The vandalism of Gustine High School – what was termed the senior prank – has certainly raised many opinions among Gustine residents, parents and students. One just has to visit our forum pages to read what they have to say….here are few exerpts:

 “I think everyone should acknowledge this as what it actually was.....vandalism and destruction of property.”

“Everything else that happened on top of the “simple” plan was not created by seniors that are being held responsible and asked to pay the school back.  The kids responsible for it are gang members that no one wants to name because they are scared of them.”

“Are you kidding me!!!! How can one even condone this type of action. I don’t care if it was a prank or not.”

“I call on the Gustine Police Department, School Board, Administration, and teachers to teach these seniors one final and lasting lesson...that with every action they take there is consequence.  Please send a message to these students, the community, and public at large as we are all waiting to see leadership and proper recourse in the protection of our institutions, community, and children.”

“ I am not condoning what was done, but let’s be realistic here.  This organized prank, stupid as it may be, is nothing new, and is cool to do as a Senior.”

“Find the ringleaders, find out if parents were involved,...prosecute them all. Board members want to take away the Senior Graduation Ceremony.. I can see taking away the trips, making the pranksters pay, etc,, but for one, my Senior and a lot of other Seniors were NOT involved!! They waited their whole lives for this ceremony and I will be damned if they are taking that away from my kid!! Punish the guilty kids,, they know who most of them are, but not every kid!”

As of Friday, high school officials have elected to impose community service and a $100 restitution on those seniors they believe to be involved. The parents were notified via a letter sent home with the students on Friday. Who knows how many of those parents were actually notified in advance or even got the letter delivered to them by their children. Those students (parents) who don’t want to pay or can’t pay the fee must complete an additional 15 hours of work. Those who do not complete the punishment will be banned from graduation ceremonies.

The names of students have been compiled by students turning themselves in, names given to school officials via questioning and anonymous sources. What you can be sure of is that not all of the students involved have been given this discipline.

At this point my view is that this is a “he said, she said” situation and the discipline more than likely will not reach those that it should. In addition, I don’t believe that the restitution should be imposed by the school. The restitution, in my opinion, should come from the legal system as it is with all criminal charges – and this “prank” can certainly be deemed a criminal act.

A criminal investigation should be handled by the police department and turned over to the District Attorney’s office where it will be determined what kind of charges will be imposed.

What should happen at the school level is that graduation ceremonies should be canceled for all seniors because even though there are some who were not involved, you can certainly be sure that they knew of the prank. There really isn’t a clear cut line as to who should be punished and to what level so why not just take out the guess work and send a clear message that this type of behavior will not be tolerated in any way shape or form.

After the whole “hazing” incident – one would think that school officials would want to step up to the plate and handle the matter in a timely manner. Instead, let’s drag this out, see who does the service and who doesn’t, who pays the money and who doesn’t.

And if you’re arguing that the kids have learned their lesson and are remorseful.....well, this student’s MySpace page that came into our possession makes a much different argument.

Posted on May 27, it parodies a popular credit card commercial with the following: “crickets, dish soap, TP, panties, other misc., supplies....$70-$100. Cleanup, labor, cost of damages.....approximately $4,500, about $100-$150 apiece. Trespassing on school campus, running/hiding from the cops, minor cuts and bruises, conspiracy to vandalism = one last hurrah with the classmates and still being the only thing anybody can talk about.....PRICELESS =)”

Oh, and before you even go there, that was from one of the “good” kids.

I can only hope that the high school will indeed be diligent in imposing their discipline and not waver. Any form of discipline must have follow through otherwise, there will be no purpose and no lesson will be learned.

Though this may be a hard pill so swallow it is imperative that someone show that actions have consequences.

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Speaking of actions… it is pleasing to know that Kathy McWilliams was recently honored with a tree planting at Yolo Middle School. Kathy’s removal as principal of the middle school was and still is a controversial topic. Nonetheless, she deserves to be honored for her leadership and educational knowledge which has served her and the district well over the years. The solid test scores and support from the majority of the teaching staff shows that Kathy is a principal who knows her stuff. What amounts to just a conflict in personalities and differences of opinion should not be reason enough to replace an administrator, but unfortunately it is. So let’s hope that the district’s action to release her of her duties as principal and offering her a teaching position does not create a set of consequences that they come to regret.

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