The recent rash of bomb threats at Temple City High School prompted a thought as to what other students think about persons who call in threats such as these.
A non-scientific survey was taken among the Sports Medicine classes at TCHS with the following instructions:
“You are the judge and the jury. You are sitting in a courtroom and have heard what this person has done. There were resources of police and fire that were required to secure the campus, including a police helicopter.”
1. What punishment would you impose on him?
2. Should he be tried as a juvenile or as an adult?
3. Is this action considered terrorism?
The responses were a bit harsh as 53.8% of the respondents said he should be tried as an adult and only 30.8% thought he should be tried as a juvenile. This would mean a harsher punishment when tried as an adult.
15.3% of the respondents declared this as a terrorist act. When it came to jail time, most students were not very forgiving as seen in the table.
11.5% of students said that he needed mental help or counseling, and 7.7% said that community services should be added to his sentence. Most surprising is that 19.2% said he should have to pay fines and damages/restitution for the costs involved in the threats.
As a student, you should be aware that your peers may be more harsh in your punishment than the actual justice system.