive a consequence,” he said.  This is not a new rule, but it is a re-emphasis on a policy the school already had.

A few minutes later, though, there was an additional announcement that candy would be sold at the student store after school. These two announcements when put together begs a question.  What’s the difference?

The one thing that the students are confused about is that they are not allowed to have candy in school, but they are selling candy at school. Additionally, some students bring lunch from home and they can bring candy, too.  This is not a rule against candy but a regulation on the size of the bag.

One of the possible reasons that this rule exists is that the staff and administration wants to limit the opportunity of passing out candy laced with drugs to students around the school.  Since marijuana legalization, there are a lot more products, like gummies, that could look like regular candy.  By limiting the size of the bag, the policy is attempting to eliminate the opportunity for students to openly pass out large amounts of candies.

As the rule, stands, there is a problem.  What is the correct size of the bag?  Is it by weight? Dimensions? We do not know!  To fix this problem, we should not limit the size of the bag or item but institute a no-sharing policy.  If students cannot share, the rule is more precise than trying to identify the correct size of the bag. 

We already have a rule against candy in the classrooms or hallway during school hours.  Therefore, this only applies to the cafeteria at nutrition or lunch. The no-sharing policy is better because students and teachers don’t have to worry about drugs in the candy. This is why we should have candy at school and eat it and lunch and nutrition.