In 2010, Portland’s West Sylvan Middle School was labeled as a place where hugs were out of control. Students couldn’t pass each other in the hallway without a hug, and kids were often late to class because of the hugs. Classes would end, middle schoolers would eye a classmate at the other end of the hallway, “They would scream, run down the hallway, and jump in each other’s arms,” said Principal Allison Couch. She went on to say it was a “virus of hugs.” Consequently, Couch banned hugs on the school campus. The policy might sound unreasonable to someone outside the school, but the age-old fear of a lawsuit was what really prompted the action. “It’s the responsibility of the school district, when there are concerns among students, staff or parents, to respond with appropriate rules around conduct,” said the school’s attorney, Jollee Patterson. While the PTA backed the decision, several parents voiced their objections to the policy. Couch, who had been principal at West Sylvan for seven years at that time, argued that she treated hugging in schools like a computer with a virus.
