[afarrell]

A kid can cut out the pages from a book and hide a circuitboard in a book. Should we ban books from schools? No. A kid can put a piece of benign electronics in a backpack and just leave it in a crowded area without telling anyone.should we ban backpacks from schools? No.

The answer to stupid overreaction isn't to say that benign educational activities are stupid; It is to stop overreaction.

[daktanis]

Im sorry, was I approving the overreaction? No. Im saying I don't think its truly race motivated and that a High schooler should be knowledgable enough to know how it may appear. Maybe he could have left it with his shop teacher or gotten a note from the teacher. The teacher would have saved the kid some trouble since the teacher obviously thought it wouldn't be great if another teacher saw it.

Imagine if it was a bomb how the media would be damning the school for not acting.

[JoeAltmaier]

Imagine? Shoes can be a bomb. Any backpack could contain a bomb. An electronic thing with lights and a battery is no more likely to be a bomb. This whole manufactured issue is simply Idiocracy at work.

[zardo]

Should we ban backpacks from schools? No.

Some schools have actually done that.

[yellowapple]

To be fair, banning backpacks might have other purposes beyond "security"; for example, carrying around a bunch of books on your back can contribute to spinal stress, cause or worsen scoliosis, etc.