Disbelief. Anger. Sadness. That’s the emotional trail this
community traveled Friday after three students dialed up morning
chaos in Gilroy by making a cell phone death threat to a high
school teacher.
Disbelief. Anger. Sadness. That’s the emotional trail this community traveled Friday after three students dialed up morning chaos in Gilroy by making a cell phone death threat to a high school teacher.
Any 17-year-old in this day and age willing to call 9-1-1 and tell emergency dispatchers they have a gun and are on campus intending to shoot a teacher needs more than a head examination. They need the book thrown at them.
There’s not a shred of humor in it.
Were we to judge these students, the first item on the punishment list would be this: We’d invite the community to Gilroy High’s Mustang Stadium where the three would make a public apology to their fellow students, the GHS staff, the parents, the emergency medical personnel and the police, who responded with their guns drawn and, no doubt, their hearts in their throats.
It didn’t happen here. Thank God it didn’t happen here. But that stupid, worthless prank has cost us dearly.
It caused us to think the unthinkable, to worry unnecessarily, to feel the throb of innocence lost one more time. It heaped more trauma on what has already been a difficult year at Gilroy High with teacher firings and an ongoing struggle to determine the path to academic excellence.
And now we are left with difficult questions to resolve, questions that have little to do with education:
• Should the seemingly mindless 17-year-olds be tried as adults?
• Should the parents pay full restitution for the emergency response – regardless of ability to pay?
• Should the students be named publicly and subjected to the shame that comes with such irresponsible action?
As students return to campus today, there will be an unease that will take some time to fade. For some, that unease will be more difficult than for others. People react to trauma differently.
The students who created such a grotesque scene in our community – a high school campus ringed with police carrying high-powered weapons – need to understand the reality they unleashed and feel the revulsion we all feel.
A judge will take control now. Our hope is for a just mix of heavy hand and wisdom. It will not be an easy line to walk.
For the parents of these students, there is little comfort to offer. Your children have committed a senseless crime. Make sure they accept complete responsibility for their actions. A public apology would be the right thing to do.
Lastly, we would like to acknowledge the contributions of the high school staff and the public safety personnel who responded.
The secretaries who answered phone calls from panicked parents, the teachers who kept classrooms calm for hours and the campus supervisors who assisted police are all to be commended, appreciated and profusely thanked.
The Gilroy Police Department responded quickly, with precision and professionalism – truly, a textbook performance under difficult circumstances. We are thankful for such a well-trained, well-directed police force.
As a community, we just want to get back to normal – with the prom held Saturday, the next big event coming so quickly is graduation.
It’s a shame that Gilroy High’s valedictorian will have to ponder how to address this stupid prank in a speech intended to celebrate the optimism that comes with youth and new opportunity.
That thought, however, should remind us to focus on all the wonderful young people who are a part of our community. Let’s remember the GHS band members, choir singers, athletes, literary magazine staff members, community volunteers and thousands of others who contribute to Gilroy in positive ways.
In their energy and talents lives our hope for the future. Thankfully, that hope is alive and well today.
