Herndon Students Protest Punishment for Pranks Via Twitter
Seniors barred from graduation ceremonies after allegedly spray painting the outside of the school and pouring baby oil on the floors on June 6.

By Leslie Perales Email the authorJune 9, 2012
http://herndon.patch.com/articles/herndon-students-balk-at-punishment-for-pranks

A group of Herndon High School seniors have been told they won’t be able to walk at their graduation because of pranks they played at the school on June 6 and students have started a twitter-based protest.

A letter sent to parents from the school says, “Throughout the day we experienced a number of unfortunate events that caused a major disruption to our school day.”

Principal William Bates told parents that he was notified by the building engineer at about 5 a.m. that the exterior of the building had been vandalized with paint. The students also poured baby oil on the floors in the main hallway, in the gym lobby and on two staircases.

The letter says students also pulled a fire alarm causing the entire school to evacuate on a day that students were scheduled to take SOLs and final exams. One person with knowledge of the incidents told Patch the fire alarm was not pulled by a senior.

“Today’s incidents caused a major safety concern for every student and adult in the building,” Bates’ letter says. “Any student who is caught engaging in these types of disruptive behaviors will face a suspension from the school and possible recommendation for expulsion.”

“Any student who disengages a fire alarm will be recommended for expulsion and charged by the police. Seniors caught engaging in these types of disruptive behaviors will not be permitted to participate in any of the scheduled graduation activities.”

NBC Channel 4 reports that the prank was pulled by Herndon senior Ashkan Naderi and five of his friends, but that they had nothing to do with the fire alarm being pulled. They have been suspended. Three of them, including Naderi have been banned from walking across the stage at Thursday's graduation.

The group of boys and their classmates are trying to protest via Twitter with the hash tags #lettheboyswalk and #lettheboyswalk2012. Students also wore T-shirts to school with the hashtagged phrase on them, but some students said on Twitter the administration made them take the shirts off.

Naderi told NBC 4 that they have attorneys that are looking into the controversy for them. (Watch Naderi's statement on video from NBC4 here.)

Fairfax County Public Schools did not respond to Patch’s request to discuss the incident.

Note: This story was updated at 2:18 p.m. to clarify that the fire alarm was not pulled by a senior student, according to one source.

A sample of the messages on Twitter:

•LaurOdactyl: Would it honestly be funny if a pregnant woman slipped down the stairs and lost her baby? No. Moronic teen boys. Don't #lettheboyswalk

Then LaurOdactyl posted: The GUYS INVOLVED knew a prank like that wouldn't be tolerated, STILL did it, & are trying to sue for being punished. Don't #lettheboyswalk

• marieantwanett: #LetTheBoysWalk , i would walk and every senior shake bates hand with baby oil !!

• JayKayEveryday: If the boys don't get to walk after all of this I along with the rest of the school will be extremely pissed. #LetTheBoysWalk2012

• Shaybaybayy: @shooomaker and @68AndI0U1 deserve to walk. You wait practically your whole life for graduation. #LetTheBoysWalk2012

• shooomaker: I just want to GRADUATE. Like I'm not trying to escape punishment, but make it anything other than not walking...that's alllll I want

• 68AndI0U1: We need everyone to keep tweeting #LetTheBoysWalk Please & Thank You!

• DoogieDuges19: People who don't think @shooomaker and @68AndI0U1 should walk are either underclassmen or don't know either of these boys well enough.

• Chimpansteen19: #lettheboyswalk2012 is so pointless. vandalizing your school is such a terrible prank, take responsibility for your actions.

• sydbaby2012: Seniors: can we do a sit-in or something?! Protest? Anything.#LetTheBoysWalk2012

• pezetter: Theses kids aren't villains... #LetTheBoysWalk

• shesagabster: It's not just about receiving a diploma, it's about walking with the people you've been with for the past 4 years. #LetTheBoysWalk2012

• danyavocado21: I'm class of 2011 but i respect this prank. herndon administrators need to chill #LetTheBoysWalk2012

• high_slim11: A mothers dream is always to see their kid walk across stage and get that diploma but Herndon is doing to much.#Lettheboyswalk2012
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What a dangerous prank. They should not be allowed to walk. at their age they know the difference between what is wrong and what is right.

those kids got exactly what they deserved. they knew the consequences for their actions, yet they still played some really stupid pranks that could have injured someone and they defaced school property. they prob thought the school couldnt do anything since they were graduating, but their wrong. they got what they deserved, and I cant believe any attourney would think they could sue for their actions. those little punks played some really stupid pranks and are getting what they deserve. to bad they cant be expelled since they are graduating, or charged with a crime. oh wait a minute, they can for destruction of property. i hope the school presses charges for that and teaches those punks a lesson and sets an example for other students that it wont be tolerated.

u idiots Wrote:
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> those kids got exactly what they deserved. they
> knew the consequences for their actions, yet they
> still played some really stupid pranks that could
> have injured someone and they defaced school
> property. they prob thought the school couldnt do
> anything since they were graduating, but their
> wrong. they got what they deserved, and I cant
> believe any attourney would think they could sue
> for their actions. those little punks played some
> really stupid pranks and are getting what they
> deserve. to bad they cant be expelled since they
> are graduating, or charged with a crime. oh wait a
> minute, they can for destruction of property. i
> hope the school presses charges for that and
> teaches those punks a lesson and sets an example
> for other students that it wont be tolerated.

+1!

If they wanted to walk so bad, didn't they consider the consequences of acting like assholes? And criminal assholes at that?

What is wrong with kids now? Walking around with t shirts with "hash tags" on them? Waht the fuck is this shit, you fucking nerds. What's worse is that parents have joined the "twitter debate"

How absolutely fucking ridiculous

"poured baby oil on the floors in the main hallway, in the gym lobby and on two staircases."

Never heard of doing something this dangerous being classified as a prank. Any parent of the ones who did this must be retarded to think this is just harmless fun. If the only punishment they get is to not walk across a stage then they should be thankful.

Wow. Setting up ppl to fall down stairs is concidered a "prank". I love how they will readily admit to that, but deny the fire alarm pulling LoLz. Kids like that need a wakeup call in life is what they need............... :)

pic unrelated
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This is a "prank" only to the kids and their lawyers.

zack morris Wrote:
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> "poured baby oil on the floors in the main
> hallway, in the gym lobby and on two staircases."
>
> Never heard of doing something this dangerous
> being classified as a prank. Any parent of the
> ones who did this must be retarded to think this
> is just harmless fun. If the only punishment they
> get is to not walk across a stage then they should
> be thankful.

+1. Our senior class prank was someone released a live chicken in the school. It got a couple laughs, the chicken wasn't hurt, and there was only a disruption for about 15 minutes while the Biology department caught it and put it in a cage.

Schools always frown on senior pranks but generally don't pursue it as long as they're not criminal. If these kids are 18 and someone had slipped on the stairs and been seriously injured or even killed, would it have been just "a harmless prank?" Nope. These kids would have had life-changing criminal records, would probably be sued by the victim's family, and their future would have been much, much harder.

Totally agree that they should be thankful that not getting to walk across the stage for an event they won't care about in a year or so is the worst that happened. The parents who are outraged by the school's decision are the same parents who will be completely mystified when their precious snowflake gets in a drunk driving accident.

--------------------------------------------------------------
13 4826 0948 82695 25847. Yes.

Pouring baby oil on sets of stairs and floors isn't a prank. Nor is vandalizing with paint. The first is dangerous the second is criminal. Now, if they put a car on top of the school or release pigs into the hallways, that's one thing, but any REASONABLE person would conclude that they are not the same. Also, pulling a fire alarm is a chargeable offense.

Any parents that think that these kids deserve to get off without any consquences are selfish and retarded. Be thankful that it's just some ceremony that's for show and not criminal charges.

__________________________________
That's not a ladybug, that's a cannapiller.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/10/2012 12:12PM by Warhawk.

What the fuck...I try doing one of my dance routines,and I fall flat on my ass...there's baby oil or some other shit on the floor!

Crazy white fuck kids. See if I dance at your school again.

Did anyone actually slip? Just curious...

The patch article has about 85 comments and there is one guy - John Farrell - that clearly doesn't get it. What an idiot.

__________________________________
That's not a ladybug, that's a cannapiller.

Warhawk Wrote:
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> The patch article has about 85 comments and there
> is one guy - John Farrell - that clearly doesn't
> get it. What an idiot.

LOL! Like this gem:

"What the brain science, including MRI and other brain studies, is teaching us is that adolescent male minds are not fully wired to inhibit actions that the rest of society finds unacceptable. Their ability to forecast the consequences of their impulsive actions is limited. They literally can't help themselves.

It's not unlike blaming a blind person for bumping into an end cap in a grocery and knocking down a pile of tin cans."

I don't even have the words to describe how stupid that is.

Also, LOL at "brain science."

--------------------------------------------------------------
13 4826 0948 82695 25847. Yes.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/10/2012 04:26PM by MrMephisto.

> "What the brain science, including MRI and other
> brain studies, is teaching us is that adolescent
> male minds are not fully wired to inhibit actions
> that the rest of society finds unacceptable. Their
> ability to forecast the consequences of their
> impulsive actions is limited. They literally can't
> help themselves.

I know its a whole different topic but I can only assume this Farrell guy would be against these kids having a drivers license, since they can't "forecast the consequences of their actions". Hell, anyone over the age of 10 who can't "forecast the consequences of their actions" shouldn't be allowed outside.

MrMephisto Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Warhawk Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > The patch article has about 85 comments and
> there
> > is one guy - John Farrell - that clearly
> doesn't
> > get it. What an idiot.
>
> LOL! Like this gem:
>
> "What the brain science, including MRI and other
> brain studies, is teaching us is that adolescent
> male minds are not fully wired to inhibit actions
> that the rest of society finds unacceptable. Their
> ability to forecast the consequences of their
> impulsive actions is limited. They literally can't
> help themselves.
>
> It's not unlike blaming a blind person for bumping
> into an end cap in a grocery and knocking down a
> pile of tin cans."
>
> I don't even have the words to describe how stupid
> that is.
>
> Also, LOL at "brain science."



Yeah, you know what helped me forecast the consequences of my actions? Wondering if I got busted, would I be in deep shit at home? My dad didn't have Mr. Farrell's liberal sensitivities when it got real. Needless to say, I kept my nose clean.

__________________________________
That's not a ladybug, that's a cannapiller.

They should be punished for the lameness of their "pranks" alone. No novelty. No creativity. Just stupidity in going through the motions. Even if they did let them graduate, after they're destined for a life sitting in a cube somewhere doing equally unimaginative work.

PRANK, BY DEFINITION: "noun: a ludicrous or grotesque act done for fun and amusement. noun: acting like a clown or buffoon." THAT IS, NOT HURTING ANYTHING OR ANYONE.

Post-it notes or marshmallows, or even throwing eggs on windows of an administrator they hate ... or letting air out of tires... basically harmless pranks that don't have the potential to really hurt anyone.

Vandalizing public property is obviously against the law, though spray painting masonry walls is possibly in the "prank" class. BUT someone has to clean it off--at a cost.

The baby oil on the floors is inexcusably stupid and malicious. IT IS BEYOND A HARMLESS PRANK. If it did not seem malicious with possible extreme effects, it should have. Even kids in Kindergarten know that oil would make people slip. High school seniors, even considering the developmental stage of teenage brain that doesn't think about consequences, should know the possibilities ranging from harmless mess to loss of life from someone slipping on the oil.
NOT walking may help them comprehend consequences of actions, which is a much greater life lesson that than the act of walking across the stage to get the diploma.
What will they learn from being allowed to walk? That they can get away with dangerous acts and suffer no consequences?

HOW can kids not recognize the potential for harm to others? Whatever the answer, Bates' and FCPS' reactions seem justified. Of course parents will be upset -- lessons for all?

It's all just a power trip. As most things in life are. It's never been about right or wrong. Any chance to stick a thumb up authorities butt is a good one. The trouble is the kids are just an extension of parents who live to see their seed get away with any and everything they can. My kids gets away with school violations = I am a good parent.

sad but true = sad.

http://www.mccandlaw.com/content.asp?contentid=665 that explains a lot.

u idiots Wrote:
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> those kids got exactly what they deserved.

No they didn't, they should be up on charges. Let them walk to jail.

@patch hey, thanks for that bit of info - i went ahead and shared that on the Patch for ppl

Is that Farrell guy their lawyer? Because he looks like he's lacking experience in juvenile crime...or any crime for that matter. Guy's a real estate lawyer.

One of the pranks we pulled was to have half the senior class bring water balloons and the other half bring bags of flour. We then went up to the junior hall and first pelted them with water balloons and then threw flour all over them. It was a huge mess but I don't recall anyone getting in any trouble for it and the worst that happened was some people had to change or walk around with flour all over them.

If you do the crime, then do the time.

If you can't do the time, don't do the crime.

The boys' diplomas are not being withheld.

The punishment of non-participation is appropriate.

The time to reflect and consider was when they were opening and pouring baby oil.

While it is true that "executive function" in the human male brain doesn't fully mature until around age 25, what Mr. Farrell fails to appreciate is that experience, not just physiology, contributes to maturation.

So, the appropriate thing to do is to let them "experience" some damn nasty consequences for their malicious & dangerous baby oil stunt. Maybe help those brains along a little bit.

Nature AND nurture. Not just one or the other.

Farrell must not have a very busy "land-use practice" if he can spend so much time on what is really a no-brainer. Thank goodness there apparently were no serious injuries.

Since the dawn of time Senior Prank Day has been going on. Even Mischeif Night on Halloween. This priciple is a MORON. Prank Day has been going on in that school before to. If they wanted to ban it he should have had an assembly pointing out the consequences of any action resulting in the disruption or vandalism of the school. And have one every year. They should have made each one of them clean up the mess and then have to perform a community school service by cleaning the classrooms and picking up trash and cleaning the bathrooms. Suspension was also appropriate! But to deny a kid who has never been in trouble and who has a 4.0 the right to walk with his class is not right. SHAME on BATES and the rest of The Administration. PUNISH THEM BUT DON'T DENY THEM SOMETHING THEY HAVE WAITED THEIR WHOLE LIVES FOR!!!

waited their whole lives for?? who waits their whole life to walk across a stage at some boring ceremony? they aren't being denied a diploma. the principal is doing them a favor by teaching them what probably amounts to the most important lesson these particular kids will receive in high school: actions have consequences and you shouldn't expect to get away with harmful and potentially dangerous shit you pull. you may think the big picture is the symbolic meaning of attending the ceremony. the bigger picture is that in life there are rules and you break them at your own peril.

Fucking shocker that it's some fucking Iranian...Hey Ashkan Naderi, sorry about your penis you fucking Persian terrorist...Christ

riley Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> waited their whole lives for?? who waits their
> whole life to walk across a stage at some boring
> ceremony? they aren't being denied a diploma.
> the principal is doing them a favor by teaching
> them what probably amounts to the most important
> lesson these particular kids will receive in high
> school: actions have consequences and you
> shouldn't expect to get away with harmful and
> potentially dangerous shit you pull. you may
> think the big picture is the symbolic meaning of
> attending the ceremony. the bigger picture is
> that in life there are rules and you break them at
> your own peril.

Exactly. They learned more from this than they likely did in a lot of their classes.

let the kids walk...but put baby oil on the stage as they go up to get their diploma

Gonads & Strife Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> let the kids walk...but put baby oil on the stage
> as they go up to get their diploma


Even better, if they can make it all the way across without falling, then they get their diploma. If not, oops... See ya next year funny guy! lmao

2EXTREMeBATES Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Since the dawn of time Senior Prank Day has been
> going on. Even Mischeif Night on Halloween. This
> priciple is a MORON. Prank Day has been going on
> in that school before to. If they wanted to ban it
> he should have had an assembly pointing out the
> consequences of any action resulting in the
> disruption or vandalism of the school. And have
> one every year. They should have made each one of
> them clean up the mess and then have to perform a
> community school service by cleaning the
> classrooms and picking up trash and cleaning the
> bathrooms. Suspension was also appropriate! But to
> deny a kid who has never been in trouble and who
> has a 4.0 the right to walk with his class is not
> right. SHAME on BATES and the rest of The
> Administration. PUNISH THEM BUT DON'T DENY THEM
> SOMETHING THEY HAVE WAITED THEIR WHOLE LIVES
> FOR!!!


Banning them from walking is in no way extreme. They are guilty of defacing property and endangering the safety of their fellow classmates. These aren't cute little pranks.

I will give you a tip: Your future employers and our law enforcement officers aren't going to hold assemblies to remind you not to break the law. Life has consequences and "no one told me" isn't a valid excuse.

whatever...

In the future what these kids did will be the stuff people like you will chime in as past innocence.

In 20 years they will hand out baby oil in hopes this is all the kids will do.

I think future employers WILL hold assemblies to help people out since every generation knows itself. You all who cling to the past as if the future isn't here or coming we will LET WALK!

We hope you enjoyed the planet while it was your turn. Guess what? It's over.

Graduation ceremonies are more for parents than the kids. Kids don’t wait their whole live for a graduation ceremony, but some parents do. And all parents look forward to it as a significant milestone in their child'life. I almost felt sorry for the parents, until I read what the dad said. The kid definitely doesn’t deserve to walk, but this dad doesn’t get it either. They don’t know how fortunate they are that the school stepped in before anyone got hurt.