WDYT about this gun at school case?

[vanillacourage]

Students rally around teen hunter who brought gun to school

A southwest Missouri school district is struggling to figure out how to deal with a high school senior who left an unloaded, disassembled shotgun under the seat of his pickup truck parked on school grounds.

Students in Carthage, a town of about 14,000 a half-hour east of Joplin, are rallying around Sawyer Shepherd after he was suspended Tuesday for violating a district policy that forbids guns on school property.

Their concern is that Sawyer, an avid hunter, might not be able to graduate with his senior class next month or be allowed to finish out the high school baseball season.

Judd McPherson, a Joplin attorney for the 18-year-old student, said Sawyer was put on 10-day suspension while administrators investigate the incident.

Carthage School Board policy calls for a minimum one-year suspension or possible expulsion for violating the district's firearms ban, he said. But the policy also allows the superintendent to recommend modification of a suspension on a case-by-case basis.

"This is a very emotional issue," Carthage School District Superintendent Blaine Henningsen said Friday. "We have a lot of people in the area who hunt and are outdoorsmen. This is the case with this particular student."

Sawyer went turkey hunting with a friend before school on Tuesday, McPherson said. He disassembled the shotgun - removing the barrel completely from the stock and receiver - and put it in its case, which he slid under the front seat of his pickup truck, he said.

After the two boys posted photos on Facebook with the bird they had killed, Sawyer went home, changed clothes and jumped into his pickup truck to head to school. But he forgot to remove the shotgun, McPherson said.

Later that morning, district officials received an anonymous tip about guns in the parking lot, he said. When Sawyer, who is well-known for his love of hunting, was asked by an administrator if he had any guns in his vehicle, he said he wasn't sure but acknowledged there was a chance his shotgun might still be there.

It was, but police who were called to the school declined to press charges because Sawyer had broken no laws.

Still, Henningsen said the student violated district policy and administrators have no choice but to suspend him. The School Board will decide on any further punishment next week, though Henningsen said he doesn't see a scenario in which Sawyer wouldn't graduate on time.

Sawyer's older sister, Haley Marie Carter, stressed on her Facebook page that the family is not upset with school administrators who are trying to "follow the law like we would all expect them to."

[penguingrrl]

I think that he should have been a lot more careful about making sure his gun wasn't in the car on school property. The school sounds like it was pretty transparent about the rules surrounding guns on school property and he was in violation of the rules.

[jln]

He broke the rules. There are consequences for that.

[chedifuen]

If this kid was not a white hunter, we would not be having this discussion

[summer]

Apr 26, 2015 10:49:07 GMT -5 chedifuen said:

If this kid was not a white hunter, we would not be having this discussion

This.

But I hate to mess up some kids senior year because of what looks like a mistake. I know we live in a zero tolerance world though and there are reasons for that.

[AJL]

I think this is a case that should be presented before the superintendent for modification. He didn't lie about having the shot gun. The gun was disassembled and put away. It wasn't readily available and in working order. I don't think it posed a threat to students. However, I do think the suspension should stick and he should not be able to continue with baseball for the year. I do think he should be able to graduate with his class.

The rules are the rules, but I also think since there is room built in for the superintendent to modify the punishment, then I would say pursue that route.

And if this was a black student, the outcome would be completely different, I think. However that's not the case we're talking about and I'm not going to speculate on "what if" in relation to this particular instance.

[eclaires]

I'm not a fan of zero tolerance rules to begin with, so I think it's something that should be modified. I think some consequence is necessary but he should be able to graduate.

I also think he shouldn't lose baseball, but I am biased by my hatred of zero tolerance/mandatory punishments and policies.

[katfco]

I think this is an excellent lesson on knowing where your gun is at all times. Yes, it was disassembled, but he still took a weapon on school property.

[mbcdefg]

Apr 26, 2015 12:37:36 GMT -5 katfco said:

I think this is an excellent lesson on knowing where your gun is at all times. Yes, it was disassembled, but he still took a weapon on school property.

Agreed. Forgetting where you put your gun isn't the same as forgetting where you put your keys. I'm ok with punishing him for this.

[zoegirltx]

i do think there should be some punishment & accountability. Rules are rules, and having a gun is a responsibility.
Do I think a mistake should wreck this kids' life? No...there should be some loss of privileges & perhaps lots of community service, but derailing his life isn't good for anybody & won't help other kids not make a similar accidental mistake.

[josieposy]

The Superintendent said he will likely graduate on time. I have no problems with this. I also agree that under different circumstances this wouldn't even be a discussion for a lot of people.

[Deleted]

If someone took this gun and then reassembled it and used it on that school, we wouldn't feel bad for this kid for making a little mistake.
I feel for him but the rule exists for a reason.

And who phoned it in? Did he tell someone?

[msmerymac]

Having a disassembled gun in your car doesn't mean you can't assemble and use it. In this case, it was obviously a mistake, but a suspension and maybe something else can help convey the seriousness of the issue. Making a mistake and being sorry is sometimes not enough, you know? I don't think he should be expelled or banned from baseball, though.

[nsl]

He should graduate, but he shouldn't walk with his class and/or continue to play on the baseball team. Zero tolerance for guns on campus has to mean zero tolerance even when it's a matter of an otherwise good kid making a dumb mistake.

[ttt]

Apr 26, 2015 11:12:59 GMT -5 AJL said:

I think this is a case that should be presented before the superintendent for modification. He didn't lie about having the shot gun. The gun was disassembled and put away. It wasn't readily available and in working order. I don't think it posed a threat to students. However, I do think the suspension should stick and he should not be able to continue with baseball for the year. I do think he should be able to graduate with his class.

The rules are the rules, but I also think since there is room built in for the superintendent to modify the punishment, then I would say pursue that route.

And if this was a black student, the outcome would be completely different, I think. However that's not the case we're talking about and I'm not going to speculate on "what if" in relation to this particular instance.

This is pretty much how I feel about it. 

I also went to a high school where this kind of thing was pretty common- kids going hunting before school or after school and leaving their rifles in their cars (well, pickups). When they started instituting zero tolerance policies, they had to constantly do reminder announcements about this. 

[ChillyMcFreeze]

This happened fairly frequently at my school. The penalty was suspension (I don't think we ever had repeat offenders). I'm of the mind in this case that zero tolerance means zero tolerance, but that explusion might be a little too much.