newjerseynewsroom.com

Matawan-Aberdeen Middle School Principal Tyler Blackmore might need a hug today. But he probably won’t get one — and he has no one but himself to blame.

Blackmore has been somewhat under fire for instituting a no-hugging policy at the school for 900 sixth- through eighth-graders, and the school superintendent says that’s a shame.

"It is unfortunate that there are those who find purpose and humor in sensationalizing such a routine school-related issue at the expense and inconvenience of our children and our school community," School Superintendent David Healy was quoted as saying in the New York Post.

The Associated Press reported that the principal told students last week over the loudspeaker that some "incidents of unsuitable, physical interactions" prompted him to declare Matawan-Aberdeen a “no-hugging school.”

Kids said they risked being suspended if caught breaking the rule. The principal had automated phone calls made to all parents to make clear his edict.

Parent Tammy Sabatini, who has had three children attend the school, told CBS New York that the kids have “hugged forever since they were babies and now they’re being told they can’t do it.”

But another parent, Deirdre Ring, told the Post that she was on the principal’s side.

“There was probably some inappropriate physical contact going on that led to this decision," Ring said.

Healy said the principal acted appropriately, but released a statement saying that students will not be suspended for hugging.

"There is no policy specific to hugging, and we have not, nor will we be, suspending students for hugging," the superintendent wrote.

Sounds like he might need a hug, too.

--JOE GREENE, NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM