Honor Student Punished by School for Picking Up Drunk Friend from Party
A Massachusetts high school senior has been stripped of her title as captain of the volleyball team and suspended for five games after she was caught with a bunch of other teens at an underage drinking party.
But, as it turned out (and confirmed by the police), Erin Cox wasn't there to drink — she was there to pick up a friend who was too drunk to drive.
But as far as North Andover High School is concerned, the 17-year-old honor student violated the district's zero tolerance alcohol and drug policy just the same.
"If a kid asks for help from a friend, you don’t want that kid to say ‘I’m sorry I can’t help you. I might end up in trouble at school,'" family attorney Wendy Murphy told CBS Boston.
A lawsuit filed by the family in District Court last week was rejected after the judge ruled that the court lacked jurisdiction.
"The school is really trying to take a very serious and principled stand regarding alcohol," Geoffrey Bak, North Andorver's lawyer, told the Boston Herald.
It's unclear what the school would have had Erin do instead — let the teen drive home drunk? — but, for Erin, the choice was clear.
And, asked if she would do it again knowing what she knows now about the school's intransigent policy, Erin said she would.
