Dear Swami:
I see the kids in Grayslake were evacuated again Wednesday because of another "threatening graffiti message." How much of this is real vigilance in a crazy world, and how much of it is being overcautious while bratty suburban kids take an old prank too far?
Aggravated in Avon Township
Dear Triple A:
To answer two questions with one word: Yes.
Not only are kids dragging out a tired, unoriginal prank, but they're making light of a serious situation -- and, eventually, someone's going to pay for it.
Monday and Tuesday it was threats written on a bathroom at Grayslake Middle School. Wednesday it was Frederick Intermediate School. And last week a similar threat was found at Grayslake North High School.
Each time the schools were evacuated, and in Monday's incident students were actually sent home for the day (a whole five minutes early, but still).
To the immature perpetrator, it may seem like a joke. Scribble a few words ... alarm teachers ... cause an evacuation. Next thing you know, you're outside on a warm spring day - maybe even the warmest of 2008 to date.
But the consequences are bigger. Police and school administrators don't enjoy using their manpower and resources to constantly check the school for bombs or other weapons that can cause harm. They also can't afford not to. Police will tell you every threat needs to be investigated seriously. And they'll likely pursue charges just as sternly.
You see, more often than not, these kids get caught. They blab to friends, they get sloppy. Or they just don't realize schools have cameras in place. Just ask the pranksters who made fake threats to schools in Waukegan, Round Lake and Libertyville last spring. They were all slapped with misdemeanor charges. And the Swami's crystal ball tells him similar charges will be pursued against these new jokesters, too.
So yes, in so many words, these bratty kids are going too far. And it's about time they took up a new hobby ... before they end up getting punk'd at the Hulse Juve-y Center.
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