A student whose situation I’m personally aware of was threatened with expulsion during middle school after a history of being an undistinguished but not particularly troublesome student for a) doodling a bobomb (character from Mario) in their notebook during class and b) filling in a speech bubble saying “Let’s blow up the school.” Zero tolerance policy; bomb threat.
It took substantial efforts by a parent to keep them in school, including begging, pleading, and threatening a PR campaign along the lines of “I will personally call every mother at this school and break down in their living room about how you ruined my son’s life” to get him reinstated.
The school was, obviously, neither bobombed nor hit with a turtle shell nor stomped on.
>doodling a bobomb (character from Mario) in their notebook during class and b) filling in a speech bubble saying “Let’s blow up the school.” Zero tolerance policy; bomb threat.
My school forced us to show IDs to get on the bus home. I got in school suspension* for saying something to the effect of if I were going to bring a bomb I wouldn't forget my ID. This was almost 20 years ago so I guess I got off light. I still remember how ridiculous it all was and more ridiculous that my parents sided with the school.
*Essentially all day long detention. Sit in a room, no talking, do work
That reminds me of an instance where a not-too-bright fellow was stressed out about some exam. He strapped a LED blinker to a clock and a box with rocks, put it at the basement floor corridor and informed teachers about a bomb he "found just laying there".
Everyone was evacuated. A bomb squad had to come from 90km away to disarm it. The kid was expelled after he admitted doing it after questioning.
Moral of the story: don't teach kids about LED blinkers.
Obviously the environment is different now, but me and a few friends called in a bomb scare to our high school, got a day off while cops came and everyone was evacced to sports fields.
Got caught, suspended, and given a stern talking to by the cops, but no records or permanent consequences.
We’re all functional adults now, contributing to society, some in upper management roles, some heading up charities. A punitive approach would have made those stories impossible.
It took substantial efforts by a parent to keep them in school, including begging, pleading, and threatening a PR campaign along the lines of “I will personally call every mother at this school and break down in their living room about how you ruined my son’s life” to get him reinstated.
The school was, obviously, neither bobombed nor hit with a turtle shell nor stomped on.