Cost of Drinking Beer: No Commencement

For parents who enroll their children in the private Village Christian Schools in Sun Valley, one of the attractions is a strict conduct code that prohibits smoking, drinking, drug use and immorality--on or off campus.

But three parents said school officials went too far when they decided that nine of the 116 graduating seniors could not sit on stage during Friday night’s graduation ceremonies at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in the Hollywood Hills.

‘Witch Hunt’

The nine students had admitted actions that the school board found unacceptable. Most of the violations involved drinking beer at off-campus parties, although one student said she was included in the group because she became pregnant last year and gave birth to a girl. Eight of the nine attended Friday’s commencement at Forest Lawn’s Hall of Liberty.

Dolores Moss, mother of one of the boys, said she thought the students were unfairly singled out for punishment by school officials.

“We feel there’s been a witch hunt,” said Moss, who stood outside the auditorium before the graduation, passing out flyers that explained her position.

She contends that school officials overreacted after a recent investigation into drug use that led to the expulsion of five other students.

8 ‘Singled Out’

During that investigation, her son was mentioned as someone who may have been involved in drinking, Moss and school officials said. After her son and several others admitted that they drank this year, they were disciplined. But those who denied involvement graduated without incident, Moss said. Moreover, only some of the seniors were even asked about drinking, she said.

If the school did not have time to question all the seniors, Moss said, “then they shouldn’t single out just these eight students.”

JoAnne Baltau, the mother of a student who became pregnant at the end of her junior year, said she asked the school board to let her daughter, Wendy Wood, 18, return for her final semester, but the board refused.

Although Wood earned enough credits for a diploma through tutoring, her mother went to the board in May because Wood wanted to take part in commencement. The board refused two weeks ago but last week decided to let her participate--from a seat in the audience, Wood said. The decision came so late that the school’s program listed her as graduating in absentia.

“How much punishment is enough?” Baltau asked. “They already took her senior year away from her.”

Another mother, who asked not to be identified, said she was proud of the students because they risked their own graduation yet refused to implicate others. “As far as I’m concerned,” she said, “that school owes these kids an apology.”

Village Christian Schools’ board decided last week that the nine students could receive their diplomas but would not be permitted to march in or to sit on stage with their classmates. The nine also were barred from attending the class graduation party at Disneyland.

Principal Reads Statement

After the students on stage received their diplomas Friday night, Principal David Wilson read a statement explaining why some students were seated in the audience instead of on stage.

“What distinguishes these students from their peers is not necessarily behavior or actions that they have done that are unique to them alone, but rather the fact that, when confronted or exposed, these students had the courage to own up to it, to acknowledge their actions, and to accept consequences,” the statement said in part.

Although it did not approve of the students’ actions, the school board decided to let the students graduate because of their honesty and because the school learned of the incidents so late in the year, Wilson said.

After the eight students received their diplomas at their seats, their classmates rose in a noisy ovation while most of the estimated 1,300 people in the audience applauded.

But Moss questioned why students were punished for their honesty, while many other seniors who drank this year walked across the stage with diploma in hand.

Village Christian Supt. Jeff Woodcock said he believes that students at the school rarely use drugs or alcohol. But several graduating seniors and members of recent graduating classes said drinking is fairly common at parties.

Drinking Admitted

One red-gowned youth, interviewed before his graduation on stage, said he drank this year. Another student, when asked about drinking, smiled and said: “No comment.” A third student said: “I went to parties, but I stand on the Fifth Amendment.” They asked not to be identified.

Although the school punishes students who are found to be drinking or violating regulations in a student-parent handbook, the school is not on a witch hunt and does not act on hearsay, Wilson said. In this case, students were called in and asked whether or not they drank.

“We don’t get any joy in catching them,” Wilson said. Nor does the school “look for kids who drink with their parents in their home--that’s the parents’ responsibility.”

But the school has and will continue to punish students who are found in violation of the rules, he said.

Indeed, school officials could have taken a much tougher stand against the students who admitted drinking.

‘They Got a Break’

“In fact, they got a break,” Wilson said. “If this would have happened in the middle of the year, they would have been expelled.”

Wilson said he could understand the concerns of parents who were upset at the school board’s decision. “When it gets to be your child, it’s tough,” he said.

Parents sign a contract at the beginning of the school year that spells out the behavior that is expected of their children by the school, the principal said.

Los Angeles city school officials, in contrast, have no control over the actions of their students once they leave school, unless they are attending a school function. “We have no jurisdiction over a student’s private life,” said Bill Rivera, school district spokesman.

But parents send their children to Village Christian elementary and secondary schools in part because they don’t like what they see in public schools, Wilson said.

“They want a Christian atmosphere. They want an atmosphere that is stricter.”