Originally posted on September 26, 2016

It appears Flint, Michigan isn’t the only city with water problems as a high school student takes a picture of discolored water coming out of the bathroom sink.  Hazel Juco is a senior at John Glenn High School in Westland, Michigan, a city just west of Detroit.  When she turned on the water faucet she noticed the water discolored with a yellowish tint. She snapped a picture and posted it on social media along with complaint and plea to get it fixed.  Shortly after the post, she got called down to the principal’s office, where she was suspended for inappropriate use of electronics in the restroom. Once other students learned of her suspension, they too took pictures of the discolored water in a sign of support but Hazel was the only student suspended. After the story made local and national media, Westland Community Schools Superintendent Dr. Michele Harmala said the punishment was inappropriate and that she was going to make sure the out of school suspension is expunged from the student’s record.  Apparently school administrators they didn’t report the water issue to maintenance and that a faulty pipe causing water contamination is in the process of being replaced. The school districts rules  against cell phones in bathrooms aims to prevent inappropriate pictures of people, not pictures of building issues and encourages students that if there is a building problem they feel is being ignored, they can report it to building maintenance or administration directly.  It will give them a chance to address it sooner than if it is just put on social media.