Editorial for February 14, 2008 edition:


They have no class

The incident Monday morning in which students at Northeast High School had an unexpected day off because “pranksters” had released 87 chickens that made a big mess in the halls was no big deal, right? No harm done, right? Kids will be kids, right?
Wrong.
Every missed day of classroom instruction is an inexcusable absence on a day in which the minds of many of these presumed leaders of tomorrow remain stagnant. A mind is a terrible thing to waste, and while that may not mean much to the morons responsible for this incident, they need to pay for their actions.
Hopefully, surveillance cameras set up in the school will help police catch them and they will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Throw the book at them. Charge them with everything even remotely connected to their atrocity — criminal mischief, animal abuse, vandalism, conspiracy, and, because of the health concerns that resulted from the crime, risking a catastrophe.
Any seniors who were involved should be denied the right to graduate with the rest of their class, and if it was in any way an inside job, the perpetrators should be fired and prosecuted.
Make the criminals reimburse the city, school district and police department for the cost of investigating the crime and cleaning up the mess. Push for a conviction and 100 hours of community service, say, cleaning up animal duty at the Philadelphia Zoo. Treat this crime as the attack on society that it was, and make sure the punishment deters other would-be school vandals.
Tempting as it may be, this case should not be treated as a laughing matter. ••

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