one of my kids is under de facto suspension for complimenting a girl's haircut. the student who has been suspended has recently declared that she's a lesbian, and when she told the other girl that her hair looked nice, the girl said "i don't go like that." a simple compliment escalated, and the principal decided that it would be best for the school climate if my student would keep her compliments to herself... and head home for a little while, until things rolled over. he tried to get her to take her GED, so that she wouldn't have to come back... and then he mentioned night school.

for god's sake, people - a little bit of "can't we just get along?" goes a long way.