Hugs and High-fives Outlawed at Virginia School

Kilmer Middle School in Vienna, Virginia, is hardly situated in a remote part of the country. Close to the CIA headquarters at Langley, it is only a short drive from Washington DC.

But Kilmer's head teacher, Deborah Hernandez, stood accused of being out of touch, literally and scholastically, today after imposing a total ban on physical contact between her 1,100 pupils. Hugs, cuddles and handshakes are especially taboo.

Ms Hernandez's no-holds-allowed prohibition came to light after a 13-year-old seventh-grader, Hal Beaulieu, slipped his arm round his girlfriend's shoulder during a lunchtime break.

The girlfriend did not object. But a sharp-eyed school security officer caught Hal in the act. The next thing he knew, he was arraigned in the school office, charged with two misdemeanors and facing detention or even suspension.

Hal accepted a reprimand but remains defiant: hugs are not a crime, he says. "I think hugging is a good thing," he told the Washington Post. "I put my arm around her. It was like for 15 seconds. I didn't think it would be a big deal."

Hal's parents, Donna and Henri, agree. They have written to the Fairfax County school board, demanding a review of the ban.

Children should not get the idea that bodies, and physical contact between them, were bad, they said.

Ms Hernandez is unmoved. She said the ban reflected the children's need to maintain "personal space" and the school's need to maintain order.

The no-contact ban included handshakes, holding hands, high-fives and back-patting, she told the Post's Maria Glod.

Touchy-feely strokes, squeezes and tickles were beyond the pale. Tactility could not be treated relatively, she suggested, or else "you get into shades of grey".

Exhibiting a flicker of flexibility, Ms Hernandez said teachers could always use their discretion, suggesting a wink is as good as a nudge in Vienna. All the same, Kilmer's school sports day could be interesting.