No injuries, no damages, but felony charges

[Pixilated]

A 16-year-old girl has been expelled and is facing felony charges after doing something that could best be qualified as kinda dumb. As the title says, there were no injuries and no damage done.

All I can say is it's a good thing these loonies weren't in charge when I was in Gr. 7. I can't recall the number of times my science teacher paraded us out onto the grounds so we could watch a budding rocket scientist's latest efforts get off the ground -- or not. His last effort got about 50 feet in the air, eliciting riotous cheers from all of us. Today we'd probably all be expelled -- especially him -- and the teacher would be in jail.

[Rageaholic]

A weapon on school property?!!

It's. A. Science. Experiment. There was clearly no intentions to harm anyone. Can't these numbnuts see that?

This is another example of our overly protected paranoid society at work. Everyone needs to lighten up (no pun intended).

[Gravekeeper]

Yeah, I saw this on the news and had a real WTF moment. Way to ruin a promising girl's life because.....what? Terrorism?

In my high school my science teacher was infamous for having the school evacuated at least once a year due to his experiments. He was awesome, and because he was awesome we wanted to learn science. -.-

[Andara Bledin]

Welcome to the madness that is zero tolerance.

[Panacea]

Whoa, hold on a minute.

Re-read the article. There is nothing in the article that says this happened in a science lab. It happened on "school property." The principal was nearby when it happened. She had put the water bottle with the chemicals in it "on the ground." "She wanted to see what would happen [when the chemicals mixed] and was shocked by what it did."

This wasn't a science experiment. This was a kid indulging her curiosity outside of a controlled environment.

Now, I don't think she meant any harm. At worst, it was meant as a prank. It's an opportunity for dialouge and teaching. Felony charges are overblown.

But you can't compare what this girl did to what a science teacher does when he launches rockets for his class. He's planning out what he's doing, he understands the principals involved, and he takes appropriate safety precautions.

This girl just wanted to see a boom. She had to have an idea of what would happen . . . that's why she mixed what she did. It just made a bigger boom than she thought, and she may not have expected the smoke.

It's not too far off from the pranks I played with chemicals when I was in high school (I never got caught).

She deserves an in school suspension, and some education on explosives and fire safety.

Jail . . . way overblown.

[Kheldarson]

I'm with Panacea. Although I figure she did it on school grounds because it was a controlled environment for her.

My main beef is felony charges? On top of expulsion? Way to throw a top student under a bus and keep her from achieving her best in life after school.

[Andara Bledin]

There's not enough details in most of these, but here's more articles for those who are curious:

Article at Education Week

Article at Salon

Article at Democracy.org

This one notes that she will be tried as an adult for the heinous crime of being immature and curious.

Article at The Star

Apparently the Assistant Principal, Durham, heard a noise and called the cops.

The Principal, who was standing "nearby" says he heard "a pop."

This one notes that it was an Assistant State Attorney who advised that she be arrested and charged.

It also notes that she told Durham that she was "conducting a science fair experiment."

Is "a pop" an excuse to call police or was the assistant principal in need of an excuse to feel powerful?

Article at Huffington Post

It's interesting to note that the same Assistant State Attorney decided not to prosecute another teen who accidentally shot and killed his sibling. Holy disconnect.

A Change.org petition with over 23,000 supporters.

Another Change.org petition currently at 4300 supporters.

[Kheldarson]

My understanding from some news interviews is that the principals weren't the ones who made the call to expel her or arrest/charge her. That's all on the school board.

[violiav]

Oh, the school board. Well that explains the level of nonsense.

[Bloodsoul]

This article reminds me of Lobo, the Last Czarnian from DC Comics. Also, I feel like reading/watching Red October, now.

[Greenday]

Meh, don't make explosives in school. It's pretty simple. Don't think she should have been expelled but it is what it is. "She just wanted to see what happened" Yea, right. Because people just stand around in school and ask themselves what happens if they just mix a couple random stuff together.

[Panacea]

Oh, the school board. Well that explains the level of nonsense.

Indeed it does.

Well, I signed both petitions.

[Kheldarson]

Meh, don't make explosives in school. It's pretty simple. Don't think she should have been expelled but it is what it is. "She just wanted to see what happened" Yea, right. Because people just stand around in school and ask themselves what happens if they just mix a couple random stuff together.

Uh...actually, yeah, they do. I was part of a science club at school. That was kind of their thing. (I say their because, honestly, it was the one and only club I joined because I had a boyfriend in it. I'm not into random science.)

And you know what? They would test it too. Usually off school grounds, but sometimes the teacher sponsor found an idea neat and would let them use the lab.

When I attended a Governor's School for Sciences, the same thing went on there as well.

Students/People who are interested in the chemistry side of science or just science in general seem to ask these questions quite a bit...and then want to test it.

[violiav]

My ex and a friend once put a AOL disk in a microwave to see what would happen. Totally sober. I hope some Super-Science intellectual group comes along and helps her out. Like what happened with this kid- in North Carolina.


ETA: My boyfriend and his kids will do random science. If we lived out in the country I'm sure there would be explosions.

[Greenday]

Uh...actually, yeah, they do. I was part of a science club at school. That was kind of their thing. (I say their because, honestly, it was the one and only club I joined because I had a boyfriend in it. I'm not into random science.)

And you know what? They would test it too. Usually off school grounds, but sometimes the teacher sponsor found an idea neat and would let them use the lab.

When I attended a Governor's School for Sciences, the same thing went on there as well.

Students/People who are interested in the chemistry side of science or just science in general seem to ask these questions quite a bit...and then want to test it.

As an explosive chemist, I understand the fascination with chemistry and wanting to experiment. That point hasn't gone over my head. But clearly you can see the difference between trying experiments in a controlled environment and researching it as opposed to just seeing something cool and randomly giving it a try in the middle of school without any way of making sure it was safe or okayed by a teacher. This is 2013. You can't blow stuff up in school unannounced and expect to get away with it.