Update (2:30 p.m., May 25): Lee County Schools issued a statement on the students’ suspensions this afternoon.
In the early hours of Wednesday morning, students entered a building on the Lee County High School campus and released two rats in an apparent prank, which resulted in a maintenance staff member being bitten. As a general matter, our principals are authorized under Board policy and the Code of Conduct to employ a broad range of consequences for student behavior, which may include the loss of privileges or opportunities to participate in school events. However, in compliance with state law and out of respect for the students and their families, we are unable to comment on any specific disciplinary decisions in this situation.
Original story:
Two Lee Senior High School seniors have been suspended and denied the right to walk at the school’s upcoming graduation ceremony after a “senior prank” gone wrong.
According to multiple sources, the two seniors (the school has not released their names) let loose at least two pet rats (and reportedly, some crickets) in a building through an open window after school hours. The rats caused some commotion the following day, but the real trouble came when a school custodian was bitten and injured while trying to retrieve one of the rats.
In addition to their suspension and banishment from the commencement ceremony, the students will also reportedly be responsible for any medical bills as a result of the bite.
A petition asking that the students be reinstated has been circulating on social media since the incident and has garnered more than 1,700 online signatures, nearing its 2,500 goal. The petition’s author argues the students who committed the prank have been otherwise good students who plan to attend college during their four years at LCHS and don’t deserve the punishment.
Others online argue the students got off light and are fortunate not to face charges due to the injury.
The Rant will update this story Friday when it receives a statement from Lee Senior High School or Lee County Schools.
Hope you have better luck than I did. Learned about it but could not get it verified.
How sad that one stupid prank led to four years of hard work down the drain. How about some compassion. I would hate to think that something I did as a teenager could take away a memory that lasts forever.
I applaud the school for holding the idiots accountable. Parents don’t teach kids that they are responsible for their actions
Why do people think that just because the kids haven’t been in trouble before that they shouldn’t be accountable? They made the choice to purchase rats to be released into the school and they should have been intelligent enough to know there would be a consequence if they were caught. They essentially broke into the school after hours and because of their actions someone who already has more work than they can do got hurt. We don’t get to choose our punishment when we make bad choices.
They received suspension, will not be participating in end of the year senior activities, (senior breakfast yesterday) and to my knowledge at least one wrote notes of apology. They will be paying medical cost as mentioned. They requested to perform community service doing whatever the school ask and in doing so would like to walk, and even if they didn’t get to walk would still be willing to do community service. The principal said at this time ‘no’ to the request.
I feel that they should be able to walk cause i think they have learn a lesson already by thinking there not going to be able to walk. Im sure they disnt think no one would get hurt in behind it.
That’s the problem, they don’t THINK, where ever there is an action, there is always, an equal yet opposite reaction. Actions have consequences, as they are now learning, time to be accountable for their actions. Tough life lesson, that there parents should have taught them at a young age
Charge them
I suppose they will still receive their high school diploma and graduate.
In today’s society, far too often children are not taught proper consequences for their behaviors. It is seen vividly if you walk down the hallways of most middle and High Schools – let alone at the elementary levels. Schools cannot do all the work, parents must be mindful and teach their children about proper respect and decorum. The school did the right thing. Despite the fact that they injured a person, let’s look at animal cruelty – these animals were purchased and released into an environment they were not suited for and thus paid the penalty for the end crimes. Both animals were killed. Then, janitors, whose jobs are difficult enough with the way students trash the schools constantly, have to deal with catching and getting rid of the animals that did not belong there. Finally, the way the student body filming the incident responded to the entire ordeal was beyond reprehensible. Teach consequences – be firm – do not relent – do not let them walk. Sure, it was a prank, but it was a prank that should have been better thought out.