Did you know that in some schools, a person that carries a bag of powdered sugar in to school can get the same punishment as a kid who brings in cocaine? I didn't know that either, and when I found out, I wanted to be able to change it. In my high school, the vice-principal, some teachers, youth court members, and peer mediators (including myself) are getting together to see if they can change some district school rules and add peer mediation and youth court into the disciplinary system. We hope that by adding youth court and peer mediation to schools, we can establish a fair and preventive system. Although we are just starting out, our plans are to allow kids who want to pursue their case to have access to youth court so they have the opportunity of a punishment adjustment. Most school districts rules are set up black and white so that no matter what the conditions, a kid who committed a certain act receives the allotted punishment. Well, some of these allotments have been found to be just a little bit unjust, like the kid getting punished for powdered sugar. And when the punishment is given, it is added to the students’ record without much explanation. By implementing youth court, we hope to be able to adjust punishment so they fit better with the action, and to be able to put more information on school records. Also, with peer mediation added to schools, in certain situations, the youth court would be able to suggest hours in mediation as an alternative punishment. This would not only help students work out current conflicts, but it would also serve as a preventive method by hopefully resolving or revealing some underlying issue which is usually the main front of actions such as harassment or other forms of bullying. All and all, this form of disciplinary system seems to be fairer and give the students more rights. At the moment, as far as I know, the idea of putting youth court and peer mediation is only taking place in my school, but over time we hope that we can spread it throughout the district. Also, if enough people hear about it and get interested, then maybe we can get it going nationwide!