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Student Arrested for Making Videogame Map of School
tanman writes "A student at the Houston-area Clements High School was arrested, sent to an "Alternative Education Center" and banned from graduation after school officials found he created a video game map of his school. School district police arrested the teen and searched his home where they confiscated a hammer as a 'potential weapon'. ' "They decided he was a terroristic threat," said one source close to the district's investigation.' With an upcoming May 12 school board election, this issue has quickly become political, with school board members involved in the appeal accusing each other of pandering to the Chinese community in an attempt to gain votes."
This royally pisses me off. I always wanted to build Quake levels for my high school, because it would have been the perfect multiplayer map. Two or more routes to any given place, wide halways, two floors, balconies, stairs at the end of every hallway...it would have been awesome.
But I never went through with it, because Columbine was still fresh in everyone's memory, and I was afraid that exactly this sort of thing would happen.
It's not a fear of terrorism that drives this sort of thing, or even a fear for our children. It's a fear of our children. We're so scared of the little guys that the instant they bring school into their video game hobby, we freak out.
This kid doesn't deserve to be arrested. He doesn't deserve to be thrust into "Alternative Education". He deserves to have someone ask him why he built the school in a video game. Let a psychologist evaluate him, and then either medicate the kid or let him go back to class.
(And someone should offer him constructive criticism on his level building techniques.)
tasks(723) drafts(105) languages(484) examples(29106)
Oh, that's right: never.
I'd read the article, but it's been Slashdotted.
Friends don't let friends line-dance.
When I was a young'un, I created a Quake map of the local Laser Tag joint. I even was working on a mod that changed the weapons to behave more along the rules of the game. Even worse, my mod gibbed you if you tried to illegally cross the center barrier. (*gasp!*) Should I have been arrested as a terrorist? Maybe I was planning to run in with a Phazer pistol and start shooting the place up?!? Actually, I suppose it's worse than that, because I did actually run in and start shooting the place up with a Phazer pistol. Oh noes!
I'm sorry, but the idea of creating a school map for you and your friends to play is something that goes back as far as Doom. Kids create these environments because they're familiar, not because they want to go shooting up the place. Only Jack Thompson believes that unbalanced people "train" for killing on these games. The truth of the matter is that ole' Jack is full of sh*t. His claim on Fox news that a previous shooter had created maps of his school turned out to be bunk. He had created maps for Counter Strike, but nothing even vaguely related.
If this map disturbed parents (which is an understandable concern given recent events), then the school's action should have been to evaluate the individual, not immediately kick him out of school. Pretty much all of the shooters in recent history were known to be mentally unbalanced prior to the shootings. An evaluation of the individual's mental state and school records would clarify if he was a threat or not. If not (which it doesn't sound like in this case), you ask them to discontinue the behavior, delete the maps, and go about school as usual. But instead, we give these kids a real reason to hate the faculty. Way to go guys.
Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
I can't help but be overwhelmed by the terrific amount of stupid going on just down the street from my place. It's amazing. It's a rare story where you can root against everyone equally and perfectly.
So where can I download this map? I'm certain it'll be pretty popular within the next few days, so I want my copy now...
There is no mod option "-1: Disagree" for a reason. "Overrated" is not an acceptable substitute. Post something instead.
As someone who made maps of campus for Doom back in college, I can attest that students have been doing this for years without ill-effect. It's a natural reaction to want to create a game map of places you know, especially somewhere you spend hours on a daily basis. This is purely reactionary BS on their part due to the current environment surrounding violent video games in our country. I doubt they bothered to check if he was troubled or someone to be concerned about, and simply jumped to conclusions.
I will shred my adversaries. Pull their eyes out just enough to turn them towards their mewing, mutilated faces. Illyria
Oh, wait it's not Russia, it's HERE. Christ, this is scary.
When I was going to high school, we had war games. Not simulated, but real - in person, on campus. And it was not the idea of some demented student, it was organized by the PE coaches.
The gym was one fort, the bleachers on the eastern side of the football field were the other. Each structure had a hose nearby. The gave us a bunch of balloons, and we had water balloon wars.
To the best of my knowledge, none of my classmates has committed any mass murders in the several decades since then.
I worry that policies as mentioned in TFA may actually increase violent incidents like Va tech. We were allowed - even encouraged - to burn off frustrations in acts of simulated violence. Then we dried off, went back to class, and were rather good students.
Today, young men are being denied symbolic outlets for violence. It come as no surprise to me that Chu did what he did. I worry that there will be more.
He made a mod of his school because it's an environment he wanted to play in. FPS games are like cops and robbers meets paintball. He wanted to play his game in an environment he's familiar with.
I'd absolutely love to make a mod for a racing game of my neighborhood, the Bay Area. If hundreds of people uploaded photos of their houses and nearby buildings, that would be a start for modeling the environment. Then people could speed through the streets safely, without actually endangering anyone or breaking the law.
Wow, this is really frightening. They've taken a kid who had the knowledge and initiative to build a 3D map of his school, who hasn't done a single illegal thing, and kicked him out of school based on the fact that someone in his family owns a hammer. A hammer. Who among us doesn't own a hammer? I own three. One's kind of small for hanging pictures. Another one is a normal sized hammer that I've had for a long time, and the third is one that replaced my normal hammer when my neighbor borrowed it for 2 months. Am I a criminal because of my hammer collection?
This is so ridiculous that it hurts. There's been no scientific evidence that gamers--even gamers who enjoy violent video games--are any more likely to be violent people. And there's certainly been no evidence that game developers or game modders are any more likely to be violent people. Where do authorities get off assuming that someone with an active imagination, who enjoys the fantasy of games, is a terrorist? I hope he sues the school board, and wins.
ZuluPad, the wiki notepad on crack
"If a person cannot walk into the middle of the town square and express his or her views without fear of arrest, imprisonment, or physical harm, then that person is living in a fear society, not a free society. We cannot rest until every person living in a "fear society" has finally won their freedom."
Condoleezza Rice, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outposts_of_tyranny
I have heard of cops falsifying search records, but that notwithstanding how can anyone justify classifying a hammer as a potential terrorist weapon? I hope this kid's parents have a lot of money so that they can get some justice for their son.
Part of the hardcore faithful who believed in Apple long before it was cool again to do so
I died a little on the inside when I read this. :(
Don't worry, you'll respawn in Mrs. Crabapple's classroom for round 2.
"Information wants to be expensive" - Stewart Brand, the same guy who said "Information wants to be free"
I remember back when 100% of my free time was spent playing 4-person Goldeneye on the N64, I wished there was a level for every single interesting building or structure I went into. I would have LOVED a map of my school, or even better a major international airport, as in Die Hard 2.
Oops. Brought up airports and level design in the same topic. My name just moved up a few spaces on the govt. list. Better leave some extra time next time I fly. After all, these games are only functional as "simulators", right?
Getting diabetes AND salmonella would be a bad weekend.
Jedi Knight 2 had a map of the Raven offices. Same for Blood and Monolith.
FTA: "Speakers at the FBISD Board's April 23 meeting alluded to the Clements senior's punishment, and drew a connection to the April 16 shootings at Virginia Polytechnic Institute, in which a Korean student shot and killed 32 people."
In which video games *WERE NOT INVOLVED*. But that clearly doesn't matter. Something bad happened involving people under the age of 21, and as such video games must be at the heart of it.
-lw
Mods: Disagreeing with me != my post Offtopic / Flamebait.
World without hate or war, invaded. Tragic?
As the original link is slashdotted, here is a couple more for the same story
o /4766843.htmld =5263782
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metr
http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=local&i
I'd scream at the ridiculousness of it all, but, then I'd probably be arrested for practising some sort of arcane terrorist warcry.
Since this is slashdotted from here to kalamazoo:
Chinese Community Rallies Behind Student Removed From Clements
by Bob Dunn, Apr 30, 2007, 11 57 am
Members of the area Chinese community have rallied behind a Clements High School senior who was removed from the campus and sent to M.R. Wood Alternative Education Center after parents complained he'd created a computer game map of Clements.
About 70 people attended the Fort Bend Independent School District's April 23 meeting to show support for the Clements senior and his mother, Jean Lin, who spoke to FBISD Board trustees in a closed session.
While an agenda document does not specify details, the board is holding a special meeting tonight to address the boy's actions and the discipline that was meted out as a result, sources close to the matter say. The boy's name was not identified last week, and the district has declined to discuss his case.
Richard Chen, president of the Fort Bend Chinese-American Voters League and a acquaintance of the boy's family, said he is a talented student who enjoys computer games and learned how to create maps (also sometimes known as "mods"), which provide new environments in which games may be played.
The map the boy designed mimicked Clements High School. And, sources said, it was uploaded either to the boy's home computer or to a computer server where he and his friends could access and play on it. Two parents apparently learned from their children about the existence of the game, and complained to FBISD administrators, who investigated.
"They arrested him," Chen said of FBISD police, "and also went to the house to search." The Lin family consented to the search, and a hammer was found in the boy's room, which he used to fix his bed, because it wasn't in good shape, Chen said. He indicated police seized the hammer as a potential weapon.
"They decided he was a terroristic threat," said one source close to the district's investigation.
Sources said that although no charges were filed against the boy, he was removed from Clements, sent to the district's alternate education school and won't be allowed to participate in graduation ceremonies with classmates.
"All he did was create a map and put it on a web site to allow students to play," Chen said. "The mother thinks this is too harsh."
FBISD officials declined to comment on the matter Monday. "Our challenge is, people in the community have freedom of speech and can say what they want, but we have laws" covering privacy issues, especially involving minors, that the district has to respect, said spokeswoman Nancy Porter.
Speakers at the FBISD Board's April 23 meeting alluded to the Clements senior's punishment, and drew a connection to the April 16 shootings at Virginia Polytechnic Institute, in which a Korean student shot and killed 32 people.
The Asian community "faces new pressures" as a result of the shootings, William Sun told board members. "We urge the school and community not to label our Asian students as terrorists."
"We should teach our children not to judge others harshly" and not to target people as being a threat because of their race, said Peter Woo, adding that the school district should lead the way in such efforts.
But Chen said Monday he and other community members don't consider FBISD's actions in the case to be racially motivated, and don't think they blew the incident out of proportion.
"They all think the principal has to do something - but how much? We do understand with the Virginia Tech incident...something has to be done," Chen said. "Someone just made a mistake, and we think the principal should understand that."
They don't grade fathers, but if your daughter's a stripper, you fucked up. --Chris Rock
It sounds to me as if half the school board members and police need psychological councelling. The kid is fine, but he will probably do better in a different school with normal people.
Excuse me, but please get off my Pennisetum Clandestinum, eh!
I did this with my high school. I showed it to my teacher in CAD class. He loved it. We converted it to a Doom II map. we played it. No one died, no one cared. in fact, I was given an award from my school for my "excellent achievements", partly due to that.
I also remember a group called the POCD made a DoomII mapset with school layouts. The maps turned out to be a hit in deathmatch, especially on "Last man standing" mode that was added in a recent Doom port, Skulltag.
Now you can be arrested for...... this? What I got.. this plaque for?
*a tear falls down his cheek*
America, what is wrong with you?
"No freeman shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson
"Our society is run by insane people for insane objectives. I think we're being run by maniacs for maniacal ends and I think I'm liable to be put away as insane for expressing that. That's what's insane about it." I think that sums it up nicely. Oh and thats John Lennon.
Please take heart. Not all of us adults are such utter fucking morons.
Not that you'd know it from the comments on the article, where a depressing number of people say they hope he has learned from his "mistake."
I bet he has. He's learned to keep his activities secret from the authorities if he values his freedom. He's learned a little bit about what it's like to live in an increasingly paranoid, authoritarian society, where innocuous activities that harm nobody can get one declared an enemy of the people. He's learned that politicians have no compunctions about advancing their own careers by ruining the lives of the people they supposedly serve.
His mistake wasn't making the map. If FPSes had been around when I was in high school I would have loved to play on a map of the school; unlike a bunch of adults, it seems, I understood and understand the difference between video games and reality. His mistake was not being sufficiently clandestine when he shared it with his friends. Hopefully he will take this as a valuable lesson about the value of covering his tracks thoroughly in his daily life.
At the university of South Australia they've made a whole virtual world based on their campus where people go round in VR headsets on the campus groups shooting each other. It's understood that these people are not just training to switch to real weapons.
w /
http://wearables.unisa.edu.au/projects/ARQuake/ww
You must be new here. But really it's only half the US. The other half only lost part of their sanity.
If he explores all forms and substances Straight homeward to their symbol-essences; He shall not die.
A hammer is a terrorist tool because you couldn't crucify Jesus without a hammer! See? They hate Jesus! And freedom!
Look, I found a terrorist song!
If I had a hammer I'd hammer on the freedom
I'd hammer on the infidels
All over this land
I'd hammer out patriots
I'd hammer out christians
I'd hammer out apple pie and baseball
All over this land
http://twitter.com/OLDTELEGRAM
But I have one question for the school board. Did they bother to make sure that he weighs as much as a duck before they took action against him?
"MIT betrayed all of its basic principles."
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro /4766843.html
The kid is Chinese,which gives the story a bit of a racist [er..I can't type the word].
This article provides some more information on this story: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/4 766843.html
---GEC
I'm but the humble pupil, seeking to snatch the scratchbuilt pebble from the master's fully articulated hand
I made a quake map of my middle school, though I only got as far as making the Gym..
who didn't?
* I want to create something
* Hey look, a tool to create something
* Crap, what do I make?
* Well, I'm in school all day, so I'm pretty familiar with that.
* Arrested.
-- 'The' Lord and Master Bitman On High, Master Of All
My Visual Arts teacher gave me an "Incomplete" for the course. I shouldn't have made my map for Duke Nukem Forever.
Yank your kids from public school. Homeschool or send them to a private school of your choice. If enough people do this the whole public education system would collapse and implode. Then we can figure out how to best spend those property tax revenues.
Normally, I would oppose such a suggestion. Were the US run like typical European democratic-socialists the schools would probably be responsibly managed. But with one political party fighting to destroy public education, and the other party in the pocket of the public school bureaucracy, there's no voice left for the kids being ruined by these bullshit political non-events.
I honestly think government can do a good job of providing basic public services. But right now, the US government cannot. At least not until the leaders of our political parties come to some basic consensus on the role of government. Until then, it will be one crazy situation after another as they duke it out. All while citizens and their kids get fucked by the very public institutions that were ostensibly created for their benefit.
The Spiderman 3 game has a realistic map of New York City.
Are the devs terrorists?
Add to this a mix of fascist officials and craven lawmakers who choose to ignore rights in search of appearing to address the security problem (insert Ben Franklin quote here).
You're right, it's a culture of fear, but it goes beyond our children. It's the technology and to a large extent, a media-inspired culture of fear... of EVERYTHING.
Make sure everyone's vote counts: Verified Voting
An overreaction is when you lock up someone for life when they stole a loaf of bread. This doesn't even accomplish their stated goal - to protect their school from an unbalanced and violent individual.
Let's assume for a second that they are right. The guy is violent, mentally unstable and is using his home grown CS map to practice his planned killing spree (which was apparently to be carried out with a hammer). What do they do? They merely transfer him to a different school. In no way, shape or form do any of the school's actions prevent him from entering the school again and carrying out his assumed plans. At best, they've moved the problem to a different place, and put others at risk that hadn't been at risk before. At worst, it really pisses him off, and he escalates his planned violence (pipe bombs really aren't hard to make). Any which way you look at it, the actions of the school and the police were completely irresponsible.
Factor in that the guy had none of these plans to begin with, and you're looking at a massively incompetent school administration, board and police whose only goal is to cover their ass. They don't care whether what they did solved any issues; all they wanted was to have something to point to if the student does go apeshit and the inevitable question of "who's to blame?" rolls around.
The US is going down the shitter, and attitudes like these towards kids and education are the reason why. Way to ruin your future generation.
Those who can, do. Those who can't, sue.
...taking this story so seriously. Have so few people ever experienced how an event in the real world is reported in the media? Nobody does this just because someone made a video game map. When I was a kid I created D&D scenarios based around my school that were full of violence and so did plenty of other kids. This is entirely normal behavior. (Normal modulo being a D&D player, that is.) Almost certainly this guy had a history and the video game aspect has been brought to the foreground by journalists for some other reason. Over the years I've been involved in many stories that have been reported in the news and not a single time has the report been accurate. The job of a journalist is to get paid for telling stories. The less imaginative ones borrow some of the story elements from real world events. Don't they teach people how to read the media?
Doesn't it make you feel good to know that our freedoms are protected by politicans, lawyers and journalists.
For years, people have been braying about the effects that continually playing violent videogames has on children. How repeated exposure to fictional violence in videogames desensitizes children. An effect which makes real world violence more tolerable and less revolting, in effect training our children to be killers ready to kill for any reason at a moment's notice. Some might argue that that's the very point of these so called "murder simulators".
But did any one think for second what the effect of continually treating children like criminals is? How repeated persecution for fictional crimes desensitizes children. An effect which makes real world incarceration more tolerable and less revolting, in effect training our children to be inmates ready to submit to authority for any reason at a moment's notice. Some might argue that that's the very point of these so called "nanny states".
Perhaps it was given a lot thought, indeed.
Dear America,
Stop sucking.
Your pals,
Voters
+0 Meh
He made a map of his school for a video game?
Excuse me, but I've been making maps of schools for Hello Kitty's Sunny Summer Adventure for years now.
More Twoson than Cupertino
During the early 90ies, I went to the principle and requested blue prints of my high school so I could make a Doom map. I asked teachers to pose so I could take pictures of them and turned them into sprites and used their voices. One teacher pushed a desk into a misbehaving student so he replaced the Cyberdemon and instead of shooting rockets, he shot desks at you.
No one cared. Most thought it was an interesting idea and one teacher had fun shooting himself.
All this on top of the fact that I was a violent kid in high school, constantly got into trouble, and was essentially a troublemaker.
The last place I worked at, I turned my office and surrounding areas into a counter strike source map with the help of another employee. We mapped out the surrounding area which included a police station. The police were suspicious at first, but after explaining where we worked and what the project was, they wanted to play the map. This was only three years ago.
These days North America seems to have descended back into a Salem witch hunt. The slightest notion that you might be a teeny tiny bit off center and suddenly you're arrested, subjected to psychological tests, put on medication by court orders, and for what? To keep the population safe? I certainly didn't kill anyone, in real life, and I certainly don't plan to. Instead, I'll take out my frustration on ragdoll NPCs and/or get laid. Either one works pretty well at preventing me from murder.
I'm god, but it's a bit of a drag really...
I built my school in Half-Life after the school gladly gave me the blueprints for every floor of the building. And then I built my friends house because it had a really cool design with glass instead of a floor in some places. Good thing I live in europe, or I would be in an education center too...
What kind of morons do we have running this mad house?
Neither in Columbine or Virginia Tech did the perp(s) practice on a video game, nor in any other such attack that I'm aware of. The authorities are stupid to even contemplate this situation. If the kid is actually up to no good these actions won't stop him anyway. Real terrorists wouldn't make their maps known for fear of actions like this.
Also, I haven't seen mentioned here yet, but it's LEGAL to own a hammer, or a gun for that matter. Posession of a weapon is not probable cause of intent to commit a crime.
I'm of half a mind to make maps of my local schools and put them on the net myself now.
We MUST do something about this sort of abuse. It takes our resources off the real threats and wastes them on a wild goose chase. The authorities are becoming the threat, and fast. When someone can do a perfectly legal activity and still have the wrath of the state come down on them, then the system has gone haywire. They better wise up and fast because this sort of behavior on the part of the state WILL produce the next crop of Timothy McVeigh's.
http://www.freecitizen.com/
Years ago someone made a Quake map of Queen's College Oxford (can't find URL), and St. John's College is a Doom map too. I can't remember anyone being arrested for it, but then again I can't remember a school in England being shot up either.
The US Government have accused Home Depot and Lowes of supplying terrorist activities on a nationwide scale, and have invoked emergency "Home Security" legislation ensuring US citizens can only buy tools made of jello.
The same legislation gives the police authority to shoot anyone selling non-jello tools (garage sales etc) on sight.
Don't underestimate the hammer. Remember the Blacksmith of Brandywine.
During the US revolutionary war, a blacksmith performed an errand for General Washington, only to return home and find that redcoats had murdered his family in his absence. The blacksmith took a heavy sledge from his workshop and walked onto the battlefield of Brandywine. There, before they finally brought him down, he slew 20 british soldiers. With a hammer.
No, I'm not being serious about a hammer being a viable weapon, not these days. (Although note that the Blacksmith story is true, from all references I can find.)
I just found it ironic, that the Blacksmith of Brandywine went on a murderous rampage in response to oppression from a ruthless government...and now, our government is so scared of our children that they're even taking our hammers away.
Genocide Man -- Life is funny. Death is funnier. Mass murder can be hilarious.
Ok... follow me here. First off a videogame was involved. Second, a hammer was the deciding vote on terrorist or not terrorist. The hammer is closly linked to what videogame? That's right - "It's me, MAAARIO!". Who is nintendo's biggest rival right now, M$ with their blasted xboxes, corporate shennanigans, and viral campaigns.
What better way of instilling fear in the parent population than linking videogames and hammers with terrorism. Parents will shy away from the overly cheerful plumber and run to the open arms of Bill Gates...
Aaaaaarg! What's next to be declared terroristic? Eating mushrooms, climbing through pipes, and collecting coins in my basement?
Looks like this kid will have some money coming his way. The police can arrest anyone they want, really. CONVICTED this person of a crime is another matter entirely. He's clearly violated no law whatsoever, so this will never stick. On the other hand, he now has very good cause to sue the police for wrongful imprisonment. I think he should bust out the legal brass knuckled and start polishing.
I think this is pretty ridiculous. When I was in high school, I created a Doom level based on the actual blueprints of the high school. (My dad was/is on the school board and he had copies at home due to a proposed addition being discussed at the time.) Many people at the school knew of and saw the completed project, and no one found it to be a big deal. I even used a school-owned digital camera to create textures based on the actual classrooms and hallways. This was right around the same time as Columbine, but luckily for me the administration was level-headed (possibly due to the support of my father, I don't know).
Without RTFA, I don't know if there were additional indicators beyond just creating the map in this case, but if he simply created the school's layout I think this is a huge overreaction. It takes a lot of work and talent to create good maps, and I don't see how it is an indicator of violence at all.
Royally pissed off? Explain your viewpoint to the school.
The School's site is here.
Principal: Kevin Moran - Kevin.Moran@fortbend.k12.tx.us - 281-634-2156
Assistant Principal: Lorri Hubert, Lorri.Hubert@fortbend.k12.tx.us - 281-634-2164
Lead Counselor: Alice Ledford - Alice.Ledford@fortbend.k12.tx.us - 281-634-2157
Fort Bend ISD's site is here.
Superintendent: Timothy R. Jenney, Ph.D. - superintendent@fortbend.k12.tx.us -
The entire board of directors of the Fort Bend ISD can be reached here. (Google Cache in anticipation of slashdotting).
Mod my comments down. It'll be fun.
Pretty much all of the shooters in recent history were known to be mentally unbalanced prior to the shootings. An evaluation of the individual's mental state and school records would clarify if he was a threat or not.
The only effective predictor of future violent behavior is past violent behavior. (And by "violent behavior" I mean real, criminal, violence and credible threats of violence against others - not playing video games, laser tag, or football.) Mass murderers don't "just snap". They build up to wholesale violence in a growing series of acts of retail violence and to large law-breaking in a growing series of smaller law-breakings.
Those shooters had all committed MULTIPLE FELONIES and had no serious consequences. If the law had actually been ENFORCED against them they would not have been in a position to go on their final rampages (assuming they didn't straighten out their act the first time they found that breaking the law had consequences).
There's no need to look for "signs" and omens when some kid worries you. Just look for a pattern of CRIMES. If it's there, bust his butt for what he's actually done.
If not (which it doesn't sound like in this case), you ask them to discontinue the behavior, delete the maps, and go about school as usual. But instead, we give these kids a real reason to hate the faculty. Way to go guys.
If not, just leave him the heck alone. He invested a lot of his time building that game level. It's HIS PROPERTY. Force him to delete the maps and you've stolen something from him that cost him months of his life to create - for no purpose than to ease your mind. That, too, will give him a reason to actually, and validly, hate the school authorities.
If you believe you must take his work and destroy it "for a public purpose" (such as calming the hysterics on the school board) the "takings" clause of the Fifth Amendment says you must PAY him for it. What's a fair price? What could such a video game or plug-in bring on the national market?
Meanwhile, there's a very important point to keep in mind: It is NORMAL for people (especially adolescent boys) to fantasize about subjects that include violence, revenge, and war. It's part of deciding how to behave, of surviving threats, and of understanding the world, society, and his place in them. What is NOT normal is to ACT OUT these fantasies outside of the social and legal boundaries. THAT is the distinction between a criminal (including the criminally insane) and normal, law-abiding, upstanding citizens.
Bantam Dominique roosters crow a four-note song. Once you've heard it as "Happy BIRTHday" you can't NOT hear it that way
I don't know where you are magically getting your information from, but you're wrong. I am currently conducting research on the effects of exposure to violent video games on adolescents and have long finished my literature review of several scientific articles. Feel free to ask for the pdf files if you want to read them. These are parts of my literature review including the citations: A growing number of researchers are drawing links between aggression and violent video games. For instance, the unfortunate event that took place at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado triggered a controversy about video games has led researchers to become more aware of the potential effects violent video games may have had on the tragedy (Slatalla, 1999; Taylor, 1999, as cited in Williams & Skoric, 2005). Other researchers, Anderson and Bushman (2001, as cited in Williams & Skoric, 2005), revealed that there is a positive link between the exposure to violent video games and aggression. Exposure to violent television and video games has also been known to cause self-reported, peer-reported and teacher-reported aggressive behaviour (Anderson & Dill, 2000; Singer & Singer 1983, 1986; Singer, Singer, & Rapaczynski, 1984, as cited in Uhlmann & Swanson, 2004). (blahblah, things not relevant to you) An individual's ideas about the appropriateness of aggression as a result of social norms have an impact on response and also in common situations (Huesmann & Guerra, 1997, as cited in Williams & Skoric). This suggests that people's conception of aggression will ultimately influence behaviour in social situations experienced on a daily basis. As a result of exposing themselves to violent and aggressive content, players will be more likely to handle social situations in a more aggressive manner and engage in more arguments. One researcher suggests that being exposed to violent content will activate aggressive cognitions, which in turn will activate aggressive behaviour (Berkowitz, 1990, as cited in Uhlmann & Swanson, 2004). So yes, there is scientific evidence that gamers who enjoy violent video games may be more violent in comparison to those who do not. I am not saying that any of these statements are conclusive as I am a violent video game player and I haven't shot up my college (and I go to Dawson, by the way, and was present during the shooting in September 2006). However, ignornant statements such as yours and from several other people here on Slashdot piss me off.
Seriously, I wonder how many of the local Police are familiar with the layout of this local High School? They should ask the kid for a copy of the game and put all their force through intensive training utilizing it. This would best prepare the Police if any incident ever happened in the school. Better still the kid should spend time at the Police office helping to train the members. This would allow interaction between the police and the kid and probably generate a better understanding of each other. Now it's likely the kid is developing a dislike for the Schools management and considers the police people to be avoided and NOT trusted. Makes me wonder why educators can't grasp such a situation and make something really positive come out of it.
Marines know that their Rifle Safety Rules can be applied to their everyday lives, ie:
1. Treat every hammer as if it were dangerous.
2. Never smash anything you do not intend to break.
3. Keep your fingers straight and off the handle until you are ready to smash.
4. Keep your hammer holstered until you are ready to smash.
Since it clearly wasn't in his hand when found, the kid didn't break the rules and, therefore, did nothing wrong.
On a second note, I thought this was rather humorous... the police took the kid's tool, but he received a "ban hammer" from the school. (yeah, that was corny)
...is a written constitution, just like Europe. Oh, hold on, that's the wrong way around, isn't it?
Quidnam Latine loqui modo coepi?
http://contest.sketchup.com/entry.php?rules=1
Pretty soon we will see hundreds of campuses mapped in 3D and available everywhere on google maps. How hard would it be to convert the Google 3D data to a CS or Quake map? Not hard at all. I guess Google is supporting the next generation of school shooters eh?
"how can they call it a MINE if everything here is THEIRS?!?!" -Straight Jacket
I couldn't agree more. I think the really scary thing is that there's a kid out there that spends his every waking moment in a building moving from section to section each year and wouldn't be able to model his school! Furthermore if you're afraid of what could happen, wouldn't knowing the layout of the building you're in be a Good Thing if the lead ever did start flying?!
This quote is so incredibly stupid I almost refuse to believe that the reporter didn't lead the kid into the question and then quote him out of context. I can't fathom what the question could have been, but the alternative where I accept that this kid is a potential canidate for making any kind of policy or decision in his future at work, politics or anything other than "paper or plastic" is so terrifying, in and of itself, that I refuse to entertain the very notion for fear of my head exploding. If that's true, I just know somehow he's going to be my PHB 15 years from now.
If I mod you up, it doesn't necessarily mean I agree with what you've said, sorry.
That's horrible!
That's ridiculous!
That's how it should be!
That's... Wait, what?
Property is theft.
the board website
NOTE: DO NOT HARASS THESE PEOPLE. It will have the opposite effect you wish to achieve. Simply let them know of your approval/disapproval of their actions
And here is the info for the public relations department for the school district:
Kudos to those who at least attended the meeting:
If you can find some evidence of other problems this guy had in school then I'll take that into consideration. Right now, you have nothing to back up the claim that: "Almost certainly this guy had a history and the video game aspect has been brought to the foreground by journalists for some other reason." Yeah, it's possible....maybe even probable.....but nobody has any info on that so I think it's premature to state that nobody should take this article seriously.
Tolerance does not tolerate intolerance, or hypocrisy.
The community deserves to be able to take a "virtual tour" through this facility to ensure our kids it's safe and sound - quick, someone make a Quake map of it!
Maybe I should re-think doing a series of landscape paintings of my local community college. Not everyone thinks a tree is a tree and a painted crack in a sidewalk might mean something entirely different to the campus police.
How did this tripe full of tropes so old and tired they've had 3 cancers, a heart attack and a stroke actually qualify to receive moderation as "+3, Informative".
Those sites are conspiracy-monger sites, and this man cannot even write using proper English.
Mods, do your jobs and moderate!
My heart goes out to this young man and his family for the crazy response of the local police and school board. It's particularly maddening as studies have shown that zero tolerance and suspension-happy school administrators aren't making our schools safer. For instance:
Defenders of the [zero tolerance] policies point to the larger threat posed by serious violence in our nation's schools, suggesting that civil rights violations may be an unfortunate but necessary compromise to ensure the safety of school environments.
Unfortunately, however, this latter argument is made somewhat moot by the almost complete lack of documentation linking zero tolerance with improved school safety. Despite more than ten years of implementation, there have been only a handful of studies evaluating the outcomes of security measures. Of these, only school uniform research appears to have enough support to be considered even promising in contributing to perceptions of safer school environments. The most extensive studies (Heaviside et al., 1998; Mayer & Leone, 1999) suggest a negative relationship between school security measures and school safety.
From "Zero Tolerance, Zero Evidence: An Analysis of School Disciplinary Practice" by Russel Skiba, Indiana Educational Policy Center, August 2000 PDF report link
ancarett, historian and zombie gamer
Apart from that, i do think that the restrictions put on pot are pretty stupid - putting a pot smoker into ALC would be just as stupid as putting the guy the story is about in ALC. Thats doesnt make smoking pot "ok", but that does make overzealous punishment "idiotic".
Besides, ANY mind altering act (be it sex, drugs, alchohol, anything) done to get away from emotional pain will always get worse. Doing it for fun or socially is fine - just like drinking alchohol, its ok in moderation.
Speaking of moderation, maybe you outta give it a try. Lay off the speed.
-Red
Guns don't kill people, "with glowing hearts" kills people.
The authorities are going about this all wrong! I intend to write to my representatives urging them to pass legislation that would require all school districts to make Counterstrike maps of their schools avalible to to local police SWAT units and the FBI. Upon receiving word of any potential school shooting, they could race to the scene confident that their hours of playing cs_clements will pay off in lives saved. This young man is to be commended on his work to prevent another tragic incident!
echo 'Header append X-HD-DVD "0x09f911029d74e35bd84156c5635688c0"' >>
"They arrested him," Chen said of FBISD police, "and also went to the house to search." The Lin family consented to the search, and a hammer was found in the boy's room, which he used to fix his bed, because it wasn't in good shape, Chen said. He indicated police seized the hammer as a potential weapon.
Attention deficit disorder is a complicated issue, spanning several major... HEY LET'S GO RIDE BIKES!
Yeah, that law is called the PATRIOT ACT, which gives law enforcement basic carte blanche to arrest yo ass under any suspicion of terrorisms. Making a map of school? He MUST hate freedom! Therefore, as a freedom hater, we have reason to suspect he is a terrorism! And thanks to the rubber stamp formerly known as Congress, under the PATRIOT ACT, that poor kid can wind up screwed. What's really sad is that when he applies to jobs and a background check is run.... "Detained for suspected terrorist activity" is likely to come up. Anyone gonna hire him if they run such a check?
Sig Registration Form 34c_766(a) submitted to Ministry of Signature Management. Approval pending.
Let's stop building schools, build more prisons, and put the kid straight in there. Cut out the middle man. That will solve all sorts of problems, like child care, labor costs, etc. The parents will appreciate it. They won't have to let them use the car anymore. Unfortunately they won't have anybody to send into the city to get their drugs for them, but they can always do like I do and just buy from the cops.
What?
http://www.fortbendnow.com/news/2854/phone-call-a- day-after-virginia-tech-shootings-led-to-clements- students-punishment
Some parent called the day after the Va-Tech shootings. I wonder what the heck was going through his/her mind.
And being a former student of that school, I cannot believe how stupid and incompetent they've become.
Thank god there are ways to let go of our frustrations and hatreds. The ways we do it have changed. We live in the computer era.
"No warrant, no search. You don't consent to police searching your house. That's what search warrants . . .are for."
Sorry, I think you're wrong on that point, unless you mean "You don't consent..." as a piece of excellent advice. I can't believe they were dumb enough to allow this. Any evidence found in a search to which the owner has consented is legal and admissable. So are statements you make if you've waived your right to remain silent and agreed to talk to the police without a lawyer present.
That's why you NEVER give the cops permission to search your house. If you're pulled over, NEVER allow them to search your car. Don't answer any of their questions, and don't believe a thing that they tell you. Spend a few monotonous hours learning the laws (Federal and in your state) so that you know how to protect yourself in these situations. That will put you on higher ground than 95% of the stormtrooper wannabes you're likely to encounter.
"If you're ignorant of your rights, then you don't have any"
-unknown
Yeah, and the Romans thought he was a troublemaker (aka terrorist) and tortured and executed him.
Hammers are dangerous.
When I was in high school, my friends and I used to play Marathon in the Physics Lab with our physics/math teacher after school. When Marathon 2 came out with a level editor, my physics teacher made a Marathon map of the school, and he and my friends and I all ran around torching each other with flame throwers, blowing each other up with grenades, and gunning each other down with machine guns "inside our own school."
No one seemed the have a problem with this then ('94). I wonder how they'd treat a teacher who did that today?
Can anyone tell me how to set my sig on Slashdot?