The high school I attended in Aurora, Colorado, had a punishment known as “JUG,” which stood for “Justice Under God.” It was an all-boys Catholic school, one of 62 high schools in the U.S. and some 2,300 schools around the world run by the Society of Jesus, the order of priests and “brothers” known colloquially as the Jesuits.
JUG was detention, but instead of sitting in mandatory silence or doing arbitrary busywork like writing an essay, you got assigned cleaning duties. Go pick up trash in the parking lot, for example, or shovel snow from the sidewalk for an hour after school.
Each student carried a wallet-sized rap sheet—a “demerit card”— that a teacher could demand to see and inscribe with rule infractions as they occurred. For every fifth demerit, you served JUG.
Goofing off in class was common cause for a demerit. Disrespecting a teacher might get you two demerits, if not more. Forgetting a textbook, using vulgar language, showing up to school unshaven, wearing your shirt untucked …
