Reply to Hoax Bomb Threat at Washington Latin

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]These kids did something for which they could be charged with a federal crime - made a bomb threat. They falsely implicated a classmate whom they had known for at least 4 years. And his religion did play a factor.

Being expelled from school feels right to me. It was colossally stupid and very far over the line of decency. It also violating  everything WL says they stand for.

Kudos to Ms Cutts for acting swiftly and decisively.

[/quote]

I agree with this. These are not children. [b]They are 17 year old young adults [/b]who should be expelled and grateful they aren't being charged with a crime. Allegedly, at least one is smart enough for Princeton, and hasn't lived under a rock the last dozen years. It's hard to believe that they wouldn't know how serious and unfunny it would be to impersonate a Muslim student and send a bomb threat to 500 people.

Don't they have to report any low grades, suspensions or expulsions to any colleges that have accepted them? I hope so. They need to really appreciate the seriousness of their actions and face any and all consequences.[/quote]

I seriously hope along the line people treat your teens more charitably.

http://www.medicaldaily.com/adulthood-extended-age-25-child-psychologists-uk-257835

"Neuroscience has made these massive advances where we now don't think that things just stop at a certain age, that actually there's evidence of brain development well into early twenties and that actually the time at which things stop is much later than we first thought," Antrobus said.

Now, child psychologists such as Antrobus argue that adolescence comprises three stages, including an early period of 12-14 years of age, a middle period of 15-17 years of age, and “late adolescence” from 18 years of age to 25. Years of neurological research have shown human cognitive development to continue into the time period traditionally defined as early adulthood, as emotional maturity, self-image, [b]and judgment evolve along with changes in the prefrontal cortex.

[/b][/quote]

Thank you for this.

Plus, please keep in mind that not every kid comes from families like those posting on DCUM.  [/quote]

So, which is it?  Was the kid congenitally unable to make a good choice because his brain was underdeveloped?  Or was he unable because his parents were "not like DCUM posters" even though his parents DID have the wherewithal to get him into a highly competitive charter?

Even if BOTH are true, I can see why Princeton might decide that someone congenitally unable to make good decisions might be a bad bet for a highly coveted spot. [/quote]

Especially given that Princeton had a record number of applicants this year (over 29,000).  This student would have had to have gotten in EA/ED.  What a blow to the entire family, because Princeton is so dedicated to having kids graduate as debt free as possible. Free rides are really now mostly free. But yes, I think this is absolutely something that Princeton would rescind an acceptance over, even if Latin did not expel the student.  There are so many more qualified applicants than available spaces (as an alumni interviewer for many years, some years I push hard for one exceptional kid whose financial circumstances would entitle them to an absolutely free ride, and so few have gotten accepted it breaks my heart).  I do hope Washington Latin does the right thing and informs any colleges that accepted these students early of the expulsions and the reasons behind them, in order to keep their reputation as a school with the colleges.  Princeton would make a decision based on the conduct of the particular student, not the decision of their particular school, because everyone knows that sometimes decisions that schools make are unfair or unwarranted, but in this case, given the conduct, I do think they would rescind their offer. Clearly these students were not thinking about any future consequences, including what Princeton would think about a student who behaves this way.  And that is kind of a slap in the face to begin with, to any college or university which has accepted these students, especially if they have offered generous financial aid packages.

The school could have given him the mildest slap on the wrist but Latin would still be obligated to inform colleges of the disciplinary action and the reason behind it, and most colleges would pull their offers, at least the highly competitive ones, if not for moral reasons then just because they tend to be very risk averse, and if this student ever put another foot wrong on campus or even post graduation, and this prior episode ever got out, it would look absolutely terrible for a college that was informed of the behavior prior to matriculation and did not rescind their acceptance.  If he really has been accepted to Princeton, that will be the harshest consequence of all, because it affects the next four years, not the next four months. There is much less tolerance for juvenile pranks these days unless you are a recruited athlete and it only involves property damage.   Victimizing a fellow student in a way that even appears to be based in part on the fact that he is Islamic in a post 9/11 world is completely unacceptable, and while I understand where the group of parents who think the expulsions were extreme are coming from, this student in my opinion has no place at Princeton.  And I think Princeton will agree.  He had a lot to lose (including Princeton), and so little to gain, that this behavior demonstrates he is not nearly as mature as the vast majority of students we accept.  It is at best a horrifying lapse in judgement, at worst a kind of prejudice that we don't want, and he is not yet our student - so we owe him nothing.

And I have to say I have absolutely no sympathy for him when it comes to Princeton.  I regularly interview, and went to school with, kids whose parents were "not DCUM types," in fact many of my friends had parents who were functionally illiterate in Spanish and could not speak English, and their kids acted as translators any time they had to deal with the outside world.  These kids have to mature extremely quickly to take care of younger siblings, or help parents out at work, cleaning houses or being additional migrant workers in the fields after school, students who went to 16 schools because their families followed the seasonal crops, students who have had to do things that prevented them from engaging in almost all extra-curricular activities in order to keep their families together and fed, students who have been in foster care, students who have pulled their younger siblings out of foster care and become in reality if not legally their guardians, students who have been homeless.... I interview these kids who have accomplished SO MUCH despite the hands they were dealt, who have managed to get an education while taking care of their family and working, managed to apply to Princeton with no student guidance counselor whatsoever, who have taken all the APs that were offered and did well (even if sometimes it is only 4), and have lived in the US all their lives but because of where they come from have accents that will be tough to get rid of.  Many of their lives are completely unstable.  Many of their parents are living paycheck to paycheck.  Many of them will be the first in their families to graduate from high school let alone go to college. They do not feel sorry for themselves and they are optimistic about their lives despite their circumstances. And not one of them, to the best of my knowledge, has pulled any crap like this.  It would not occur to them in a million years.  They grew up early and they grew up hard.  If anything, at Princeton they have to learn to let go, to engage, to not feel guilty about leaving their family, not doing their part anymore.  They shared textbooks and sent their work study money home.   And this was before free rides - it was back in the days of student loans, which to a large degree determined what they did after Princeton.

So I do not pretend to know this student, but I do know that probably every year I interview kids who are equally academically qualified and absolutely more emotionally mature.  And they come from shitty high schools  where they have moved around so much they could not get a real education, or were so rife with gangs that students who caused no trouble were basically ignored, nothing like the "family" that Washington Latin seems to be.  I am not trying to create a hierarchy of victimization here, I am just trying to put things in perspective.  The other thing they have that most Latin students don't seem to (same at BASIS) is the ability in their large high schools to take any APs they want.  Even if they initially get blow back from whoever the ruling culture is (Asians, Whites, Whatever), and even if it takes grades and recommendations, they get in, and they win the other kids over.  And if they want to be mathematicians, scientists or astrophysicists they take the most logical APs for that career.  So you will see a lot of kids in AP Calc BC and Physics C, and a lot of kids in AP Chemistry, AP Biology, the AP Econs, AP stats.  You will also see kids who are completely lopsided the other way - multiple English and History courses, Government and Politics, etc.  And they all take AP Spanish - not because they do not know the language fluently, but because it is important to them to learn how to read and write it properly.  This helps them tremendously when they are coming from a high school or a series of high schools that Princeton has never heard of, and can compensate for low verbal SAT scores that are due to lack of vocabulary and lack of reading in English.  All we want is that they worked as hard as they could with what they had, and that they have the academic and emotional potential to succeed at Princeton, and as alumni interviewers we never see their transcripts, their SAT or AP scores, nothing - we are supposed to connect on a different level.

Full disclosure:  I have never interviewed a student from Washington Latin, nor have I interviewed a student from BASIS.  But there are a multitude of low income students all over this country (I assume that is the reason for the free ride) who can contribute to diversity, who were not accepted early and have yet to put a foot wrong, because they realize how much of their future and the future of their family is riding on basically arbitrary decisions by Ivy League Colleges and Universities.  Many more qualified applicants than spaces, who fit into each category Princeton is trying to pull from.  Attending Princeton is a privilege not a right, and in my opinion this Latin student, assuming he had been accepted early into Princeton, just lost it.  And that is not arbitrary at all.  Losing out because they need another student from Oklahoma and you happen to come from East LA.... is arguable, but they are careful about how they put together their classes, and certainly this type of immaturity is not a desirable quality in a Princeton student.

We had over 29,000 applications this year, so many that alumni interviewers have been overwhelmed. Last year we had an acceptance rate of 7%.  What on earth would warrant keeping him in this 7%?  And what does it say about him that he threw it all away on a whim, an impulse, a what have you?  Did he think already being accepted to Princeton made him untouchable?  That is also not an attitude we seek to foster.  My best bet is he was not thinking at all.  We want people who think before they act, about the consequences to them personally, the consequences to the larger community, and the social meaning of their actions (the way they will be interpreted by society outside of their immediate community).

Sorry for going on so long but I am exhausted from interviewing kids who are so much more qualified than I was back in the day to attend my alma mater (I'm not even sure I would be accepted now), and the conduct of this student disgusts me on so many levels I cannot begin to explain it.  Furthermore, my cousin just married a Moslem, converted, and agreed to raise her children according to the Koran.  I was absolutely blindsided.  All I knew was she was marrying a slightly older guy she had met at Columbia who was going to become Chief Resident next year.  I had no idea he was deeply religious, from Pakistan, or that she had converted.  The Imam who presided called it an "act of hope" in these troubled times.  Some people in my family had other words to describe it.  I wish her, her husband, and her future family well.... and safe.  I am now paying much more attention to the incredible increase in vitriol and violence against Moslems in this country and in Europe, and if this student was not aware that he was contributing to that, that just adds another reason why he should not go to Princeton.  Current events.  Pay attention.  Going to sleep.  Sorry. [/quote]

From a discussion I had with a faculty member at the school, neither of the kids was accepted at Princeton.  This was stated on here and taken as fact.[/quote]

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