(April 5, 2006) — The famous beats of KIIS-FM’s “Top Forty” was interrupted one morning when DJs Ryan Seacrest and Ellen K brought up the issue of tag being banned in one particular elementary school. Apparently, tag (along with Live Strong bracelets and dodge ball) has recently been added to the never-ending list of “safety hazards” for children, having been considered dangerous enough to cause not only physical injury, but also emotional harm. Seacrest and Ellen K soon opened the fl oor for comments—and, as expected from the absurdity of the new school rule, the station aired many disgruntled responses from outraged parents and former tag fanatics. It turns out that this isn’t the first time the “infamous” game has been banned from school playgrounds. According to reporter Anita Vogel of FOXNews.com, tag has been banned from a Santa Monica elementary school ever since June 2002 for creating “self-esteem issues among weaker and slower children.” Moreover, just last month, according to the website for a Spokane, Washington television news station, 6abc.com, Adams Elementary followed suit under arguments that the game was “getting rough.” Arguing that tag ruins the self-esteem of children is probably the most effective way of getting a ridiculous school rule approved. Now that psychology is involved, this new scientifi c backing would make our stupid ban seem a tad bit more plausible. If selfesteem of students is the underlying issue, then I say forget about tag and extend your efforts to reform the whole American educational system. Fact: our school system is designed to create “self-esteem issues among weaker and slower children.” If tag is such a demoralizing experience, then why are AP classes and class rankings still not outlawed? After all, they stimulate a similar “belittling” effect on our students. If anything, tag teaches kids valuable “life skills” like taking risks and learning how to accept loss as a normal part of everyday life. Call me crazy, but I see this ban on tag as a close relative to censorship. Why would we let school board juggernauts dictate even the tiniest aspects of our normally functioning lives? They say the game is “too rough,” but what’s a little bruise? Everyone has had some kind of a scar from an endearing childhood memory. The game does present the possibility of kids getting hurt, but it’s not likely that they would die from it. You don’t see “Anti-Tag” or “Tag-Addicts Anonymous” associations going around classrooms showing pie charts of how tag is slowly becoming the number one cause of death for American children— those should only be reserved for more serious cases like smoking or sleep deprivation from too much homework. If adults are so afraid of violence, then they shouldn’t waste their efforts on just banning petty childish games—there are weightier issues like brutal movies and irrational wars to protest out there. Are their lives really that devoid of drama that they need to meddle with their kid’s playtime? I think anyone who has known the exhilaration of playtime as a kid would agree with me when I say: bring back our tag!