So, having the cap pop off with a little smoke is now an explosion?

Be careful out there and don't shake your pop up too much.

My issue is with it being called a weapon. It's not a weapon. It was an idiotic thing to do, but at worst it was negligent and dangerous behavior, not malicious behavior.

I saw it on a CBS news site earlier but the story is gone now. May be BS. :hmmm:

So you read Bump's intro and decided that it was just a cap popping off? You really feel that you have enough information to criticize the school and police based on the little sliver of information you've been provided?

A student mixed chemicals at a school (on her own, mind you...this wasn't in a science lab under instruction of a certified science teacher) in an attempt to create a chemical gas. It exploded.

That is what we know.

What the school and authorities know is how big the explosion was and what the chemicals were. If we're talking about baking soda and vinegar...she shouldn't be arrested. If we're talking about ammonia and bleach...which will create "smoke", by the way...it's a different story. Given the fact that the authorities are privy to this incredibly important detail while the biased source omitted it, I'm going to take a wait-and-see approach before grabbing my pitchfork.

That may be. Then again, we don't really know what it was. The police had to provide a reason. It's up to the justice system to actually pursue charges. The article doesn't say if they have decided on formal charges. It doesn't say anything, really.

You're not the only one doing this, but I'm going to pick on you anyway.

Where in the hell in that story does it say anything about an "explosion"?

No, I was referring to you calling the cap popping off (as stated in the article) an "explosion".

As for the idea that being arrested must mean that it was a dangerous explosion, yeah- cops never, ever over-react to stupid shit.

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/...115125844.html

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/...#ixzz1D0s6Esse

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1576762/posts

She was arrested. That means she must have almost leveled the school with her pop bottle.

So I see you already addressed this while I was writing my post.

You are cautioning others to not jump to conclusions about what happened, while you are still calling it an explosion, even though that particular word is never mentioned in the article. :hmmm:

A chemical reaction caused (as a biased source puts it) a cap to pop off. It was enough of a reaction that, even though it was done outside, it got the attention of someone. If you've got a better term than "explosion", I'm open to it.

Effervescence perhaps?

Punishment should fit the crime. Maybe having her stay after school and clean up the science labs or something.

Nah, I'd rather not go down the "mauled" by a dog path again.

I'll just leave you and your superlatives alone.

Any punishment should be tailored to the individual and the circumstances. A 'zero tolerance' policy is the kind of stupidity that gets kids 6 year old kids suspended because of a butter knife in their backpack. Also, despite all the talk about how this was at school, the reality is that today's schools are trying to apply their rules and zero tolerance policies to things that happen off campus. It's all part of the same police state encroachments supported by the sort of useful idiots who think the world needs to come complete with hospital corners and that any law or rule that purports to be about safety is a good one.

Zero tolerance policies are dumb, anti-nature, anti-learning, anti-science, and anti-human.

Definition of EXPLOSION

1
: the act or an instance of exploding <injured in a laboratory explosion>
2
: a large-scale, rapid, or spectacular expansion or bursting out or forth <the explosion of suburbia> <an explosion of red hair>
3
: the release of occluded breath that occurs in one kind of articulation of stop consonants

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/explosion

Zero tolerance for arson? Zero tolerance for assault? Zero tolerance for rape? Zero tolerance for assaulting a teacher?

Some things are pretty black and white.

What if this girl gets off with a warning only to come back and do it again causing serious injury? I'll tell you "what then": the same people bitching about using common sense not to punish a kid for "experimenting" with chemicals will be bitching about ignoring obvious warning signs.

The same hyperbole that leads an agenda-driven writer to say, "poor little kid was arrested for popping the cap on a water bottle" will turn to " students maimed by poisonous gas explosion after police ignored troubled student's previous attempts to detonate a container filled with dangerous chemicals on school grounds".

The school did what it had to do. You bring chemicals onto school property and mix them in a container in an attempt to cause some unknown reaction? Get the **** out and explain it to the authorities. They can handle it. They can decide whether this was a harmless lapse in judgement or a dangerous action that was fortunate not to cause serious injuries. You want your kid to randomly mix chemicals and seal them in bottles? Do it away from my kid.

History has shown us, again and again, that almost nothing is black and white. Assault and rape certainly aren't black and white issues.

Unless the story changes, that position would be just as stupid as your current position.

The irony here being, of course, that you were being hyperbolic in the previous paragraph and are clearly pushing an agenda here.


Always great to hear from people who are in favor of a police state. They always serve as a great reminder of why I'm so opposed to one.

here you go right wingers, it's on fox news now. So you can consider this a real story now. ROFL


http://radio.foxnews.com/toddstarnes...t-in-jail.html

A Florida teenager with an “exemplary record” was arrested and expelled from school for what school officials say was a science experiment gone wrong.

FOLLOW TODD ON FACEBOOK FOR CONSERVATIVE NEWS AND COMMENTARY! CLICK HERE!

Kiera Wilmot, a student at Bartow High School, is facing two felony charges including making or attempting to make a destructive device after she mixed toilet bowl cleaner and pieces of aluminum foil in a tiny water bottle.

A spokesperson for the Florida State Attorney’s office told Fox News that the case is under investigation and would not be offering further comment.

The 16-year-old was in a yard outside the school working on the experiment for an upcomikierawilmotng science project, according to the Bartow Police Dept. The project was not part of an official class assignment.

Wilmot told police she thought the concoction would result in a little smoke. Instead, according to the police report, the tiny bottle exploded.

Bartow High School Principal Ron Pritchard told television station WTSP that Wilmot had an exemplary record and she is known around campus as a good student.

“She’s is a good kid,” the principal said. “she has never been in trouble before. Ever.”

According to the police report, obtained by Fox News, Wilmot told police she was in no way trying to hurt anyone or create a disruption of school.

The principal agreed and said she simply made a bad decision.

“Honestly, I don’t think she meant to ever hurt anyone,” he told the television station. “She wanted to see what would happen when the chemicals mixed and was shocked by what it did. Her mother is shocked, too.”

The principal said the young lady was completely up front and honest about what happened.

“She didn’t run or try to hide the truth,” he said.

Nevertheless, the school district called the police, had her arrested and expelled her from school.

“There are consequences to actions,” read a statement from Polk County Schools. “Anytime a student makes a bad choice it is disappointing to us.”

The district told the television station that the incident “was a serious breach of conduct.”

“In order to maintain a safe and orderly learning environment, we simply must uphold our code of conduct rules,” the statement read. “We will not compromise the safety and security of our students and staff.”

The experiment was conducted in a school yard away from the building and away from students. No one was injured in the incident.

The Wilmot family declined to comment. The district said she will complete her education at an alternative school.

but I guess children are going to these public schools with a good possibility they are going to be arrested and expelled if they make some little mistake.


But this story is just awful. ****ing experimenting with chemistry might not be a great idea if you dont know what you are doing. But expulsion and imprisonment for this? My god, kids shouldnt be going to school in fear of making some innocent mistake and having their lives ruined over it. POLICE STATE

It's cruel to have a child if you can't afford private schools for them these days, ****ing really cruel.

Actual reporting!

Googled "Toilet bowl cleaner mixed with foil" first video result titled "toilet bowl cleaner bomb...mix toilet bowl cleaner and aluminum foil in a plastic bottle. Put the cap on tight, and watch the explosion."

I watched the video. The girl knew what she was doing. She deserves to be expelled. I don't think it warrants jail time, but I'd say some legal ramifications are in order.

Well, there you go Saul Good.

My bad, I guess.

Seems it's mentioned on the police report...

Am I missing something? Or do I have to click on the link to see that she was mixing toilet bowl cleaner and aluminum foil?

Yet that wasn't part of the story posted in the OP.

No worries. Everybody gets lucky once in a while.

Right. As I mentioned, the piece was very clearly biased. They took a quote from a kid calling it a science project but didn't quote the police report. I don't see how everyone didn't recognize that critical details were being omitted.

I could see a 3 day suspension being in order to send a message to the rest of the students that doing something kinda stupid does have consequences.

But come on, they want to use no tolerance laws and recent bombings to make her out to be a terrorist when she had no intent to harm anybody.

One of your kids might do something equally dumb and will most likely get the same fate as her due to this country becoming a zero tolerance, police state.

But if I were a parent, I would certainly pull my child out of that school district and explain that I fear my child's life can easily be ruined by a little mistake. And teens often make little mistakes.

It wasn't in the hack article posted in the OP, but the follow-up from Fox listed the components and quoted the police report.

still doesn't matter that much though. She wasn't even near anybody, according to this report and obviously had no intent to harm. But this police state isn't good and students shouldn't be going to school with nothing but fear on their minds. But that's america, fear = control, the more you are controlled the better it is for them.

What about the kid who got arrested for wearing a T shirt that said 'stand up for your rights'

Some teens make little mistakes. Other teens bring homemade bombs to school. Tiny as it may have been, I'm fine with a zero tolerance policy for detonating homemade bombs at school. Good luck finding a school with a more liberal policy on students detonating bombs.

that's pretty much what I heard you say

but, I guess the whole thing about this is

she chose to do it on her own

Yes, it appears that the first story is BS because they said it was a failed science project. So, I won't take much account into anything they report in the future.

But, still doesn't mean she should be treated as a ****ing terrorist.



But now, I want to know. What was her real motive for doing this?

Was it to gain attention? or was she genuinely interested in how chemistry works and she was experimenting out of a will to gain knowledge?

Given her 'great student' and 'never been in any trouble, ever'

kinds tells me that it's an honest mistake and a small punishment is warranted. But the police? a federal crime?

Scary world to raise a child in this country now. I wouldn't have the heart to have a child, knowing that I can't afford a good education for them and they will have to go to school in fear of making a mistake and having their life ruined over it.

If it turns out, she did this with cruel intentions. I'll eat my words, I always take accountability when I'm wrong about something (a trait not many have).

ROFL

jfc ....

Charges dropped.


Charges dropped against Florida teen over amateur science experiment

The Florida teenager who was arrested two weeks ago for causing a small explosion on the campus of her high school will not be charged with a crime. Kiera Wilmot, 16, was arrested by police in Bartow, Florida, after conducting an unauthorized science experiment which lightly damaged an eight ounce plastic water bottle.

At the time, Wilmot faced possible charges for “possessing or discharging weapons or firearms at a school sponsored event or on school property.” If she had been convicted, she could have faced up to five years in prison.

Wilmot’s arrest became a national story, as members of the press and the scientific community insisted that Wilmot was the victim of a massive overreaction from law enforcement. A crowdfunded legal defense fund netted over $8,000 to cover Wilmot’s potential legal fees, and a Change.org petition to get the charges dropped received nearly 200,000 signatures.

“Even though I don’t have the privilege of knowing Kiera, I believe we all have the responsibility to stand up with one another whenever there is injustice and felt I had to do whatever I could to make sure the unjust felony charges were dropped,” said Maggie Gilman, the creator of the petition, in a statement circulated by Change.org. “I’m very thankful to the 195,000 people who stood with Kiera and signed the petition on Change.org!”

Wilmot has already served a ten-day suspension, and is now attending another high school, according to her attorney.

Nice to see common sense prevail.

It doesn't seem like it was common sense though. It was public pressure. But, whatever...glad the right thing was done.

It's great that the charges were dropped. Unfortunately, the idiotic policy which was so much a part of the problem probably still won't be changed.

Agreed. That silly and archaic "no bombs allowed at schools" policy should be updated to "some bombs allowed at schools".

When will we learn?

Good to see the charges dropped.

We brought homemade matchbombs to high school and were setting them off between classes. Got caught, got the rest confiscated and a stern talking to. My, how times have changed.

16-year-old Kiera Wilmot is accused of mixing housing chemicals in a small water bottle at Bartow High School, causing the cap to fly off and produce a bit of smoke. The experiment was conducted outdoors, no property was damaged, and no one was injured.


heh funny- you think that's a bomb.

Yeah... who will save us from the senseless terror of unsupervised science experiments? They're lucky that puff of smoke didn't level the town...

The pussification of America......

Always good to see who can't be bothered to actually read the articles for comprehension.

The world was just seconds away from another Chernobyl level event. Thank goodness that teen

was stopped before she could kill hundreds.

I agree completely. We need to let students decide for themselves what explosions are appropriate at schools. I think everyone can agree that teenagers should be mixing chemicals at schools without supervision. That's just common sense.

To me, at some point, schools need to realize that 0 tolerance policies don't always work the way you would hope. This is one example, I believe, that if there is no back story, no more details, there should have been no punishment.

You're going to hurt yourself stretching the hyperbola that far....

People are rightly questioning yet another "no tolerance" policy that allows a school administrator no room to make a reasoned decision about appropriate consequences for a bad decision. The principal, as quoted, seems very reasonable and unhappy with the school district's choice to have her arrested and expelled, rather than being able to weigh a more appropriate consequence for a good student who made a bad choice that had no impact at all other than to startle her.

I really wish people could stop passing policy anywhere that removes good judgment from the equation. Our children see no examples of real thought anymore. That is what student council's and student honor committees used to be about. Teaching kids to weigh hard decisions and compromise. We have turned everything into an extreme response with no middle grounds and then wonder why our country is increasingly divided to the extremes.

I wish her a good future and hope that this expulsion doesn't lose her any opportunities.

The story gets even better. Science rules!

Teen Who Was Expelled From School For Science Explosion Receives Full Scholarship U.S. Space Academy

Kiera Wilmot made an honest mistake, but the police were trying to throw away her life with a felony. After the community stood up for the girl, the charges were dropped, and she was allowed to move on with her life. Well, her greatness is really starting to shine, as she was recently granted several extraordinary opportunities through scholarship offers she has received.

Check it out:

Kiera Wilmot, the 16-year-old honor student expelled from her high school after she allegedly ignited a chemical explosion on school property, received a full scholarship to the U.S. Space Academy, courtesy of a NASA veteran who, as a teenager, was accused of starting a forest fire during a science experiment.

And you're not drawing a conclusion?

There's always clowns that side with completely senseless people.

That's ridiculous. Do you know how many bottles I blew up as a kid? Slap their hand and say, "Don't do that again." Move on.

Hell I used to mix shit with baking soda.

BOOM.

What a bunch of crap.