Pubdate: 2 March,1999 Source: Orange County Register (CA) Copyright: 1999 The Orange County Register Contact: http://www.ocregister.com/ Author: Jay Tompkins-Fountain Valley Section: Metro,page 7 ZERO TOLERANCE BACKLASH "Zero tolerance" is like "one size fits all"-it sounds good but doesn't work ["Ex-Corona del Mar High student sues to bar 'zero tolerance,'" Metro, Feb. 24]. The best thing about zero tolerance is that school administrators don't have to think and make tough decisions based on an individual situation. I guess that is good because most school administrators can't make common-sense decisions anyway. I hope Ryan Huntsman takes the Newport Mesa Unified School District and the city of Newport Beach to the cleaners. Then maybe zero tolerance policies will end and then once and again we will treat student problems with unique solutions. Jay Tompkings Fountain Valley - --- MAP posted-by: Derek Rea