LEWISTON — Fifteen Lewiston High School seniors were suspended for two days earlier this month for an incident that school officials say created an unsafe situation on a stairwell during the school day and put other students in jeopardy.
Lewiston Superintendent Bill Webster said Monday that students participated in a “senior block,” an annual prank where a group of seniors block a space and prevent other students from passing. This year it was done on a stairwell.
“We had students crying in the hallway and the office because they could not get to class on time. There is a process if you don’t get to your class on time, you are late,” Webster said. Seniors may have enjoyed the prank, but there are consequences, he said.
“A student block, while perhaps in years gone by was a very fun senior prank, in recent years this has never taken place where it hasn’t been met with a suspension,” Webster said. “We take seriously the health and safety of students. We also now have a camera system on our stairwell where we can see. Anyone who can think about what happened at Bates College just a week before this would take this seriously.”
Principal Gus LeBlanc agreed the senior block is considered an annual tradition, that it was not intended to be malicious, but the action was potentially dangerous, and seniors knew it was not acceptable.
“Use your imagination. You know what just happened at Bates,” he said referring to the death of 18-year-old Bates College freshman Troy Pappas, who died after falling down a stairwell on that college’s Lewiston campus.
Students have been warned in past years not to create an unsafe situation on the stairs, and some have been suspended for it, LeBlanc said. This year the seniors were originally suspended for three days, then the suspensions were reduced to two days so seniors could take the SATs at school the Saturday in between.
“I would not have let that happen,” LeBlanc said. “That’s one of the reasons I reduced the suspension.”
Teresa Austin, a relative of one of the students suspended, said Monday, “I remember senior block. I had three sons” who experienced it, she said. Teachers used to break up the senior blocks.
Parents of the seniors are concerned that the suspensions may have an effect on their college careers. Students may have to disclose on college applications that they have been suspended.
“This can be detrimental,” Austin said. “These are good kids.”
The punishment, Austin said, was too severe. The students should have received detentions, but not suspensions, she said.
“We hate to do it,” Webster said. “Yes, many of these are great students.”
Some college applications do ask if an applicant has ever been suspended, Webster acknowledged. Some students may have to explain what happened.
“This is part of life’s growing experiences. Colleges aren’t expecting that students have perfect records. What they are expecting is that students demonstrate they’ve learned from their experiences,” Webster said.
LeBlanc said he has met with four parents who were unhappy that their children were suspended for the incident. The students have served their suspensions and are back in school.
Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time.
Typical over reaction of school administration.
“We had students crying in the hallway and the office…”???? What a crock!
“the health and safety of our students…..Bates College….”
Are there any incidents of students doing gymnastics on the railings with tears in their eyes and falling? Sounds like a crock, alright!
So lets support what is in effect a united act of bullying and get on the case of the school administrators for doing their jobs? I think not!
“A united act of bullying”???? Another overreaction.
That is you opinion, but I do not share it. It is what it is.
If someone was hurt because of student’s blockading the stairwell you’d be the one screaming for an administrator’s head – they created unsafe conditions, if you did that in public, you’d get arrested……..
You don’t get out much…..do you?
Sure do – I’m a retired (2 years now) teacher….
It is a senior prank!!!
Maybe you never taught school….I did…Most students are very conscientious and hard working and they obsess about stuff like grades and getting to class on time..
I’ve spent a lot of time in high schools and never once have I seen “students crying in the hallways and the office” over something so petty as a senior prank. The majority of high school students (including the very conscientious and hard working ones) would be happy that they were delayed in getting to class by a few minutes. This is being blown way out of proportion.
I obsessed about getting out early enough so that I could go fishing or hunting.
I taught freshman for three years. 48 months back they were 10 years old-48 month ahead they can be fighting in a war. They cry real easy at 14-trust me.
“We had students crying in the hallway and the office…”???? What a crock!
Not if her best skirt had been ruined and she was being mortified
because now she had to ask some old fart’s permission to be excused from school
to go home and change her obviously soiled clothes
because she could not get to the bathroom like she had planned.
But there is a class of people who think that is just a laugh riot, too, right
Justsaynotogovt ?
Are you kidding me???
Nothing was said about a girl soiling herself because she could not get to a bathroom. Do you actually think that the school allowed this “blocking” to go on long enough for someone to wet their skirt??? I would wager that this “blocking” only lasted several minutes until a faculty member discovered it. It’s not as if students were kidnapped and locked in a class room. They were prevented from walking in one direction down a hall. If one had to use the restroom so bad they were worried about wetting themselves, they easily could have backtracked and headed a different way. Mitt, you are seriously overreacting here.
Who said “wet her skirt” , tough guy ?
Ummmm, YOU DID!! Tough guy.
That just shows you don’t know shite .
I am thinking there is more than one bathroom in that school, and that is a very racist comment, how do you know it wasn’t a little BOY that “soiled himself” from whining over a prank??
You think girls are a different race?
How far …. did the bullies that you are defending consider that ?
Huh? I questioned the use of the word racism to describe mentioning only girls. Where do you get your totally out in left field response to that?
I believe that . Kids are under so much pressure to please the school . I can not be late lol BS. A young kid might cry . Those kids that bock the hall way are the same seniors that use to slap me over the hear with thier class rings turned around. I remember being a freshman it was not pretty . Blocking the halls is bulling .
And if they did…. They need to grow up! Its a once in a lifetime thing, they did no harm.
I can just see these kids laughing and having a great time while pulling off this prank. Just kids being kids. Where was the staff? Noone seen anything until it was over? 2 days suspension seems harsh, but I wasnt there. Kids crying in the office? That sounds strange.
I suspect that being late for class results in lost points against a student’s grade.
wow, it’s amazing how far downhill things have gone in just 10 years.
It states right in the article that they have been “warned in past years not to create an unsafe situation on the stairs”, and “in recent years this has never taken place where it hasn’t been met with a suspension”.
These kids knew this behavior was unacceptable, and chose to do it anyway. They deserve the punishments they got, for deliberately disobeying rules that have been put in place.
any “prank” is unacceptable in the eyes of officials.
that’s why it’s called a “Prank”
Bullies call disrespecting the ‘little people” their human rights “pranks”, too.
It is true on all levels .
This being a CLASS prank is very telling.
It did not become class warfare only because the lower classes, the bullied, did not fight back, didn’t it?
Deny that.
(And this comment IS a intended metaphor for broader issues… just like high school is.)
Is it wrong of me think some people excusing this behavior would be shouting for arrests if Union picketers complexly blocked access to anywhere ?
Why does your idea of a class ‘prank’ excuse breaking the law?
I figure it is a function of who is more used to being bullied or to being a bully.
Just sayin’.
Clone jemileesmom. Please. Now. For the sake of a sane society, let’s clone her or, at the very least, see if we can enlist her to pound some sense into today’s “helicopter parents.”
Perhaps school officials should forgo morning announcements etc. and have the students vote daily on which rules they plan to follow that day. Then the principal could go home for the rest of the day and the kids could run the show.
This needs to go on their permanent record, and should be forwarded to admissions officers of the colleges they intend to go to! Maybe a week in jail would do the trick! Rah rah Personal Responsibility!
Really?? Unbelievable is all I have to say.
In about a year or two many of these students will break rules (in the over 18 world it is called breaking the law). Instead of being suspended for a day or two it will cost them freedom and/or money. We all want to be (and probably were) rebels in our youth but try as one might, there comes a time to understand and follow the rules. As a Frenchman once said, “Man is born free, but everywhere he is in chains.”
Seems that taking responsibility for one’s actions is not agreed with here.
No it’s the fact that the punishment does not fit the “crime”.
> No it’s the fact that the punishment does not fit the “crime”.
YEAH ! Ain’t that the truth ?
They could/should be facing charges for reckless endangerment.
And they are not facing worse only because they were just dumb lucky
that no one got hurt on a packed staircase.
Oh cry me a river. Why don’t we just throw these 15 kids in jail for the rest of the school year for such a vicious crime!!
> Oh cry me a river.
> “We had students crying in the hallway and the office…”???? What a crock!
Make up your mind on crying, can you ?
“Why don’t we just throw these 15 kids in jail for the rest of the school year for such a vicious crime!!”
No, the question is why not ?
There, does that put their suspension in perspective to you, now ?
Actually, no, it does not. I cannot believe you are carrying on like this. Again, this is what is wrong with today’s society. Its not like they made the kids do drugs or held them hostage. Its a senior prank! Walk around the city streets….or drive around, are you going to tell me that people never put others lives in danger?? are their license’s “suspended” for not coming to a complete stop at a stop sign, going 5 miles over the speed limit, crossing the white line, eating while driving, or not having your headlights on while it raining?? I think not! How about having to stay off the streets for 2 days for J walking or riding your bike on the wrong side of the road? People cause unsafe conditions every single day. Its a senior prank!
WHO’S SAYING A TWO DAY SUSPENSION IS OUT OF LINE FOR DISRUPTING THE WHOLE SCHOOL ?
justsaynotogovt, said it being sarcastic….You say why not? We are saying it is not ok to have the 2 day suspension, refer to the above comment on why! AND stop yelling at me. There is no need to get all worked up.
It was a senior prank! They obviously admitted to it, so that is pretty much taking responsibility.
So if I steal your car and just say “gee, sorry. Guess I stole your car,” you’ll let me go because I’ve taken responsibility? Where’s your house? I have a few things to pick up.
Bring it on. There is just a slight difference in the two. Nobody got hurt and as for the crying, grow up, your in high school. Don’t come back with “they could have been hurt” either. You could be hurt walking out your front door, are you going to stay in for the rest of your life??
What no one called there’s kids scumbags ?
Those kids are scumbags!! There did I help? :)
You forgot to tell those kids to get off your lawn.
What a prank. No one will ever forget the day a few kids stood on the stairs.
ooohhh, I can’t wait to tell my grandkids what they did to me in high school!!! They blocked off the stairwell and made some of us late for class…..What a joke!
Senior block sound about right…..aspiring congressmen I suspect.
they couldn’t attempt anything fun, they might get expelled for humor.
I didn’t know they had humor in congress….that’s the biggest bunch of constipated (i.e. blocked) people there is in this country. I think they all need a strong batch of Metamucil every morning and be forced to watch a George Carlin DVD every day as torture.
I replied to the wrong post.
Bummer..
indeed
No you didn’t.
There are some saying the punishment “doesn’t fit the crime”. But it does, they were specifically warned not to make an “unsafe environment” on the stairs…. they have seen past seniors (who I am sure were “good kids” too) take place in a “senior block” get suspended. It is stated that has been the case for years… If we factor in that HS is only 4 years long, ever since they have been in school, or at least for a good part of it, they have known this is “not OK”, yet they chose to do it anyway.
If the school has a policy that if you are late, you have to go to the office to get a note; I can very easily see some very stressed freshmen or sophomores who were trying to get to class, and wound up having to go to the office because they were late “crying in the office”.
To those of us looking in, for some it may seem like a harsh punishment… but, sorry to say it, times are a’changin’. Things have changed a lot since most of us were in school where an administrator could just laugh at the prank, shake his/her head, and say “Kids will be kids…”. What would have happened if there had been a student hurt or accidentally pushed down the stairs during this prank? Then every one would be up in arms about the administration not “stepping in and stopping” this or an outcry about why weren’t these seniors punished for causing this situation to begin with….
What would have happened if……..You could “IF” any story all day long. Your IF did not happen. No one was hurt, no one intended to hurt anyone. The prank was intended to delay students getting to class. Big deal. That should not cost a kid 3 days suspension. Perhaps a detention as a punishment, but nothing further. Consider the disruption that a 3 day suspension will cause to those 15 students AND to the rest of the students in their classes. I can guarantee that it will be more of a disruption than the initial prank was.
Its funny when we give reasons and explain how stupid this is, Mitt has nothing to come back with that makes any sense at all.
Having taught at the high school level years ago I know that folks running a High school can’t make a correct decision in most people’s eyes. More often than not they are crucified for making the wrong call on a no school day.These students created an unsafe situation while carrying on a fun tradition.The school authorities had no choice. In my day we would have taken these two suspension days to Bar Harbor. This is nothing to worry about. However -had some 90 pound freshmen been crushed we’d be talking about something else.
Schools create an “unsafe condition” by confining so many fun-loving teenagers in one place. Schools create an “unsae condition” by suspending students which releases them to the unsupervised streets.
Unsafe conditions are onld so when insurance companies and lawyers say so.
I understand and appreciate what you are saying. However- a lot of these kids parents have their lawyers names in their speed dial. This isn’t 1965. If these school authorities don’t go by the book they set themselves up for a law suit or termination. Where should the line be drawn with these situations?
“a lot of these kids parents have their lawyers names in their speed dial.”
this is lewiston we’re talking about. people can’t afford lawyers.
The Joe Bornsteins of the world work for a percentage of the settlement. Trust me-if a youngster were seriously hurt due to the ‘negligence’ of a school official these TV lawyers would be lined up for a shot at the case.
Our society has been turned into a zero tolerance mentality!
Think that in my high school days instead of a suspension for a prank like this Big Elwood would have said something like, “If you all like the stair well so much, you’re gonna love this.” And then had the guilty parties clean and paint the stairwell on detention after school for a week or two. Or maybe had us hike up and down the stairs for a few hours non-stop. Guess that punishment like that is not an option anymore.
It probably would be considered abuse in some way nowadays. I agree, they would rather just suspend the kids so they can go out run around, play on their phones and computers and have fun rather than the good old fashioned punishments like you stated. Good hard work never hurt anyone – I know that my principal would have had us do something along those lines when I was there.
I agree with Joy
You agree with yourself…LOL
I demand the BDN release the names of these pranksters.
Juveniles.
Names cant be released to protect the youths.
redheaded–I am pretty sure Soxfan2424 was being funny!
Dooohhh!!
For a prank it was pretty lame..
they couldn’t do anything fun for fear of expulsion.
if blocking a stairwell warrants a suspension, just imagine what would have happened if they’d pulled a better prank.
Or where the taxpayers school would be if someone got seriously injured or killed…
ah, the good ol’ for their safety arguement.
perhaps we should abolish schools, school buses don’t have seatbelts, and driving is dangerous, someone could get hurt.
why stop there?
ban all firearms, ban cars, bicycles, knives, scissors.
ban everything in the name of safety and security.
after all, we have to protect everyone and make sure that absolutely NO ONE ever gets hurt.
School buses do not have seatbelts for a few reasons… But one of the main reasons they do not is if there was ever an emergency and all the students had to evacuate the bus, it is faster and more efficient to get them off if you don’t run the risk of seatbelts getting jammed or young students (Pre-K thru 2nd grade) not being able to get them off. Also, school buses have been designed to protect kids using a theory called compartmentalization. The seats are padded above, behind, and below the kids. The seats are tight together and high.. the idea is that the kids will stay in the compartment. Studies have shown that more kids are injured or killed annually outside of the bus (either boarding or unboarding) than on the bus itself, so if something needs to be done about school bus safety, let’s start there first.
you’re missing the point.
regardless of vehicle safety, driving on any road is still dangerous, so therefore people shouldn’t be driving. That is the liberal zero tolerance mindset.
Not missing the point at all…. I definitely have zero tolerance about certain things – but I am no means a liberal. This (to me) is a pretty cut and dry case… they were specifically warned not to make an “unsafe environment” on the stairs…. they have seen past seniors (who I am sure were “good kids” too) participate in a “senior block” get suspended. It is stated that has been the case for years… If we factor in that HS is only 4 years long, ever since they have been in school, or at least for a good part of it, they have known this is “not OK”, yet they chose to do it anyway. You do the crime, you do the time… regardless of if it was only meant to be a prank. Sorry!
seriously, people are killed every single day on roads in the u.s.
And we are bold enough to put our children at risk by having them transported en mass to school?
I have a zero tolerance policy about that. children should be no means be transported over roads.
we are warned constantly during winter months of dangerous weather or driving conditions. people know that snow makes roads more dangerous. so why force our children to ride on roads in inclement weather?
Time to ban buses, driving on the roads, and school. because all of these things could be dangerous.
Just like sitting in front of a computer for too long could be dangerous… tootles! :) Have a great day, my dear….
I think you are missing the point that you really didn’t have much of a point.
Thank you, Sara. I’ve always wondered about the lack of seatbelts. Your explanation makes perfect sense.
Ok, what happens in an accident in a car, trying to get the kids out of car seats and seat belts while the car is on fire? Does that mean we shouldn’t use them? My seats are padded for the passengers in the back, why wear seat belts. One can’t live their lives on “what if’s”
Totally going off on a tangent here, but I’ll go… In regards to accidents in cars and not using seat belts in cars. It is also law that IF a school bus has seat belts on the bus that they must be used. So, that is no different than in cars. All cars (by law I am assuming) come with seat belts and therefore falls under the same law that you need to use said seat belts. As far as not using seat belts in cars VS a bus; there is a slight difference between unbuckling a couple of kids VS trying to unload a whole bus of students….
Most school buses do not choose to put in seat belts because they know if they did, by law the students would have to use them. Like I stated earlier buses are fairly safe as it is, so bus manufacturers do not choose to do so at this time.You are right, we could “what if…” until the cows come home, and we would go around in circles. So here is where I bid you adieu on this topic, and tell you to have a wonderful Wednesday and get out and enjoy the sunshine that we finally have!
You are right Sara, there are a lot more kids on busses. You have a nice day, hopefully the sun will shine again today, It may even be warmer out today but don’t get used to it…
And maybe we should ban all parents who don’t model/teach their children how to be responsible for their own actions.
lol,
you do realize that if you wanted to do that then you’d be “banning” the majority of american parents. good luck with that.
Calm down.
Let’s go the other way with your logic. Let’s give Iraq some nuclear weapons! Oh, you think that would be unsafe? Of the good ol’ safety argument.
Just because you can fly to extremes doesn’t mean what’s in the middle is wrong.
Just sayin’ rough housing on the stairs ramps up the chance for injury. Injury leads to lawsuits. A students death leads to the parent owning the school…
Ask anyone who’s been in a tall building when it caught on fire what clogged stairwells mean.I think we all know. When those kids enter that school building for the day their safety is in the hands of the folks running that school and the rules they set up. If I had a kid going to that school I’d be pretty impressed.
I’m certain that if the school caught fire the students would move.
you people talk like you think they’re retards.
although it really doesn’t surprise me,
you and the public school system are guiding kids to blindly obey, and to never think for themselves “for their own safety”
We can agree to disagree with one another on this issue or any other. However- you may want to give some thought to the word ‘retard.’ As a society we’ve come a long way with how we refer to certain individuals with a disability I’m pretty sure we left that term behind a long time ago. Keep in mind that you have folks posting here with loved ones that may have a variety of challenges-physical or mental.
By the way- when they are outside of school they can handle their own safety, but when they are at school-the folks running the place do.
I find your reasoning, justifications and very thought process nauseating.
It doesn’t even have to have stairs in it, if there is a fire, it is an unsafe mess all around. Should we live in glass houses? Ban everything that “could” cause a fire? You can’t live on what if’s
They could have blocked me getting to class and I wold have loved it in high school.
I’m glad you wouldnt of starting crying…..I can just picture these kids walking around crying….
ppsssst…this high school graduated just 68% of the students in 2011….thats 12% below the state average……um, i think those students who do go onto post education will be ok…now, lets see what we can do with the ‘lost’ 32%…..official stats show that 49% of Maine high school students who do not graduate, are not in the work force AND are not in a post high school education….don’t be distrat…..SQUIRRELL!!!!!
I would bet most the kids blocking the stairway were the one going to college. The system has a bias against the poor.
and people wonder why kids are so pissed off nowadays.
LeBlanc said he has met with four parents who were unhappy that their children were suspended for the incident. The students have served their suspensions and are back in school. ( Those same four stupid parents are in every school district I think…I sure knew them… in my 28 years of teaching…G)
“Those same four stupid parents”
a little judgmental aren’t we?
how about “those same four parents” who believe in a little fun now and then, who think that suspension for a simple little prank is unfounded and ridiculous.
Again — not to keep repeating myself, BUT they were warned, they had seen others in the past get suspended for the very same behavior. What made them think they could go ahead and continue this “tradition” and not have it result in the same action being taken against them? What makes them any different or more special than the kids in the previous classes who decided to participate in something they knew they were not suppose to and got in trouble for it?
obey, citizen.
I am trying not to repeat myself too…..Senior Prank!!!
The parents are not stupid just think the rule should be bent for them . I would bet most of those parents are not poor. lets face the facts rich kids pull just as mush if not more stuff than the poor ones. They just do not tend to get in as much trouble for it.
Hard for me to believe there were actually kids crying because they were late for class! Must be a whole different generation if that is so as when I was in high school everyone would be laughing, joking and glad to be late!
That’s why the Japanese, Koreans, and Chinese are kicking our *^&%^. They take school a lot more serious than we do. Being late to class is not acceptable in the 17 countries that out do us in math and science.
not saying it’s right, just saying that is how it usually is with teenagers and school!
“>citation needed<"
As most kids would
As far as pranks go, it’s so lame, why even bother?
“….it’s so lame why bother? SOMEONE DIED!!
Really, who died at the high school?
I’m not talking about the Bates student.
I’m talking about the high school students blocking the stairs it’s a very lame prank why bother doing such a prank to begin with, it’s LAME.
because they surely would have been expelled if they’d even attempted any funny prank.
These spoiled kids get away with bulling . Contrary to popular belief bullies do not have low self esteem . Deal with it your kids did wrong . Lesson learned . I remember back in school being bullied when I defended myself I was the one in trouble.
Indoctrination of education. I know my son is not allowed to be late for class also has no time to go to his locker to get his work between classes but is not allowed to pass papers in late . To bad it is more about obeying than learning.
Oh please, the no time to go to my locker excuse? You really buy that kind of nonsense from your kid?
I not saying they never have time but not enough between classes . You would have to plan your day .
Sounds simpler to have a few kids actually be responsible for themselves and plan their day than it is to have the rest of the kids and the teachers wait around for those select few to finish their business at their lockers and where ever else.
I agree it sounds simpler . My point is education is more about obeying than how much a kid learns . Some of my sons classes 50% of the grade is homework 30% test scores kid could get 100 on every test and the best grade they could hope for would be a 50 . Another kid could fail every test have mommy do the homework and get A 91 . Not every kid comes from a function middle class family . Teachers care a great did but some do not understand this. Like the kid who did not ask for help . Well poor kids are taught not to draw attention to them selves . Middle class kids are taught to advocate for themselves . It make a system tat is biased against some. Some Teachers need to be taught a class in poverty 101 to understand.
You might want to go back to school for some math classes. In your example even with all the homework counted you couldn’t possibly get a 91% if all tests were failing grades.
I, for one, am glad you commented. His arithmetic could not go unchallenged. Thanks for adding to the debate!
Ok tyke you do the math I just look at it and saw it was off you tell me what it is please a 69 on 30% A 100 on 50% and another 100 on the other 20% . Pick on my spelling if you want . What can I say I am not educated . Please tell me what you come up with .
if you got a 69 on every test Failing 30% of grade. 100 on all home work 50% of grade and 100% on the participation 20% of grade I think my math is pretty close. Be honest with you I never used a calculator just guessed.I would care to bet my math when it comes to numbers is better than A lot of teachers . One area I am above average with.
They could come up with some math that could change the real answer by indoctrination. Not teacher you to think or question . You must have more schooling than I do . I did not have to unlearn as much as you do .
18 years old and they pull such a lame prank. I think they grow up sounds like a very childish thing to even think of. I think the parents should be fined for having stupid kids.
Very constructIve suggestion.
For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Parenting 101, I guess the parents of these teens forgot that one. Sorry ladies and gentlemen even good people make poor choices and face consquences now and then. atleast you are not one of the JOHNS in Kennebunkport.
Last year i helped a friend’s kid move out of the UMaine Orono dorms, a dorm near the playing field. In the stairwell there was [s— four letter word]on the stairwell that was being cleaned up from the night before. A ‘prank’ and it was not the first time i was told.
Shocking!
What are we doing to our kids? This has got to be the most whimpy senior prank that I have ever heard of. Good thing they were not handing out wedgies, noogies, or swirlies, like they did when I was a lowly frosh! lol. What happened to spending some quality time locked in your locker for a class or two?
Yes and I think those kids should be charged with assault . When I was in school they use to punch you in the arm i told the kid i did not want to play that game . Told him you punch me again I will punch you in the mouth . I loosen his front teeth lol . To this day I wish I could have knock them out of his mouth . I got suspended not him who hit me many times he was warned . Spoiled rich kids and jocks get way with a lot.
Weak society…Crying..OMG
While we were doing all of that fun stuff…the economies that we had been pulverizing were sending their kids to school 6 days a week so that they could kick our %^& today. If we don’t make our schools serious places we won’t be a second rate power-we’ll be a last place non power.
Don’t say that….its way too dangerous. The kid may be scared of the dark, or claustrophobic!
I think a suspension is a hard consequence, but they should be disciplined because it’s dangerous to block a stairway
“There is a process if you don’t get to your class on time, you are late”
No sh*t?
I cannot imagine crying over being late for class. I would have loved the excuse in high school.
Seriously though, creating an unsafe condition is never a good idea. What if there had been a fire or other emergency?
I do agree about the crying….Tito needs a tissue..LOL
This is just a guess, but I assume that if there was a fire the seniors would all get up and leave the stairway….and the building. I have no way of knowing this for certain.
Blocking?? What ever happened to flushing cherry bombs and half sticks of tnt down the toilets?
And let me guess, you turned out just fine! We let a greased pig go in school after getting into the office and playing Schools Out over the speakers. They were not happy with us at all, but suspension never was considered. It is all harmless fun!
“We had students crying in the hallway ”
Really????
What a wimpy society we have become.
Stand a 14 year old freshmen boy next to some of the 19 year old seniors and see what that looks like in a crowed chaotic situation. Some of those wimps are 110 soaking wet and some of those 19 year old are 225 and 6 foot four.
Great unifying thing about “school stories” we were all there. We don’t need your prespective. I was about 95 pounds soaking wet when I was 14. Never bullied. Imagine that!
So funny years latter A man broke down crying when he apologized for bulling me.
Yes the I was bullied……
Time to move on and get past it, most people are bullied in some way or form…
Okay, kids were warned and chose to do it anyway. Now they must face the punishment. Fine. On the other hand, go to any mall or wally world and you are sure to be blocked at some point along your journey. Guess I’m getting bullied everytime I go out in public. Get a grip people. Blocking a stairway as a prank is in no means bullying.
This is the stupidest thing I have ever heard! We need to let our kids be kids!! It was a harmless senior prank. They would have really loved our senior prank if this was so bad! This is absolutely ridiculous. These kids certainly should not have been suspended. There was a day when this would have been funny, and it obviously was, since it was an annual thing. This is what is wrong with todays society. These kids were obviously good kids, you are a senior one time, its not like they did anything that would get any normal kid thrown in jail. They could be out robbing drug stores and molesting children for God sake. I cannot believe some of the comments here. Like none of you people did a senior prank! And if you can tell me you didn’t, you need to get a life. I work with troubled youth, and if this is all they ever did, I would be ecstatic! These parents should be outraged with this punishment!
We ran Miss Petty’s Tiger mascot (stuffed) up the flagpole, and nailed coach Plitt’s chair to the ceiling. Coach laughed, Miss Petty not so much.
The principal made the 8 of us involved in this prank stand in assembly and tell the entire school that we were sorry for wasting their time… which we all considered a greater waste of time, BUT that was over 40 years ago, and I haven’t put a stuffed tiger on a flagpole, or nailed a hair to the ceiling since..
Kuddos, to a school who is taking steps to bringing us closer to George and 1984.
Heavens! I certainly hope there were counselors there on hand to calm the crying children. Maybe they could all go into the boiler room together and pound their frustrations out on clay. Then all the kids could attend an assembly on “feelings.” Sheesh.
Obviously if the kids knew that suspensions would come from pulling the prank, then they got what they deserved, but to mention that kids were crying because they couldn’t get to class? I just can’t see it. And in a lot of schools, there’s more than one way to get to a classroom.
It is really to bad the schools can’t have common sense rules and actually be able to enforce them, without worrying about the foolishness that rules most of society. It all really starts with the parents ——–
sounds like the suspended brats need a wake up call. “blocking” kids from going to class and wasting school time acting like a side show is laughable. They sound like 15 union workers poised to stand on strike 10 years from now, while recuperating from their fake workers comp injuries
Anger issues much? Ought to get some help for that.
shut up and move on. bunch of brats prettending they were big deals and now are paying the price.
” ME, ME, I, I”
Thats what we hear 24/7. All about me. Well you broke the rules and paid for it. grow up, shut up and move on. Dont have mommy and daddy parade their spoiled brat into the school and try and get it fixed
If thats the difference in going to a good school, your applicationn must have sucked
i think kids need to grow the hell up and not be like ther parents of the past was dont we know what we di in the past and shared our kids are gonna do also dont this go in line of bullying and i think bullys need to be charged with just that and have jail time
Lame prank.Try being more creative kids. Disassemble a VW bug and put it back together in the principals office after hours.