The criminalization of our children continues
 

Arrested, expelled and who knows what's gonna happen to her. But chances are, her life is ruined. Why? A science experiment with a water bottle and the cap blew off.

But she's just an unimportant person, not of any rich family or anything so who cares, right?

http://www.alternet.org/civil-libert...roject-mistake

What's gonna happen when YOUR kid makes a mistake?


May 1, 2013 |



A Florida teen with an exemplary record is facing federal charges after conducting what a classmate calls “a science project gone bad.”

16-year-old Kiera Wilmot is accused of mixing housing chemicals in a small water bottle at Bartow High School, causing the cap to fly off and produce a bit of smoke. The experiment was conducted outdoors, no property was damaged, and no one was injured.

Not long after Wilmot’s experiment, authorities arrested her and charged her with “possession/discharge of a weapon on school property and discharging a destructive device,” according to WTSP-TV. The school district proceeded to expel Wilmot for handling the “dangerous weapon,” also known as a water bottle. She will have to complete her high school education through an expulsion program.

Friends and staffers, including the school principal, came to Wilmot’s defense, telling media that authorities arrested an upstanding student who meant no harm.

"She is a good kid," principal Ron Richard told WTSP-TV. "She has never been in trouble before. Ever."

"She just wanted to see what happened to those chemicals in the bottle," a classmate added. "Now, look what happened."

Polk County Schools stands by its decision to expel Wilmot, asserting in a statement, “there are consequences to actions,” and calling Wilmot’s experiment a “serious breach of conduct.”

I'm with you, Bump. Silliness.

What a bunch of horseshit

2 liter bottle mobile meth lab?

Kid was trying to learn some science, and gets arrested.

What a bunch of shit....

Wait, what?

This thread ISN'T about marijuana?

I suppose the school would classify this as a WMD?

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I actually recall my 9th grade science teach doing a similar experiment. He did something where the cap of a 2 liter bottle blew off into the ceiling.

Now he would be put on death row for that.

My small gas engines teacher in high school dropped a lit cigarette into a puddle of gasoline just to show us that it wouldn't catch on fire and explode like in the movies.

Let's get too dramatic. I'll bet that this girl's punishment is drastically reduced.

Heh, that is about as mild as it gets. You should have seen the things we made after school. We made things that went BOOM, not pop. Great for fishing!

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/.a/6...f211023970c-pi

If it is a federal felony charge, it is possible there is more to that story.

ya one kid at my high school lost his fingers on one hand by making a little bomb like a dumbass. He never got sentenced to prison for it though.

WTF happened to the days when kids could make nuclear bombs as science fair projects!!! :cuss:

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Wow.

Somebody ratted her out. Who? Why?

I am not sure what is more pathetic. Someone took the time to build that, someone took the time to film it or that I bothered to watch part of it~

parents in that state should pull their kids from any future science projects in fear of this happening to their kids. Serious.

Not you too. :facepalm: I LIVE HERE!

Nope. Clearly those few sentences explained everything.

Be great seeing what more there is. Federal felony for a bottle going boom. Good stuff.

The kid is 16, consider that. Also look at the source it comes from. The feds waste time on shit like weed maybe, but a kid blowing up a bottle?

There shouldn't be any punishment. In fact the inquisitive nature of the student should actually be encourage and stimulated with proper instruction. Anymore a public school education is a prison both literally and figuratively.

When AlterNet.org reports something, take it to the bank.

And I am not saying I am right, but she could have been trying to make something like meth as I said in the beginning, or an explosive deal. Who knows, just sounds like too much law enforcement trouble for something they could have suspended her a day, or two, for.

welcome to the world of zero tolerance.....light your fart on fire in school...off to jail for making a WMD.(although it's really a WAD).

Meth. That must be it.

I don't see how anyone could draw any conclusions about what really happened from this article. Kid was 16, not 6. If she was purposefully mixing chemicals that she thought would produce some time of reaction to blow up a water bottle, you gotta deal with that, no?

Seems like most people on here are saying--a 16 yr-old tried to create a small explosion at school. No one got hurt, so what's the big deal?

Teacher, right? Yeah, that's pretty much the same as a student doing it on her own.

The ones we made we not "little." If you hav eone og off that close to you, it would be dirt nap time. It all boils down to knowing WTF you're doing. If a guy were to make the same thing today, it would likely be 10 years in the joint. IWe jused F4 power but some other guys messed with nitroglycerin, I wasn't even that crazy.

Well, let's encourage 16 year old kids to experiment with that sort of thing at school.

I'm really not sure why everyone seems to be ignoring this aspect.

They just need to put up a sign--
"Kids--if you are going to mix chemicals to try to make a small explosion, please do so safely."

Putting some mentos in a bottle of coke isn't exactly the same thing as mixing a bunch of random chemicals to see what would happen, you ridiculous person.

you think that she deserved expulsion and being arrested? wow

I admittedly don't know EXACTLY what happened. But, if a high school kid is purposefully mixing something that they think will cause a small explosion, I think you have to deal with that pretty harshly.

This isn't a case of someone biting a Pop Tart into the shape of a gun. Someone was purposefully trying to make an explosion at school. So this was a small one. Next time someone is goofing around with shit they don't fully understand and it is a lot worse. Yeah, I kind of think there needs to be a zero-tolerance policy of trying to cause explosions at school.

ya but it's a ****ing science project!

ruin a young persons life over that. That shit is ****ed up. This isn't some explosion at school, its a ****ing science project that had a little "pop" sound.

If this was some sinister thing she was doing intentionally to scare people, then yes, I'd agree. But that's not the case.

Sure as hell shouldn't involve the authorities. I hope you are just trolling.

So, you're taking this line from the alternet.org story: "A Florida teen with an exemplary record is facing federal charges after conducting what a classmate calls “a science project gone bad.”"

You're taking that line and assuming that this was some sort of assigned science project? For real? Are the kids smoking in the bathrooms just doing "science project" as well?

So, the standard on school explosions should be--as long as it is pretty small, it's ok? And untrained kids should be able to know exactly what will happen when they mix their chemicals, right?

Cosmo please make a separate thread about this in your Hobbit Hole in D.C. Most of us would rather not deal with your ignorance in the "Buck's Mom makes a $.10 Whore Look Expensive" Lounge

There's nothing in the story that justifies the kid's punishment. I feel sorry for the kids today. I'm not even that old, yet most of the shit my group of friends and I were doing when we were kids would either be criminal or at least seriously frowned upon today.

The police state is ramping up, and it's partly because of the incredibly ****ing stupid and lazy pricks who defend horrible ideas like "no tolerance" rules and overreactive policing.

well that's the information I have. Future information can always change opinions.

But if it is the case, like the article says, then it's ****ing wrong. If the article is bullshit, I will never look at another one of their news articles.

I didn't start the ****ing thread, you ****ing moron.

I believe that he was just suggesting that you start one of your own threads, (in DC), regarding the subject.

I said please and you fly off the handle. Don't let anger become you.

Thanks mom!
I'm sorry I had to :grovel:

What the police do is seperate from what the school does. Due to lack of details, I have no idea if police action is warranted. It doesn't seem like there was there was intent to hurt anyone.

However, I don't think a school can just sit there and ignore a kid who is trying to create a small explosion. Again, this isn't an image of a gun or an inappropriate t-shirt. I don't see how someone can argue for a standard that says it is ok for kids to even goof around with chemicals for the purpose of causing an explosion. You want to allow your kids at home to do that, I guess it is up to the parent. I'd say a school has to be a bit more strict.

Why would I? Someone already started a thread, and it is here.

NSFW

Oh, sorry, I didn't see the "please." Let me try again.

I didn't start the ****ing thread, so please go **** yourself, moron.

I'll pray for peace for you.

There's not sufficient justification for the punishment in the story, yet you're going zero tolerance anyway. You're part of the problem, not the solution.

You can create an explosion from common stuff you probably have right now in your garage or under your sink. For a kid to try that stuff at school is beyond stupid and potentially, quite dangerous. It would be pretty stupid of the school to simply shrug it off.

It would. But the charges just seem ridiculous.

We created a small explosion in school when I was a kid, and we shattered a beaker in the process. Every one of us survived the experience, nobody got punished and the police were never called in. We were told to strictly follow the teacher's instructions from then on, and that was it.

I grant you that the students from the class next door did come running in to see what had happened, but none of them were injured or killed either.

Meh. Not worth explaining.

This thread was bound to end up in DC anyway. :facepalm:

Carry on...

That's up to the police. The prosecutor can sort out if the charges are warranted. Maybe they aren't. I'm talking about the school.

Yes. Zero tolerance for kids going off on their own to try to create explosions at school.

Oh yeah, and here's my view on the subject... This country is getting soft and overreacts over stupid crap.

BUT...the cap flew off and there was smoke!! Terrorist attack!! Arrest her!!

Like I said, you're part of the problem.

I just thank God that she didn't try the "can a vacuum suck an egg into a bottle?" experiment. We might all have been killed.

So...reckless behavior at school with potentially very dangerous consequences should only be punished if someone is actually seriously injured?

Punishment for causing a disturbance, (and nothing more)? Suspend her from school. But to arrest her? JFC.

I didn't defend the arrest--that's up to the police.

Did you actually read the article?

http://www.theledger.com/article/201...NEWS/304235005

So, what is it that you're defending?

My original argument was meant to highlight that I'm annoyed by her getting arrested, not expelled. This happened on school grounds and the school has the authority to make that decision. But the police arresting her for what happened? Insane.

I have now. Doesn't change anything. Still hard to tell if an arrest was warrented, but that's up to the cops. Trying to detonate something on school grounds might be an automatic arrest. Anyway, the school definetely needs to take action or else it allows every kid to "experiment" at school with various chemicals to see what they can blow up. You can't seriously be ok with that.

I'm defending the school's actions. I don't know if an arrest was warranted, but intentionally causing an explosion at a school probably is automatically gounds for arrest under the local law. Whether it should be prosecuted--I don't feel I have enough info to have an opinion, but my gut feeling is no.

You can't seriously be ok with a zero tolerance policy, and yet you are. And, according to the article, the girl claims that she thought it would lead to smoke, not an explosion, so you either still haven't read the article or you're choosing to ignore that part of it.

I hate big science.

The only way this makes any sense is if this was not part of a class project.
Then they likely have issues with her using any chemicals, unsupervised, on school property.

genuine enthusiasm and curiosity for learning from a bright student with a promising future = GTFO.

if she'd been sharing inspirational quotes on facebook like the rest of her moronic counterparts she'd still be a model pupil, sad.

Sure, let's make something blow up at 7 am, before classes start. Who knows what it was? Like I've said I'm sure some kid has ****ed up making pop bottle meth in Iowa before. If it was simply explosives, is that really any better? It's just a suspension for a couple days to me, but it doesn't feel right that the girl is a complete victim.

Hell. Hell, hell is for children

Absolutely ridiculous...

This looks like a fun thread to play a game in. Guess which poster is a very little pasty white guy that got picked on in school and hates his tiny penis so much he smacks his ballsack repeatedly to punish himself for it, is.

I haven't even posted:mad:
sec

ROFL

So it's okay for teenagers who have no idea what they're doing to mix chemicals causing an explosion at school as long a they were only trying to create chemical smoke? That's your position on chemical induced explosions at high schools?

Let's just let kids bring chemicals onto school grounds and mix them together to satisfy their curiosity. If they explode, it's okay as long as A) nobody gets hurt AND B) the kids are only trying to get the chemicals to start smoking. As long as any explosions resulting from untrained teenagers mixing chemicals together before school are unintentional, there will be no consequences. This policy is stern but fair.

Should she be in trouble? Yes. Should she be expelled? Probably. Should she be expelled forever? No. Should she be arrested and charged with “possession/discharge of a weapon on school property and discharging a destructive device"? Hell no.

I don't necessarily disagree with any of this. That said, this story is clearly written with a bias, comes from a very questionable source, and is severely lacking in detail. Experience tells me that, when you read something like this that makes the authorities look this ridiculous, there's probably more to the story.