WESTLAND, Mich – Hazel Juco says she was concerned when she saw discolored water coming from a sink in the girl’s restroom at school.
However, she had no idea that she would be suspended because of a picture she took.
Juco says she snapped a photo of the water and posted it to her social media pages, hoping that someone would notice and the problem would be fixed.
Instead of getting help, she was called to the office.
“They told me I was being suspended for three days, OSS [Out of School Suspension], for taking a picture. It is inappropriate use of electronics in the restroom,” she told WXYZ. “And everyone in my school, every girl takes, like, selfies in the bathroom and makes it their profile picture on Twitter or Facebook or whatever. No one has gotten in trouble.”
Dr. Michele Harmala, the superintendent for Wayne-Westand Community Schools, says she looked into the issue and immediately sent a plumber to fix the original problem.
Also, she says the rule against cell phones in the bathroom is to prevent inappropriate pictures of people, not of building issues.
Harmala says the punishment is inappropriate, adding that she will ensure the suspension is taken off of Juco’s record.