65 students were suspended on their last day at a Grand Rapids area high school after riding their bikes to school (see the article here). They arranged for police and the mayor as escorts providing legitimacy and safety. However, the principle of the school considered their ride an inconvenience for traffic and a safety hazard.
Not only was the ride legal, but contacting the police to arrange an escort shows that safety was considered and addressed for the activity and that the students were behaving respectfully.
This frustrates me. The principal made a decision that ruined 65 seniors' last day of school because they rode their bikes together for transportation. I empathize with her concern for keeping the students safe, but her response seems uninformed about proper bicycle riding and the relationship between bicycles and motorized traffic. The article notes that the students claimed a lane of the road. However, another lane was still available for cars.
I think that the principal overreacted here. Your thougths?
Not quite sure the pricipal has a case for suspension. The activity happened away from school and not during school hours. The parents should address the school board and demand corrective action and the principal should focus on bad behaviors, not good clean fun!
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