A KISS ISN'T JUST A KISS

By Richard Zoglin

Fans of television sitcoms can appreciate the story's irresistible appeal. On one side is a blond-haired, bespectacled six-year-old whose only crime seems to be having got too affectionate with a little girl in his class. On the other is a band of uptight school bureaucrats so rigid about their rules that they punished the kid and accused him of sexual harassment. Who could dream up a better example of political correctness gone haywire? Or a better episode of Boy Meets World?

Johnathan Prevette met the world last week, and the world--or at least plenty of TV crews--beat a path to his door, in the town of Lexington, North Carolina (pop. 16,583). Once there, they heard the alarming tale--as Johnathan and his parents told it--of the first-grader at Southwest Elementary who planted a kiss on a classmate's cheek, partly because he liked her and partly, he said, because she asked him to. But a teacher saw him, the girl complained, and Johnathan was disciplined by being barred from his class for a day, causing him to miss coloring, playtime and an ice-cream party. Initially, school officials said the boy had broken written rules against sexual harassment. Later they backed off, asserting that Johnathan had only violated a "general school rule, which prohibits unwarranted and unwelcome touching of one student by another."

But the case of the smooching six-year-old was already a cause celebre everywhere from the Today show to the front page of the London Times. Rush Limbaugh invited listeners to call in and deplore this latest p.c. outrage. Kathie Lee Gifford announced, "We've gone too far with this now when we can't let a child be a child." Author Camille Paglia, quoted in USA Today, described the incident as an example of "archfeminist ideology gone amuck."

Johnathan's parents, who said they have been offered $100,000 for the movie rights, contributed the requisite dollops of folksy ingenuousness. "It comes natural to him," said Jackie Prevette. "We're a very affectionate, outgoing and friendly family. He's always checking on the neighbors, whether it's the 75-year-old lady next door or the five-year-old girl up the road ...Remember Alfalfa and Darla on Little Rascals? Well, they chased each other for years."

In fact, it was hard to tell just what Johnathan had done to draw the punishment, since school officials refused to talk about details of the incident, citing privacy laws in disciplinary matters. But school-district spokeswoman Jane Martin asserted that "this kiss was unwelcome," and added, "We know that children at that age cannot comprehend sexual harassment. We teach them what is welcome behavior and that everyone should report behavior that is unwelcome."

The week got even worse for Southwest Elementary. On Friday the school had to be evacuated after a bomb threat was received. That prompted the Prevettes to issue a statement urging "people to please keep supporting our family, but only in positive ways." James Simeon, superintendent of the Lexington City Schools, said in a statement that he had met with the Prevettes and in response to their request was "working on an age-appropriate revision of our policy."

This undoubtedly pleased the boy's parents. "Wouldn't it be so much better in this world," said Jackie Prevette, "if adults would take responsibility and say, 'We're sorry, we goofed.'" Yes, but so much less fun for the monitors of modern madness.

--By Richard Zoglin. Reported by Charlotte Faltermayer/New York and Lisa H. Towle/Raleigh