Imagine seeing a freshmen handcuffed in the main office while rumors run rampant about a bomb in school. That’s what happened to Muslim teenager Ahmed Mohamed on Sept. 14 when he brought his clock invention to his Dallas high school. The clock itself worked perfectly fine, but it was mistaken for a suitcase bomb. Ahmed said he was arrested for a hoax bomb and was interrogated by five police officers. After realizing the clock was no longer a threat, the charges were dropped. We have to ask ourselves now, how would North Platte High School handle a situation like this?

My hopes are they wouldn’t shackle him up and send this kid to the slammer.. In a situation like this, a teacher needs to think quickly, yet have a clear head. The teacher in this situation probably had a clouded judgement or was at least being accused of it. The Council on American-Islamic Relations says they believe the incident was racially-motivated. “I think this wouldn’t even be a question if his name wasn’t Ahmed Mohamed,” said the Council’s Alia Salem. Do we need to police ourselves for racism? Yes. The need to police the school against terroristic threats is even more important.

Should the clock be investigated? Absolutely! When it comes to safety nothing should be overlooked. If approached with a clock like this, a teacher should talk to the student, and determine whether or not the clock is an actual threat. As for the administration, I would hope to see them handle this in a calm, collective manner. According to principal James Ayers, we would be calling upon other opinions, such as our resource officer, to really analyze whether or not the situation is dangerous. Regardless, a similar situation would cause an educational disruption, thus requiring some form of punishment.

Chances are stereotyping played a role in the incident, I mean come on, a Muslim bringing a homemade suitcase-bomb-like clock only fans America’s overactive anxiety flame. It is a stereotype promoting a stereotype. However, being self-aware of our prejudicial inclinations doesn’t mean we should ignore any potential threats– even cliché ones.
Our parents never had to fear death around every corner, whether it be sitting in movie theater, shopping at the mall, or even just going to school. The thought of “Hey, I might die!” never raced through their minds. We live in an age in which we fear going to school and getting shot. It’s a common thought that runs through our heads. Sadly, because of that, we have to have zero-tolerance policies.

Even if this ended up in no harm situation, does this singular “false threat” allow us to put our guard down when it comes to North Platte students’ safety? If we are going to have zero-tolerance, no matter what race, no matter what gender, we must always enforce potentially threatening situations. Should the Texas authorities have taken this kid to jail? Probably not. However, I respect the idea that even though this young, bright student invented something harmless, he has to understand that people are more on edge about threats than they have ever been due to the society that we live in.

To learn more about this incident follow this link:

Texas Student Ahmed Muslin Clock Bomb

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