[gregmac]

> I was nearly expelled for "hacking". They placed me on "academic probation"

This reaction makes me very, very angry.

I would love to push it back on them: it's unclear under what laws/regulations this would fall, but if you (as the student who found it) can get in trouble for finding this info, they can most certainly get in trouble for posting it in a location it can be found in.

Further, because you were actually punished for it, it means one of two things: they were in fact in the wrong for publishing it (and thus should be punished -- whether it's a criminal offence or merely a professional reprimand); or if they can't be punished, neither can you -- which means the principal should be in trouble for a giving out a groundless punishment.

In my mind, it ceases being an "honest mistake" when they attempt to punish the person who points it out.

I realize that the real world is much more complex than this: you were a kid, your parents don't necesarily want to put you through the doubtless retaliation the administration would put you through anyway (even if not official), and the people with the authority may not see it the same way (in the same way police officers rarely charge other officers with crimes).

[iamdave]

Remember clock Ahmed the clock kid? I had a situation almost exactly like his, except I made a working FM radio, could change stations and listen to local news and weather, I thought it was the coolest thing ever.

The school did not, and the district superintendent agreed with them. Who knew that an FM Radio made out of a La Gloria Cubana cigar box-with labelling removed so as not to run afoul of any "tobacco paraphernalia" questions constituted a "bomb".

Parents sued to have me reinstated, but the social stigma lasted well throughout high school. Kids nicknamed me "bomberman" and there was this whole narrative that I had to be removed from the school, handcuffed by the FBI and put into the back of a box truck and hauled away. When in reality, my dad picked me up in his Honda (which would later become my Honda) and we drove home.

[TomSawyer]

It sounds like you weren't sufficiently brown to get media attention? "Public school bureaucracy run by bureaucrats" doesn't have the right mass appeal.

[dragonwriter]

> It sounds like you weren't sufficiently brown to get media attention?

Or just didn't have a family with the right media instincts.

> "Public school bureaucracy run by bureaucrats" doesn't have the right mass appeal.

It has incredible mass appeal, which is frequently exploited politically -- by both sides of the political spectrum.

But for it to get media attention, someone's got to get it to the media's attention. Outside of people and institutions that are already high-probability news sources, the media isn't really actively monitoring what goes on to find potential stories, things become stories because someone involved brings it to the attention of the media.

[mrgoldenbrown]

Ahmed: police called. handcuffed, questioned for 90 minutes, transported to juvenile jail, all without being able to see parents. plus racist comments.

iamdave: picked up from school by his dad, no police involved.

Not exactly the same situations. Both crappy situations, but Ahmed's treatment was an order of magnitude more inappropriate.

[iamdave]

Well my intent here wasn't really to make a comparison of our situations as much as it was to highlight heavy handed bureaucracy within primary educational systems.

[iamdave]

>It sounds like you weren't sufficiently brown to get media attention? "Public school bureaucracy run by bureaucrats" doesn't have the right mass appeal.

We're brown, I think colloquially "black".

[powertower]

> Remember clock Ahmed the clock kid?

It turned out that his invention was a fully pre-built alarm clock removed from its plastic housing.

Also other details emerged that pretty much sealed the case against him - what he did was create an intentional hoax.

[dave2000]

That's your take-away from the situation, not the fact a child was handcuffed and treated like a terrorist for purely anti-Muslim reasons? Wow.

[geggam]

Crystal radios were a school project taught in science class when I was in high school

[gist]

> This reaction makes me very, very angry.

You are hearing one side of a story (that doesn't mean there is another side that would change your mind or my mind of course) but keep in mind that the parent also said "I admit I was snooping".

Let's say for arguments sake someone enters a room that they are not supposed to be in and finds something in a desk drawer that shouldn't be there. Should the person snooping be commended for doing that? As if a reward saying "go anywhere anytime and as long as the end justifies you are off the hook". Are you allowed to enter your neighbors house in search of contraband or access his computer? I realize this was allegedly "public" but the devil is in the details of what that means exactly.