# RO: This is totally going to kill Bring Your Clock to School Day **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 16, 2015, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454 "2015-09-16T08:35:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2015, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/161 "2015-09-17T04:02:31Z")
Is it a requirement to have a room temperature IQ to be a school admin or police official? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2015, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/162 "2015-09-17T04:06:00Z")
> [@Rick](#): > > Is it a requirement to have a room temperature IQ to be a school admin or police official? Depends on where the room is. A tropical rain forest is too intelligent. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2015, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/163 "2015-09-17T04:43:29Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > Someone watching the debates going on tonight said the candidates were asked about this, and Bobby Jindal said that Christian business owners are the REAL victims. > > I have no idea if this is true or not, but it honestly wouldn’t surprise me. Well, I did encounter a Redditor who legitimately asked why this Ahmed guy should get special treatment, after saying it was really Christians who get the shaft. And, no, he did not appear to be trolling. like little **bosby** here. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2015, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/164 "2015-09-17T04:44:54Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Do you know what’s amazing? You’ve been here a full year, you’ve made 100 posts, _and every single fucking post that you have made, without exception, has been a snide political attack._ You didn’t even start out with a “Hi!, this is my first time here, and I’m interested in such and such, I watch this, I do that, and my interests are this that and the other thing!” All we know about you, the _only_ information you have divulged about yourself, is that you are a hate-filled little shit of a troll. It’s less amazing when you realize he’s almost certainly a disgruntled sock. He didn’t randomly stumble onto this place. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2015, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/165 "2015-09-17T06:22:32Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > [Dallas Hackers have Ahmed’s back!](http://motherboard.vice.com/read/dallas-hackers-are-already-helping-ahmed-mohamed-with-his-next-inventions) > Good job, hackers! I’m happy for Ahmed, but I sure hope he is sincerely interested in pursuing this field as a career. It looks like a whole lot of folks are placing a shit-ton of expectations on him based on an incident that occurred while he was enjoying what might well have been just a hobby. I’m not sure I’d have been comfortable having my entire life planned out for me by a bunch of well-meaning strangers if some school official had bullied me about my wood-burning kit when I was fourteen. ---
**Author:** ![Askthepizzaguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askthepizzaguy/32/9405_2.png) [@Askthepizzaguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askthepizzaguy)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2015, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/166 "2015-09-17T07:11:34Z")
> [@bosbfdsfd](#): > > hysterical [Link](http://weknowyourdreams.com/images/mirror/mirror-09.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Gotlift](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9fc348/32.png) [@Gotlift](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gotlift)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2015, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/167 "2015-09-17T07:29:55Z")
Punishment for 6 year old white kid biting and eating bread into shape of gun, suspension. Uproar, none. ---
**Author:** ![Punoqllads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@Punoqllads](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punoqllads)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2015, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/168 "2015-09-17T07:41:14Z")
> [@Gotlift](#): > > Punishment for 6 year old white kid biting and eating bread into shape of gun, suspension. Uproar, none. There was plenty of uproar at the time. Maybe your searches didn’t find much because it was a Pop-Tart, not bread. ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2015, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/169 "2015-09-17T07:49:21Z")
> [@aaelghat](#): > > I know about that part… I think the engineering teacher had a responsibility to speak up and be an advocate for Ahmed later when the attacks started, and tell the administration and police that Ahmed put together a digital clock to show him. I haven’t heard if he played any role after the fact. Why do you think he even knew about the arrest until after the fact? I don’t know what size the school is but I doubt every teacher gets a memo when a kid is sent to the principals office, most likely the first he knew about it is when the multiple police were arresting the kid and word started to spread through the school. ---
**Author:** ![Gotlift](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9fc348/32.png) [@Gotlift](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gotlift)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2015, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/170 "2015-09-17T07:59:44Z")
> [@Punoqllads](#): > > There was plenty of uproar at the time. Maybe your searches didn’t find much because it was a Pop-Tart, not bread. Thanks. I should have said uproar, very little. Probably still waiting on a dinner invitation after being the victim of stupidity. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2015, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/171 "2015-09-17T08:42:15Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > I’m happy for Ahmed, but I sure hope he is sincerely interested in pursuing this field as a career. It looks like a whole lot of folks are placing a shit-ton of expectations on him based on an incident that occurred while he was enjoying what might well have been just a hobby. > > I’m not sure I’d have been comfortable having my entire life planned out for me by a bunch of well-meaning strangers if some school official had bullied me about my wood-burning kit when I was fourteen. I understand your concern, but the article and interviews make it clear that no one is planning Ahmed’s life for him. They’re just giving him opportunities. > [@](#): > > Tinker, a co-organizer of the Dallas Hackers Association, told me he worries that Ahmed will not only lose interest in engineering, but that his experience could be emotionally scarring. > > “He just started school, he’s excited and wants to impress his teachers so he brings this in and, boom, he’s arrested,” he said. “They put him in handcuffs. That’s a frightening experience that can make you lose complete trust in authority and can make you not want to reach out anymore about [hacking and engineering].” > [@](#): > > Both WhiskeyNeon and Tinker say they hope Ahmed will become a member of the community, but, at the very least, they hope he doesn’t give up inventing. > > “We don’t want to bombard him personally, but he’s got an open invitation to come join us,” Tinker said. “With today’s internet, today’s social media, the vibrant local community we’ve got—he will find a home for this, even if the schools don’t want it. He will find like-minded people who back him, it’s just a question of where. Everything he’s doing right now is good, and he needs to know that.” ---
**Author:** ![aaelghat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c5a1d2/32.png) [@aaelghat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aaelghat)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2015, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/172 "2015-09-17T09:25:20Z")
> [@bucketybuck](#): > > Why do you think he even knew about the arrest until after the fact? I don’t know what size the school is but I doubt every teacher gets a memo when a kid is sent to the principals office, most likely the first he knew about it is when the multiple police were arresting the kid and word started to spread through the school. Right. I am asking why he didn’t speak up after-the-fact. As far as I know the 3-day suspension is/was still in effect. Even after the arrests, if I was the engineering teacher I’d feel a responsibility to try and speak up on behalf of the student. ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2015, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/173 "2015-09-17T10:10:58Z")
> [@aaelghat](#): > > Right. I am asking why he didn’t speak up after-the-fact. As far as I know the 3-day suspension is/was still in effect. Even after the arrests, if I was the engineering teacher I’d feel a responsibility to try and speak up on behalf of the student. To say what? That it was a clock and not a bomb? They already know full well it wasn’t a bomb, theres nothing he can say that they don’t already know. This was dumbass idiots doubling down, there was nothing he could do about that after the fact except make himself a few enemies. This of course all assumes that he didn’t have a few choice words in the teachers lounge, I imagine that he did, we just don’t get to have the recorded interview. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2015, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/174 "2015-09-17T10:16:03Z")
With an invitation to the White House, etc. it sounds like the incident will work out for the kid! Still, I wonder how it will play out when he gets back to the Texxes-Idjits-R-Us school. Will he be greeted as a hero? Or as a terrorist wannabe? > [@Czarcasm](#): > > [**BosBe\_a\_jckass** is] a hate-filled little shit of a troll. It would be interesting to get inside the minds of right-wing imbeciles like **Terr** or **Clothahump** and know their reaction to **BosBe\_a\_jckass**. Do they admire him for speaking the truths they avoid? Or do they realize he’s a liberal troll making fun of them? ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2015, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/175 "2015-09-17T11:31:59Z")
> [@Gotlift](#): > > Punishment for 6 year old white kid biting and eating bread into shape of gun, suspension. Uproar, none. Oh, ferchrissakes. That incident, along with a similar incident in which a kid was suspended for making a paper cutout of a gun, are the primary anecdotes cited in attacking zero-tolerance policies. And justly so. You’re full of it when you say there was very little uproar. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2015, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/176 "2015-09-17T12:35:17Z")
_Texas Monthly_ summarized the “arrest” [& continued](http://www.texasobserver.org/teen-clockmaker-arrested-in-one-of-texas-most-punitive-school-districts/): > [@](#): > > Mohamed’s case is also a powerful signifier of two larger stories playing out today in Irving and its schools: the cost of fear-mongering in a town where a white minority is still clinging to power, and the persistent habit public schools — particularly Irving ISD — have of turning kids into criminals. > > The first of these is the ungraceful way in which the Dallas suburb has worn its sweeping demographic change. In 2009, former Observer editor Dave Mann wrote about the all-white leadership in a city where the population was half Hispanic. Then-councilman Tom Spink had recently ousted the only council member with Latino roots, running on an anti-immigration campaign and fretting that Irving had become a “sanctuary city.”… Then we hear of the support Mohammed has received. > [@](#): > > For most of the students arrested in Irving ISD, that isn’t quite how it goes. Most students arrested or suspended in Irving ISD didn’t get there for building an engineering project. And most don’t get re-tweeted 11,000 times when they mention they’re meeting with a lawyer. There are many more whose cases never warrant much attention. Based on measures of school discipline, Irving ISD is one of Texas’ most punitive districts… > > In big-picture conversations about policy, Texas lawmakers know this is a problem. Two years ago, the Legislature stripped school police officers of the ability to issue tickets for minor offenses like disruptive behavior. This year lawmakers decriminalized truancy. More and more schools are embracing restorative justice to break the cycle of punishment that has driven so many students out of school and into the criminal justice system for life. Yes, there was an obvious element of prejudice. Which also extends to the black & Tejano students in Irving. But when the Texas legislature notices that criminalizing school discipline problems has gone too far (for all kids), you really know it’s gone _too far_… ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2015, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/177 "2015-09-17T12:36:28Z")
The MacArthur High School Facebook page is getting a lot of traffic as a result of this. Mostly mocking, calling out the principal and police as racist, bigoted, and stupid. I wonder how long it will take before it dies down? ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2015, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/178 "2015-09-17T12:40:21Z")
> [@Gotlift](#): > > Thanks. I should have said uproar, very little. And you’d be wrong, because that story was _all over the news_. ---
**Author:** ![DrumBum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e79b87/32.png) [@DrumBum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrumBum)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2015, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/179 "2015-09-17T14:20:31Z")
> [@Rick](#): > > Is it a requirement to have a room temperature IQ to be a school admin or police official? Depends…Centigrade or Fahrenheit ? ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2015, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/180 "2015-09-17T14:26:14Z")
Nobody can explain it, since the school literally isn’t allowed to explain itself any further. There’s no way to get any information on that process except through Ahmed and his family, who obviously have their own stake in the matter. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454.md?page=10)