The Inkblot is withholding the names of the affected students to protect their privacy.
By CAYLA HARRIS – An online invitation showed up in the Class of 2015 email box Tuesday morning that asked class members to edit a document titled “Senior Prank Ideas.” Those who did quickly faced disciplinary action, they said.
The seniors received detentions and suspensions for various comments made on the document, ranging from a suggestion to post a picture of Principal James Gleason around the school to an idea that authorities perceived as a threat, according to seniors involved.
Students have said they believe Gleason is included on each class’s email list, which is how he may have received the document, although Gleason declined to comment on any aspect of the incident.
Gleason began calling students to his office at the end of second period on Wednesday, said a senior.
Class members said that three students were suspended, and three seniors received detentions. In addition, one student, after writing a comment that the administration viewed as threatening, said they were suspended for three days.
During Wednesday’s lunch/activity period, a senior unconnected to the incident protested this student’s suspension by wearing a self-made t-shirt and posters in a personalized spin-off of the recent “Je Suis Charlie” rallies in France.
The student who wrote the reportedly threatening comment confirmed to The Inkblot in a phone interview that they wrote the comment because “it was edgy, it was distasteful, it was shocking – that was the idea.”
“Honestly, I was gonna put it up and take it down afterwards because it was a little much, but I forgot to take that down,” the student said. “I regret what I said.”
The student was called down to the main office to speak with Gleason, their guidance counselor and a police officer, the student said. The officer searched the student’s locker for weapons, and two detectives later searched the student’s room at home.
The student added that the police didn’t use handcuffs, although the officer did follow the student home from school. Charges will not be filed, the student said.
The student said the administration handled the event appropriately in their case, and that “they didn’t punish me as hard as I thought they would.”
“[The administration] handled it well; they did everything that I think they should. I can’t really be upset about what happened because it’s my fault, and they did exactly what I think they would do.”
One senior, who was suspended for one day after writing several prank ideas and explicit language in the document, said in an email interview that although they are “annoyed” and “unhappy” with the situation, they are relieved it’s over.
“I’m happy that I learned an important lesson about writing things in public forums or writing things down at all. I’m glad that at least for me it’s going to be somewhat OK.”
The senior said the punishment will not leave CHS, and commitments to sports teams have not been affected.
No colleges have been notified of the incident, according to both students, although the former may have to report the suspension on the Common App in the near future.
One senior who received a detention explained in an email the reasons Gleason said there must be disciplinary action.
“Our names all appear to have edited the doc,” the senior said, paraphrasing Gleason. “We’re the ones to be held accountable if any of the pranks were to happen.”
Gleason declined to comment on any questions posed by The Inkblot, including how punishments were decided.
Friends of the suspended also voiced reactions to the incident.
One senior who requested to remain anonymous said the incident was a “random mindless event that ultimately affected students too harshly,” excluding the student who wrote a suggestion perceived as a threat.
“As for the others,” the senior said, “I feel as though either none of them should have been punished or all of them should have.”
A junior deemed the initial idea of a senior prank document harmless, but drew the line at the threatening suggestion.
“Obviously that [threat] needed to be addressed,” the junior said. They also said the student who typed the suggestion deemed as threatening “should have expected what [they] got.”
A freshman who learned of the incident later agreed with the administration’s decision concerning the perceived threat but disagreed with those taken against the creator of the email, who received two days suspension.
“I really don’t think that was extremely appropriate because [they] had no intention of it going that far,” the freshman said.
The senior who shared the document also added a suggestion for the senior prank to the Google Doc.
One senior, a friend of some punished students, claimed most disciplinary actions were uncalled for.
“Mr. Gleason created more of a ‘substantial disruption’ with his impulsive suspensions than the senior prank Google Doc could have ever [created,]” the student said.
CORRECTION: The original posting of this article cited the sending date of the document as Wednesday, Jan. 21. According to a senior’s Gmail timestamp, the document was actually shared on Tuesday, Jan. 20.
