A two page spread in this months popular teen magazine Seventeen, is under speculation of the liability of a story narrated by a young African American woman who claims she was unfairly sentenced to jail after a misunderstanding at her high school. Sixteen-year-old Shaquanda Cotton, of Paris, Texas, served one year in jail after a teacher aide at her high school pressed charges against her on the account that she shoved the teacher aide.

According to Cotton, in her town of Paris, there is a lot of discrimination against African Americans. Cotton relates that she was waiting outside her school with her fellow pupils to enter the building, but she had a tummy ache and needed the attention of the school nurse. When she tried to enter the building, a teacher aide refused to allow Cotton to enter. Cotton claims that the aide shoved her, but the aide pressed charges against her on the account that Cotton had shoved her, thus resulting in the incarceration of Cotton.

Even if Cotton had behaved poorly during the incident, the sentence she faced was too severe for the crime committed. During her time in jail, Cotton was kept in the company of minors who had committed far more dangerous crimes such as murder and theft. In our opinion, putting Cotton into a jail facility for a year is a waste of tax money. There are far more severe crimes being committed by minors on a daily basis that often go under a blind eye. Those involved in the case should spend their time trying to improve other problems that the city’s youth deal with rather than busying themselves in this petty argument. Cotton should have been penalized by her school for her actions instead of putting the incident in the hands of the government. This is a clear example of how our government needs to get their priorities straight. – Maahum Chaudhry and Traci Liang