An Arizona school district has condemned the in-school discipline at one of its high schools after two boys were forced to hold hands in front of their classmates as a punishment for fighting.

Earlier this week, the two students at Westwood High School in Mesa, Ariz., who have not been named, were faced with the prospect of either suspension from school, or sitting in chairs in the high school’s courtyard and holding hands for 15 minutes during a lunch period. They opted for the latter.

opt for：選擇

“Kids were laughing at them and calling them names, asking, ‘Are you gay?’” student Brittney Smyers told ABC affiliate KNXV.

Teens at the high school inevitably posted photos of the two, who spent the time shielding their faces with their heads in their hands, to social media sites.

On the Facebook posting, users commented that the public punishment is not appropriate, as it positions the teens as targets for taunting and name-calling. Others suggested the punishment was anti-gay, as it implies two males holding hands is embarrassing.

anti-gay：反同性戀的

Helen Hollands, director of communication and marketing for Mesa Public Schools, told that the school’s principal, Tim Richard, who is in his first year at Westwood, had the idea.

“He’s done some great things there,” she said. “He’s focused highly on maintaining a standard where [ideally] no students are failing a class.”

focus highly on：高度集中

Calls placed to Richard by ABC News were not returned.

Once the school district got wind of Richard’s unique punishment, it issued a statement saying it doesn’t condone what the school did.

get wind of：聽聞

“Mesa Public Schools is dedicated to maintaining a safe and supportive learning environment. The district has guidelines for appropriate student discipline and our site administrators have the authority to impose consequences within our policies and regulations,” the statement said.

“The district does not condone the choice of in-school discipline given these students, regardless of their acceptance or willingness to participate. District leadership will address this matter with the school principal and review district protocol regarding student discipline with all administrators.”

Hollands said that the district is aware that many perceived the discipline as bullying and biased.
“The district is looking at how the actions have been perceived,” she said. “That’s a very important piece to know.”

【新聞快訊】根據(jù)美國ABC新聞網(wǎng)的報道，美國亞利桑那州的一所高中的判罰方式近日引起了爭議。兩名高中學(xué)生在課堂上打架，校方在經(jīng)過研究后給出了兩個選擇：停課或者手牽手在學(xué)校的院子里坐15分鐘。兩個男生最終選擇了后者。從圖片中可以看到，被罰的兩名男生遮住了臉，而旁邊圍觀的同學(xué)甚眾。照片被傳到社交網(wǎng)絡(luò)后立刻引起了熱議，很多人對此項判罰表示不認同。

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