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A Harmless Kiss on the Hand is Sexual Harassment?

There seems to be an increase in the lack of common sense these days. According to CNN, a six year old boy has been suspended from school for kissing another student on the hand. The boy, first grader Hunter Yelton, is more than confused with the outcome of his innocent act towards a female student he has a crush on. In his defense he said, “It was during class. We were doing reading group, and I leaned over and kissed her on the hand. That’s what happened.” The school has accused the child of sexual harassment. His mother, Jennifer Saunders, is outraged, as would be expected by any sane person in the same situation. She commented, “This is taking it to an extreme that doesn’t need to be met with a six-year-old. Now my son’s asking questions, ‘What is sex, mommy?'”

The boy has a history with problematic behavior in the past, including getting suspended for rough-housing other kids and for kissing the same girl on the cheek. His parents have been dealing with his “class disruptions” by grounding him and using “big restrictions.” The superintendent of the school, Robin Gooldy, maintains that the boy’s record will stand since his behavior exactly fits the school’s description of sexual harassment and “unwanted touching.” Gooldy went on to say, “Our main interest in this is having the behavior stop because the story is not just about the student that was disciplined, it is also about the student receiving the unwanted advances. We have to think about both students in the situation.”

However, both students seem fine with what happened between them. The girl student is “fine with it” because she and Hunter see themselves as girlfriend and boyfriend. Hunter’s mother is determined to have her son’s record cleared. His mother also commented, “Remove it from his record. I need to stand up and fight for him. I can’t just let that happen because it’s not the case. It’s not what happened at all.” As for Hunter himself, he is clearly confused, but feels sorry for doing something “wrong” and he tries to be “good in school.”

Image Credit: CNN

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