Skittles - The Crunchy Candy Contraband

We used to think my brother loved pickles.  I'd hear him in the morning while our Mom was packing our lunch for school, "two cups, Mom, don't forget!"  We found out later, about 20  years later, that my brother didn't really like pickles at all  - he only liked peddling pickles, a dime a pop, to the pickle fiends he knew from class.  He didn't break the bank, but always had extra change for Gatorade after practice.  Gatorade he liked.

My brother's known for being financially savvy, very entrepreneurial, so when he confessed his business on the side I wasn't too surprised.  I'm not sure the teachers or administrators knew about it, but I'm not sure they would have cared too much either.  But it wasn't 2008, and we didn't go to school in New Haven, Connecticut. 

Apparently, in New Haven, you can be tossed from the student council, barred from an honors reception, and suspended for a day of school if you're part of a pickle-peddling scheme, well, maybe not pickles, but a special kind of contraband nonetheless.  Findlaw reports this is precisely what happened when an 8th grade honors student was caught dealing Skittles with a classmate in violation of the district's health and wellness policy.  Skittles, the crunchy, candy contraband. 

I'm 100% behind nutritional education and curing our addiction to high fructose corn syrup.  Especially among kids.  I remember well the Reagan Administration's absurd attempt to pass off ketchup as a vegetable, and now live in a district that serves "frito pie" for lunch.  Recipe here for those so inclined.  But (arm chair quarterbacking, here) I'm not sure this was the best use of school resources, especially at time when New Haven, according to the report, was in the middle of student testing.  Ultimately the boy's disciplinary record was expunged and he was reinstated to his VP post, but only after his parents complained, and the district Superintendent became involved.  For Skittles? 

Maybe there's more to the story than we know.  Surely there's some merit in teaching kids to follow the rules, sometimes, whatever they happen to be.  And maybe there's something other than nutritional wellness at play.  Hey, if graffiti can be  a gateway crime, maybe Skittles is a gateway drug?   

All I know is my brother's more financially stable than I can ever hope to be, and I attribute that to some pretty innovative business ventures he took up in the 8th grade.

-Kathleen A. Bergin