Brooklyn School Bans Hugs

The Brooklyn Prospect Charter School is cracking down on that most deviant of tween behaviors: hugging. The school has instituted a rule banning hugs in the hallways, outraging many students and teachers, the Brooklyn Paper reports. Though the rule was purportedly instituted after a sixth-grader said a hug from an older student had made her uncomfortable, students say the real reason is because some students were blocking the hallways with big group hugs.

Principal Dan Rubinstein says the rule is indeed intended to prevent students from loitering in the hallway. "It's a time, place, and manner thing," he says. "We don't want students spending too much social time between classes. But some parents complain that the rule is too strict—the paper uses the phrase "assault on kindness"—and some rebellious students have kept hugging despite the threat of detention. "It's ridiculous," says one, "we do it anyway." (More hugging stories.)