| Feel Secure...Or Else!, and other tales of school spirit. | -> |
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The events here occurred at Standley Lake High School, in Jefferson County, Colorado. Many readers will no doubt recognize this as the school district shared by Columbine High School. Most of the stories here are shared in order to depict the utter senselessness that seems to control the district at the highest levels. Also, please note that you are not supposed to know where I went to school.
You may also want to see some of my class-assigned writings.
In the aftermath of Columbine, a number of noticeable shifts in the atmosphere occurred at Standley Lake. One of the most prominent was the urging to turn in anyone "suspicious" at the slightest provocation. In my English class, students were asked to tell teachers or counselors if anyone seemed depressed or angry. IMHO, this seemed to go beyond normal concern for other students and into making sure that all students were properly cheerful.
What really annoyed me, though, was the posters. Large pink ones, all over the school. They contained no text other than the words "Earn $2000. Remain anonymous." and the number for CrimeStoppers. There were other posters, too, encouraging the reporting of drugs, weapons, or threats. These, however, contained nothing but a promise of cash for turning in one's friends and acquaintances.
As time went on, this got to me more and more. I felt that the school district was more concerned with proper appearances and setting up defenses against lawsuits than they were about actually helping students. Don't get me wrong; many of the people involved in the school system are genuinely concerned for our welfare. But most anything that proceeds from the mouth of the Politburo, er, school board, smacks of public posturing to placate "concerned parents".
It was an interesting contrast; they were constantly stating that they wanted us to "feel secure", yet on the other hand, they were constantly warning us of the dangers looming around us, and how we must be ready to turn anyone in on the first sign of trouble.
Finally, I decided to Do Something. I created a poster and placed on a number of the walls, often right next to the large pink official posters. Mine pointed out, with rather pointed sarcasm, that if everyone were as suspicious as they wanted, everyone was a potential threat. It also pointed out the financial incentive to make false reports, and ended with a quote from Orwell's 1984.
![[The offending poster]](bounty_poster.gif)
They caught me within an hour. It wasn't hard; I was holding one in my hand. Taken to the office and asked if I wanted to write a statement, I took the opportunity to write a three-page essay explaining my actions and the reasoning behind them.
The dean read my statement and gave me a five-day suspension, the maximum penalty possible without actually expelling the student. School disciplinary actions not being legal proceedings, I was never given the name of an actual charge. However, the terms "inciting riot" and "threatening the school" were tossed about. They basically told me that even though they could understand that I didn't intend for it to be a threat, someone might perceive it as one, and they had to protect themselves.
They wanted to have me arrested, but didn't. I think a court case would have been interesting. In a way, I wish I hadn't posted them on the walls, since they said I would have been suspended even for just showing them to friends. That would have been a rather blatant First Amendment violation, while placing posters on the walls is technically against the rules.
They also suggested that I should have sent a letter to the school newspaper, and "had the guts to put my name on it". I deliberately didn't do that for two reasons. First, I have a (possibly paranoid) distrust of school publications, and a fear of "creative editing" of my story. Secondly, I wanted any discussion or debate to be about the posters and the issues, not about me. (I viewed myself as somewhat like the Midnight Skulker, for those who read the comic strip B.C.)
Some said that my posters were in poor taste. I did not intend to traumatize or threaten. I did not use profanity. I did intend to shock and draw attention, and hopefully to spark logical thinking about the line between caution and paranoia.
I may have won, sort of. There is only one of the pink posters now. The ones suggesting contacting the authorities based on weapons or threats are still there, but I have no objection to them.
I would appreciate any feedback. Were my posters a threat? vsync@quadium.net.
![[Dilbert's boss doesn't mention a bomb threat, and buys a
lottery ticket to increase the irony]](dilbert.gif)
I am Angry. Filled with Righteous Indignation, in fact. On 23 February 2000, at 2:00p, the fire alarm went off at school. Everyone was evacuated, and when the Adults came around, we learned that a "situation" was occurring inside. After questioning further, I learned that it concerned a "device".
After hanging around at the school with a friend of mine to see whether, indeed, the school would blow sky-high, I went to work. There, another friend informed me of what he had found on the Web page of a local television station. Apparently a student found the bomb on the way to school in the morning, brought it inside, and gave it to the resource officer (the cop with an office in the library). School starts at 7:30a. We were evacuated at 2:00p.
Later, on the news, I saw another version of the story, and I honestly don't know which scares me more. This other version stated that students on a field trip discovered the bomb, and a teacher brought it back to the school on the school bus. It then ended up in the resource officer's office.
At last report, the "student on the way to school" story seems to have won out. Either way, though, extreme stupidity seems to have been involved. Either they held on to the bomb for six and a half hours and didn't tell us, or a teacher used a school bus to bring an explosive device into the school.
I have long felt that the danger from bomb-toting losers is considerably less than from the way JeffCo administration handles things.
UPDATE: It turns out that it was a teacher on a field trip. She used her private car, not the school bus, but instead of calling the police on the spot, or telling the school cop, "Hey, I think I have a bomb in my car," she carried it through the hallways into the library. The school is not releasing the name of the teacher in question.
I highly recommend George Orwell's 1984. Once you read it, you will be struck with some rather frightening parallels between Oceania and our own culture.
Recently, a teenager was arrested for possessing "materials that could be used to make bombs". His parents had turned him in to the police upon discovering said materials. Exactly what they were was never revealed.
I am not in favor of terrorism, nor am I in favor of stockpiling high-powered explosives. However, the extent to which the police gushed over the parents' patriotism worried me. They were parents! And they just up and turned him in! Right away! The glory, the wonder, the pride!
One wonders if the standard for turning a family member in might slowly drift, from bombs and the will to use them, to "disturbing comments and artwork", to "anti-social feelings".
One aspect of the Thought-Police in 1984 was that they infiltrated families. A father took pride in his son, who reported him for muttering "Down with Big Brother" in his sleep. Are we headed there?
Shortly after Columbine, the school received a bomb threat. Apparently to go along with the rest of the JeffCo School District's policy of "making students feel secure", they didn't get around to telling us until two or three days later. Of course, all the students knew about it within five minutes of the cops showing up at our school, and there was the tiniest bit of anxiety in the air.
I will add more here later. Suffice it to say, the silliness of those charged with our education never ceases to amaze me.
Our beautifully decorated cafeteria:
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Last modified: Mon Nov 27 00:01:35 PST 2000
