SCHOOL WATCH : Love Story

Ah, spring! The time of year when a young man’s (and a young woman’s) fancy lightly turns to thoughts of . . . of public displays of affection of the type frowned upon at Mission Viejo High School.

The school’s dean of students, Toby Thurlow, dispatched a memo on the subject to faculty and campus supervisors a few weeks back. Thurlow gently harrumphed that he and several faculty members were seeing more and more couples “hanging on each other in an inappropriate manner.” He warned that the “touching, feeling, fondling, kissing, etc. is not to be condoned on campus.”

But exactly what actions are inappropriate? Apparently it’s a case of you know it when you see it. Neither Thurlow nor the school’s principal drew a line in the sand on specifics, but they did say holding hands and goodby kisses were OK.

Violators of the amorous correctness code may be warned for a first offense, sent to afternoon detention or Saturday school for a second trespass and suspended for a third strike. But showing they have a heart, and a practical manner, administrators said there won’t really be suspensions.

Many students were unaware of the memo, others supported it and some had gotten the wrong information, believing it barred hugs and kisses and set up an 18-inch no-contact zone. School officials said similar policies are on the books at numerous schools, with enforcement left up to the common sense and good judgment of the faculty.

That seems fair, because sometimes a kiss is just a kiss.