Sometimes people are motivated by issues that are currently going on, including the police department. The boy s mother taped the interview with Sergeant Paez and provided the tape to The Blade. It s a shady line between speech that is protected by the First Amendment and speech that is a crime. But civil rights advocates say schools have gone too far. I think it s unfair that everything is taken with deadly seriousness.
Schools have to say, wait a minute.
Our kids aren t all killers, and if we treat them like killers they re going to pull away from us. But school officials say it s impossible to know who is making idle threats and who is serious. Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, the Columbine shooters, also were heard making threats before they killed 12 of their classmates and a teacher. The ACLU said students should be aware that schools can restrict what they say to a large extent, and that inappropriate comments could lead to suspensions or expulsions. These pages are dedicated to all kids, but especially to Riana, Maia, and Christopher.