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[tonyvr]

14-year old kid of middle-eastern decent arrested in Texas for bringing a homemade clock to school.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/17/us/te ... icle-click

[DanV]

Who cares.
If you were to carefully read the school's policy regarding things you can bring from home, you may find many thing prohibited.

Live with it and move on - it should be something he and his family can laugh about and say 'lesson learned'.

[phalanx]

...you may find many thing prohibited.

I'm pretty certain a clock wouldn't be on that list.



-Bill

[DanV]

Here's a quote from a local high school's handbook and policy on prohibited devices:

any destructive device which includes but
is not limited to any explosive, incendiary, or poison gas, bomb, grenade, or
rocket having an explosive or incendiary charge of more than one-quarter ounce,
mine or device similar to any of the devices described above.

Maybe they should have looked at the thing and if it looked like a bomb (especially with digital display) thought twice about it, or simply taken a picture and showed that to the parties of interest before actually bringing it onto school grounds.

[phalanx]

A clock bears no similarity to a "destructive device" and Hollywood's idea of a bomb should not be the litmus test in a situation like this. If we go down the route of anything that looks like a box and has a digital display on it shall be considered a bomb then the school will have to immediately remove any offending DVD players, network switches, printers, copiers, fire alarm control panels, building alarm panels, AV equipment, musical tuning equipment, watches, digital clocks, score boards, and by extension no cars with a digital radio can be allowed in the parking lot.

This whole scenario the kid landed in is immensely stupid and was created by a bunch of stupid people. The only thing the kid did wrong is assume that adults would be able to think rationally.

-Bill

[DanV]

Those school policies are necessary and the final word. There's no wiggle room.

A student shall not use, handle, have on his/her person, have easy access to transmit, convey or
conceal any weapon, look-alike weapon or any object that could be considered a
dangerous weapon capable of inflicting bodily injury, such as (but not limited to)
look alike firearms, look-alike knives, look-alike explosive devices

And that 'clock' bears a striking similarity to a timer on a bomb.

Bomb.png

That's the student in question pointing to his clock thing.

[Kamiquasi]

And that 'clock' bears a striking similarity to a timer on a bomb.

Bomb.png

That's the student in question pointing to his clock thing.

An over-the-top movie bomb, maybe.

I don't question the need for the rules - I do question humans' ability to actual interpret those rules and apply them to a given situation.

On the one hand they obviously didn't know enough about electronics (or bombs) to ascertain what the device was, and I understand that caution was merited. The actions taken will probably be reviewed, though I fear that the actions taken will be "don't bring anything to school anymore - problem solved" as that's a simpler solution than trying to educate (the irony is palpable.)

On the other hand, fear the day they learn what actual bombs look like and how they are activated, as suddenly everything between books and cellphones will seem a perfect fit for those rules. I guess we should be glad that their only reference for 'look-alike' is what movies and TV shows have taught them.

[phalanx]

A student shall not use, handle, have on his/her person, have easy access to transmit, convey or
conceal any weapon, look-alike weapon or any object that could be considered a
dangerous weapon capable of inflicting bodily injury, such as (but not limited to)
look alike firearms, look-alike knives, look-alike explosive devices

Even by Hollywood standards, this is not a look-alike explosive device. The biggest giveaway is a Hollywood bomb has a countdown timer where this clock counts up. I'll wager it doesn't make beeping noises with every change in digit and there probably isn't any background 1980's era hard drive noises coming from it. Also very important in confirming if it's a bomb or not is the ubiquitous red and blue wire which is needed by the hero to make a last second 50-50 disarming decision. Now that I'm thinking about last minute disarming, have you ever seen a Hollywood bomb that didn't show seconds? The seconds display is critical for last possible moment disarming.

I'm embarrassed by the adults that handled this situation. Every last thing that was presented boiled down to "it's just a clock" yet the kid was still brought out in handcuffs. I wonder if his ethnicity had anything to do with it.

-Bill

[Valen]

Also, isn't the crucial element in an explosive device... the explosive!?! Was there ever any sign of a stick of dynamite (or whatever) being attached? I know a capacitor can blow up right in front of your face if powered improperly (well, my dad had the front row seat for that), but I doubt they knew that much.

[DanV]

If someone finds a backpack, cardboard box, or other item abandoned in a park or other public place, they call the bomb squad and they don't take any chances. They're not going to examine it closely to see if it's going to explode in their faces. They follow procedure.
I fail to see the problem - the school policy is not a secret and in many schools, the student has to sign that they read it and agree to comply.

[phalanx]

In this scenario, there was nothing abandoned and it was always under the kid's control. He had already showed it to his engineering teacher who could vouch that it is harmless. The bigoted teacher whose classroom the alarm went off in way overreacted to a harmless scenario and got the police involved. Despite their rhetoric about safety, the police knew it was completely harmless because the school wasn't evacuated, the bomb squad wasn't called, and they confiscated the device which they wouldn't do if it was in any way dangerous. Knowing all this they still chose to arrest the kid and the school suspended him under the illusion of safety. They will never admit it but this would have never happened if he had a fairer complexion and his name was John Smith.

On the bright side, he now has a personal invitation to the white house directly from the president. I'd be willing to wager that some private institutions of learning will offer him chance to learn in an environment that embraces the aspirations of their students instead of punishing them for trying to extend themselves.

-Bill

[DanV]

A fine analysis of the clock that Ahmed built:
http://www.youngcons.com/whoa-engineer- ... ncil-case/

[haedon]

Maybe the kid likes to invent or improvise things. I see no problem with that but, he shouldn't brought things he is doing as hobby especially if those things are prohibited in schools. Parent should be aware about things that their kids is bringing to the school. Just to avoid such incident.

[henrysmith]

Who cares.
If you were to carefully read the school's policy regarding things you can bring from home, you may find many thing prohibited.

Live with it and move on - it should be something he and his family can laugh about and say 'lesson learned'.

So what you are saying that school's policy mentions that not to bring a clock :clap:

[TimmyTopHat]

The teachers knew it wasn't a bomb the whole time. The first teacher he showed told him to put it in his locker to avoid potential problems, and nobody else cared about it until he plugged it in during class and set off the alarm, and then refused to unplug it. So yeah, it probably would happen to your kid. The only reason anyone is making a big deal of the whole situation is because the kid happens to be Muslim. Many have questioned his motives for the whole stunt (as do I, as his sister pulled a similar bomb threat hoax), but for the most part it's all speculation. A clock in a box from anyone is already deemed suspicious, and the fact that he is of a particular ethnic background that a good portion of the world has very tense relations with doesn't help either. And what better way to make some quick cash in the American "politically correct" environment than baiting people into an act that can be labeled as "discrimination", then play the "islamophobia" card? But like I said, that's all speculation.


Can I have a full-ride scholarship too?