History Main / YellowSashOfPower

* In ''VideoGame/YandereSimulator'' the AbsurdlyPowerfulStudentCouncil actually doubles as this trope, monitoring the school to look out for trouble. (Aoi probably best exemplifies this as she's the one actually monitoring the halls[[note]]Shiromi monitors the outside, Akane checks on the clubs, and Kuroko checks everywhere else[[/note]].) They have the authority to stop fights, report troublemakers to the student councilor, and in extreme cases, like say, a {{Yandere}} murdering someone, can straight up pepper spray them and tie them up for the police. Killing one of ''them'' causes the student council president to take more extreme security measures.

[[AC:FanWorks]]
* In the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' continuum, author [[Creator/AAPessimal A.A.Pessimal]] has paid creative thought to the deeper workings of the Assassins' School in Ankh-Morpork. Following its recent expansion to take in more pupils and become co-educational, it has moved onto several additional sites around the City, and its teachers, already overworked and underappreciated, cannot be ''everywhere''. The School has therefore funded a lower grade of retained employee called Teaching Assistants, who have less status and pay than the fully-fledged staff, and who end up doing the dogsbody jobs. Usually they are school graduates paying their way through higher degrees and diplomas. The School (based on British public schools) also works on the House system: each House has a peer-elected Head of House and Heads of Years, who also have delegated Prefect responsibilities. Particularly noteworthy or gifted students - generally those whose specialist knowledge far outstrips that of their teachers - are sometimes offered Teaching Assistant status in their specialist areas of knowledge. Sometimes a pupil is given TA status to teach him or her a lesson.... full teachers have purple sashes; TA's wear purple with white piping; prefects merely get a lapel badge.

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
* Discussed in ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix'' where a few prefects, the current sash wearers, specifically point out how outrageous it is to give students the level of power the Inquisitional Squad has been arbitrarily granted. But [[SadisticTeacher Umbridge]] needs enforcers.

[[AC:{{LiveActionTV}}]]

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]

* ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants'' takes this trope to its logical extreme. After [=SpongeBob=] is made hall monitor, he believes his jurisdiction to be the ''entire town of Bikini Bottom'', and eventually ends up searching for a criminal known as the Maniac... without realizing that the only maniac running around is ''him''.

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[[quoteright:350:[[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bart-the-hall-monitor_964.png]]]]

* ''[[WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutron The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius]]'' features another example. Master Neutron is granted hall monitor powers, and inspired by his idol UsefulNotes/AlbertEinstein (who he also believes was once a hall monitor), takes full advantage of his new position, placing people in detention for possession of gum and, in Carl's case, having more llama stickers on his lunchbox than the permitted amount.

* {{Downplayed|Trope}} in ''{{Fillmore}}'', which treats the sash as the equivalent of a policeman's shield but with very tight limits on authority and an abundance of accountability. The point of the series is to have a CopShow set in a school, though.

* In the first part of ''[[HeraldsOfValdemar Brightly Burning]]'', Lavan is sent to a school where the headmaster had decided to cut costs by devolving all disciplinary authority to the Sixth Form students. These students repay this trust by bullying the younger students, forcing them to provide treats or entertainment for them and do their homework for them, and caning anyone who objected or disobeyed. When the leader decides to give Lavan eighty lashes for avoiding him and not stealing a tunic length of highly expensive red velvet for him, Lavan's latent pyrokinetic abilities trigger and burn several of the Sixth Form students to death. The investigation afterwords reveals the excesses of the Sixth Form and gets the school shut down until it can be reorganized.

** Even excluding the Inquisitional Squad from ''Order of the Phoenix'', the Prefects are given a remarkable amount of power over the other students throughout the series, and Percy at least ([[spoiler: and later Ron]]) do have a tendency to let it go to their heads.

* ''[[WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutron The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius]]'' features another example. Master Neutron is granted hall monitor powers, and inspired by his idol AlbertEinstein (who he also believes was once a hall monitor), takes full advantage of his new position, placing people in detention for possession of gum and, in Carl's case, having more llama stickers on his lunchbox than the permitted amount.

* On an episode of ''TheBradyBunch,'' "Law and Disorder," Bobby is made Safety Monitor and proceeds to abuse this power at school and at home.

* In an "On Deck" episode of TheSuiteLifeOfZackAndCody this trope is played completly straight; Zack is made Hall Monitor in an effort to teach him responsibility. He ends up being far too zealous, even using a speed gun to trap walkers going too fast. He makes himself very unpopular throughout the ship. AnAesop is delivered in a very Anvilicious manner.

* {{Downplayed|Trope}} in ''{{Fillmore}}'', which treats the sash as the equivalent of a policeman's shield but with very tight limits on authority and an abundance of accountability.

----

* In the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' continuum, author A.A.Pessimal has paid creative thought to the deeper workings of the Assassins' School in Ankh-Morpork. Following its recent expansion to take in more pupils and become co-educational, it has moved onto several additional sites around the City, and its teachers, already overworked and underappreciated, cannot be ''everywhere''. The School has therefore funded a lower grade of retained employee called Teaching Assistants, who have less status and pay than the fully-fledged staff, and who end up doing the dogsbody jobs. Usually they are school graduates paying their way through higher degrees and diplomas. The School (based on British public schools) also works on the House system: each House has a peer-elected Head of House and Heads of Years, who also have delegated Prefect responsibilities. Particularly noteworthy or gifted students - generally those whose specialist knowledge far outstrips that of their teachers - are sometimes offered Teaching Assistant status in their specialist areas of knowledge. Sometimes a pupil is given TA status to teach him or her a lesson.... full teachers have purple sashes; TA's wear purple with white piping; prefects merely get a lapel badge.

* Occurs in ''{{Fillmore}}'', which treats the sash as the equivalent of a policeman's shield but with very tight limits on authority and an abundance of accountability.

* ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants'' takes this trope to its "hilarious" extreme. After [=SpongeBob=] is made hall monitor, he believes his jurisdiction to be the ''entire town of Bikini Bottom'', and eventually ends up searching for a criminal known as the Maniac... without realizing that the only maniac running around is ''him''.

* Discussed in ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix'', where a few prefects, the current sash wearers, specifically point out how outrageous it is to give students the level of power the Inquisitional Squad has been arbitrarily granted. But [[SadisticTeacher Umbridge]] needs enforcers.

* [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] in ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix'', where a couple characters specifically point out how outrageous it is to give students the level of power the Inquisitional Squad has been arbitrarily granted.
** [[GenreBlind Not that it stops them.]]

* In the ''{{Discworld}}'' continuum, author A.A.Pessimal has paid creative thought to the deeper workings of the Assassins' School in Ankh-Morpork. Following its recent expansion to take in more pupils and become co-educational, it has moved onto several additional sites around the City, and its teachers, already overworked and underappreciated, cannot be ''everywhere''. The School has therefore funded a lower grade of retained employee called Teaching Assistants, who have less status and pay than the fully-fledged staff, and who end up doing the dogsbody jobs. Usually they are school graduates paying their way through higher degrees and diplomas. The School (based on British public schools) also works on the House system: each House has a peer-elected Head of House and Heads of Years, who also have delegated Prefect responsibilities. Particularly noteworthy or gifted students - generally those whose specialist knowledge far outstrips that of their teachers - are sometimes offered Teaching Assistant status in their specialist areas of knowledge. Sometimes a pupil is given TA status to teach him or her a lesson.... full teachers have purple sashes; TA's wear purple with white piping; prefects merely get a lapel badge.

* ''EvenStevens'' dialed this UpToEleven. Incorrigible Louis is sentenced to hall-monitor duty, which involves an absurdly over-the-top [[InitiationCeremony induction ritual]], the power to issue detentions and even dispense retributory wedgies to hallway bullies, and ultimately an investigation of administrative corruption.

* Averted in ''{{Fillmore}}'', which treats the sash as the equivalent of a policeman's shield, with limits on authority and an abundance of accountability.

* In the ''{{Discworld}}'' continuum, author A.a.Pessimal has paid creative thought to the deeper workings of the Assassins' School in Ankh-Morpork. Following its recent expansion to take in more pupils and become co-educational, it has moved onto several additional sites around the City, and its teachers, already overworked and underappreciated, cannot be ''everywhere''. The School has therefore funded a lower grade of retained employee called Teaching Assistants, who have less status and pay than the fully-fledged staff, and who end up doing the dogsbody jobs. Usually they are school graduates paying their way through higher degrees and diplomas. The School (based on British public schools) also works on the house system: each House has a peer-elected Head of House and Heads of Years, who also have delegated Prefect responsibilities. Particularly noteworthy or gifted students - generally those whose specialist knowledge far outstrips that of their teachers - are sometimes offered Teaching Assistant status in their specialist areas of knowledge. Sometimes a pupil is given TA status to teach him or her a lesson....

[[quoteright:350:[[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bart-the-hall-monitor_9280.png]]]]

[[quoteright:350:[[WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hall_monitor_sb_5954.jpg]]]]

ImageLinks.YellowSashOfPower

Perhaps it's because schools on TV are constantly forced to deal with [[TwoTeacherSchool teacher shortages]]. Perhaps it's just an excuse for writers to use all of those [[CrimeAndPunishmentTropes police tropes]]. For whatever reason, one position of responsibility seems to crop up time and time again in school-based shows... the position of hall monitor. These kid cops are given as much powers as teachers... they're allowed to stop their fellow classmates, interrogate them, demand hall passes, and in some extreme cases, even allowed to assign detentions. They've been given the YellowSashOfPower.

The trope can take several forms. Sometimes, a character who is aware of all the power the position carries [[JumpedAtTheCall desperately wants to be hall monitor]], in other cases, a character who worried about all the power going to his head will be [[RefusalOfTheCall very reluctant to put on the sash]]. Usually, the latter are the ones who receive the [[YellowSashOfPower sash]], and they're always the ones who [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity let it all go to their head]].