I am a student at a middle school that indiscriminately institutes assigned seating in the cafeteria whenever a minor incident takes place or someone behaves improperly. Instead of dealing with the individuals involved, the school administration applies a blanket punishment for all. We understand the need for discipline, but we believe it should apply only to those responsible for the misbehavior, not the entire student population who are merely there to eat and socialize peacefully.

Just recently there was a fight in the cafeteria and everyone got assigned seating instead of just getting the people who were fighting and the people who took videos in trouble the whole 8th grade got in trouble. Now we have assigned seating for like 2 or 3 weeks.

Our plea is to our school administration to follow a disciplinary approach that is fair and appropriate, which would consider individual actions rather than collective punishment. This will foster responsibility and respect among us students, teach us the real meaning of consequences for our actions, and create a harmonious and just school environment.

Please, sign our petition to end collective punishment in our middle school cafeteria.