| A student at Franklin Military Academy in Richmond, Virginia was suspended for writing students' names in a book labeled as "Death Note". The principal of the school caught the student reading the list of names in the Death Note. According to fellow students, he did not say much, and he always kept to himself. People at the school, even the ones who had their name on the list are not afraid of him. The student was suspended from school. The principal even had to send letters to parents describing the situation, and where he got the idea from Source: ANN | NBC12 |
ZelNov 22, 2007 8:31 PM
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| Oh, this is just wonderful. Great way to convince the masses that we should be banning Death Note. Moron. [edit] Apparently this particular news station can't spell. Japenese? |
AnaraineNov 21, 2007 11:55 PM
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Zel said: Some people at the school, even some who were not on the list are not afraid of him. Not afraid of him? is that a typo? Cause the sentence makes no sense at all. Whatever, people like him are losers who take anime way way too seriously. And then they screw it up for the rest of us >.< |
| aw.. thanks alot.. this douche is gonna ruin it DX |
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| I think it makes more sense if you cross out the first "not"? Anyway, yeah this doesn't help at all. |
| This is good news for promoting the anime. |
| Hahaha, then they should have canceled the anime convention in my country, we had a Death Note Guestbook that around 65% of the people there wrote in it. Even I wrote my own name there. Wha? I don't hear anybody suspending me ... |
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| I can't help but laughed my self silly, when I read this news at the panel before I clicked it. But some things make me angry too.. geez, the kid going on like that will surely bring up *how anime is a bad influenced*(again!!) hate to hear that issue been debate over and over.. and he being suspended?? seriously mr. principal. ain't it supposed you focus on the kids problem..It's not as if writing it will bring harm... Bondius said: Hahaha, then they should have canceled the anime convention in my country, we had a Death Note Guestbook that around 65% of the people there wrote in it. Even I wrote my own name there. Wha? I don't hear anybody suspending me ... wow, Death Note Guestbook..wicked !! ^ ^ |
Bondius said: Hahaha, then they should have canceled the anime convention in my country, we had a Death Note Guestbook that around 65% of the people there wrote in it. Even I wrote my own name there. Wha? I don't hear anybody suspending me ... Yeah, but the context is pretty different. This is more along the lines of keeping a hit list, which several people who've gone on to actually kill fellow students have done. |
| -sigh- He should of been more careful >.> Ergh, if he ruins it.. -twitch- |
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| Haha I'm not too surprised, after it was announced that Death Note would air on Adult Swim, I knew it was only a matter of time.... xD |
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Xjellocross said: Zel said: Some people at the school, even some who were not on the list are not afraid of him. Not afraid of him? is that a typo? Cause the sentence makes no sense at all. Oh crap, thanks... fixed it... |
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| Jeez, not another Death Note related incident. It's like the moron believes that a Shinigami really exists, and is going to kill his "enemies" for him. Bondius said: Hahaha, then they should have canceled the anime convention in my country, we had a Death Note Guestbook that around 65% of the people there wrote in it. Even I wrote my own name there. Wha? I don't hear anybody suspending me ... Your Romanian Anime Conventions intrigue me and I want to be subscribed to your newsletter. xD |
kazue said: and he being suspended?? seriously mr. principal. ain't it supposed you focus on the kids problem..It's not as if writing it will bring harm... As someone who had multiple friends and members of my family on the Virginia Tech campus when the shootings occurred there last spring, I vehemently disagree about this. Being there afterwards (I was) was an indescribably somber experience. Ignoring threats, even non-obvious ones, is what enabled that situation, and the principal did precisely the correct thing by suspending him. Plus, Franklin is a public military school with an ultra-tight discipline system, and I wouldn't be surprised if at least minor weaponry were stored on campus. The kid's lucky he's getting off with just a suspension right now. |
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Triethanolamine said: yep yep.Haha I'm not too surprised, after it was announced that Death Note would air on Adult Swim, I knew it was only a matter of time.... xD |
Iri said: kazue said: and he being suspended?? seriously mr. principal. ain't it supposed you focus on the kids problem..It's not as if writing it will bring harm... As someone who had multiple friends and members of my family on the Virginia Tech campus when the shootings occurred there last spring, I vehemently disagree about this. Being there afterwards (I was) was an indescribably somber experience. Ignoring threats, even non-obvious ones, is what enabled that situation, and the principal did precisely the correct thing by suspending him. Plus, Franklin is a public military school with an ultra-tight discipline system, and I wouldn't be surprised if at least minor weaponry were stored on campus. The kid's lucky he's getting off with just a suspension right now. yup..that's what I meant about finding out the kid problem..soving the issue.. I didn't meant for the kid to be released to do what he want .just stressing out the importance 'discovering " mental health problem" '.. to avoid serious problem <-- sorry if I sound flippantly disregarding the issue . Need to work more on my wording I guess... |
kazueNov 22, 2007 12:41 AM
mayfly said: I don't think that the "you go away and think about what you have done" approach works. Keeping him in the strict, routine based environment that is school (military school, no less), keeping a close eye on his behaviour and arranging for him to get some help, through on-campus (or external) counseling, would probably be the best option. Alienating him further isn't going to solve anything... you got the rite idea there, mayfly.. |
mayfly said: Iri said: Ignoring threats, even non-obvious ones, is what enabled that situation, and the principal did precisely the correct thing by suspending him. I disagree. Suspending him is almost an out-of-sight-out-of-mind solution - he's not there so he can't cause trouble. But cutting off contact with him isn't going to make things get better... I don't think that the "you go away and think about what you have done" approach works. Keeping him in the strict, routine based environment that is school (military school, no less), keeping a close eye on his behaviour and arranging for him to get some help, through on-campus (or external) counseling, would probably be the best option. Alienating him further isn't going to solve anything... That's an idealistic solution, and although it wasn't stated in the story, a lot of what you mentioned will take place while he's away and upon his return. But it's just an untenable situation for school administrators to say to parents and other stakeholders that, "Yes, we found a potential hit list with the names of several of your children on it, but the person responsible will be back tomorrow morning. We're thinking about him -- I mean, we'd hate to alienate him, you know." It just won't happen -- there are other considerations in play. I hope the kid gets help too, but something on the borderline of a crime has occurred here. |
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| They think the anime itself is a negative influence. But it's really.. stupid. |
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| Wow. All I can say, people REALLY need to learn to distinguish fiction and reality. Me and my shinigami are laughing. Wait, what was I just saying? |
Zel said: Xjellocross said: Zel said: Some people at the school, even some who were not on the list are not afraid of him. Not afraid of him? is that a typo? Cause the sentence makes no sense at all. Oh crap, thanks... fixed it... as i look a ANN and NBC it says that they AREN'T afraid of him ''Hopkins’ name wasn’t on the list, but some of her friends’ were. She says they don’t fear him, and neither does she.'' |
mayfly said: I don't think that the "you go away and think about what you have done" approach works. Keeping him in the strict, routine based environment that is school (military school, no less), keeping a close eye on his behaviour and arranging for him to get some help, through on-campus (or external) counseling, would probably be the best option. Alienating him further isn't going to solve anything... Keep in mind that, whatever his motivations were for making the hit list, they probably came out of his everday life. Also, there's a huge social stigma towards kids who make "hit lists" or death threats of any sort (which can be easily tripled given that it's a military school, where signs of weakness like that are often pounced upon by other students). Keeping him in the school environment will only make it harder and harder for him to deal with life. |
| Shameless Blog Plugging: animetics.net |
| Most hilarious news I've read all week. |
| Wow, thumbs up to the principal for knowing just what to do. |
| So guess its illegal to write names in a book? Pretty stressed out principal there. |
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| If I were -really- going to commit murder, I wouldn't be walking around with my targets' names in a book that could be easily confiscated and used against me in a later investigation. It's obviously a joke; that's part of why the students aren't scared. The students know him better than the principal does anyway. I think it's an overreaction. But then again, I don't go to a military school. Life, rules, and policies might be different for those institutions. And the media could be twisting the story a bit. What if the principal were thinking, "I know you were joking, but shame on you! This school advocates strict discipline and integrity; go home and think about what you did!" but the journalists are all about: "The principal suspended a student because of an anime! An anime about killing people!" It makes for a different impression to readers. |
 Visit Borderline Hikikomori and the International Saimoe League! |
| I think suspension is going a bit far for writing people's names down on a piece of paper. I mean, come on, did the principal think the Death Note was real or something? That's moronic. As a side note--when I was in high school, several of my friends were threatened with suspension for having a "hit list". We didn't know what the hell they were talking about; obviously we had never made a hit list. It turned out that someone had turned in a list we had made of our own names for people that would be playing a game that weekend and told them that it was a hit list. But....it was our own names. o___O |
ScrumYummy said: I think suspension is going a bit far for writing people's names down on a piece of paper. I mean, come on, did the principal think the Death Note was real or something? That's moronic. Regardless of if the principal knows what the Death Note truly is, it's clear what the student's intent was. Even if the student didn't plan on actually killing someone himself, yet. It's a good call by the principal. |
Syanaide said: ScrumYummy said: I think suspension is going a bit far for writing people's names down on a piece of paper. I mean, come on, did the principal think the Death Note was real or something? That's moronic. Regardless of if the principal knows what the Death Note truly is, it's clear what the student's intent was. Even if the student didn't plan on actually killing someone himself, yet. It's a good call by the principal. I disagree. I think that maybe the student should have been sent to the school counselor (as someone else in the topic mentioned), but suspension was a bit much. |
| You've got a guy who is making what can potentially be seen as a threat to other students, counseling this person and allowing them to continue at school is ludicrous. Really, a potential psychopath who writes notes on how he'd like to see people die, and a trip to the good ol' underpaid school counselor will definitely straighten him up good, ya? Students have already mention he's a creepy guy in the article - he's well on his way to being a psychopath. Someone so far out that they believe in a Death Note should be more like expelled from military school in my opinion, there's no way in hell I'd feel comfortable with such a person defending my country. |
ScrumYummy said: Like someone earlier said... the parents of the other students, especially those who were in the notebook, would have likely protested if he was allowed to continue at school as normal (even with counseling).I disagree. I think that maybe the student should have been sent to the school counselor (as someone else in the topic mentioned), but suspension was a bit much. I personally agree with the suspension, for the sake of others' peace of mind, rather than punishment. While the kid needs to get counseling for sure. Even if he wasn't planning on killing anyone, wanting others' deaths enough to write it down like that is a serious problem that needs to be dealt with. And I think it's sad that there are people commenting on this thread who seem more concerned with how this news will affect the anime community instead of this kid's mental state, or the safety of his classmates. What's really important, here? (And if it is a joke? It's a pretty sick joke. Seriously, something like that isn't a thing to kid around about... this is people's lives we're talking about.) But, yeah, I'm sure this is not due to the influence of a TV show... any issues this guy has are due to his regular life, and titling the list "Death Note" was just the creative touch of a guy who perhaps watches a bit too much TV. That's all. |
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| Gah. Wrote this a bit before I went to bed... must have been tired and somewhat dyslexic. Alright, re-read, and fixed... thanks for the corrections everyone. |
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Goldmare said: And I think it's sad that there are people commenting on this thread who seem more concerned with how this news will affect the anime community instead of this kid's mental state, or the safety of his classmates. What's really important, here? But, yeah, I'm sure this is not due to the influence of a TV show... any issues this guy has are due to his regular life, and titling the list "Death Note" was just the creative touch of a guy who perhaps watches a bit too much TV. That's all. While your arguments are sound, the news article was focusing on the fact that it was an anime that gave the kid the idea to write down the deaths of his classmates. Whether it was or wasn't isn't the issue; the world now knows that this kid has issues. And that they need to be taken care of. Now that the problem has been uncovered, it is with great hope that it can be solved. Whether it will or not depends on what type of counseling the kid gets, what kind of support he gets from his parents, and how deep the problem actually is. There are tons of kids with the same problems. Except they don't make the news. This made the news because, most likely, it was a. a military school, and b. related to an up-and-coming anime. The general consensus isn't going to focus on the fact that the kid has some issues. They're going to focus on the fact that it was an ANIME that brought on the problems. Which probably isn't the case, seeing as how his classmates have already described him as somewhat antisocial and strange. Do I feel for the kid? Sure. I hope he sorts out his problems and learns that there is really no reason for wanting to kill other people. But everyone and their mother who thinks that anime is bad will now have fodder for their cannons, and the argument is getting really tiring. Hence why I'm more focused on what sort of changes this will make for the anime/manga community, instead of the kid. |
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| Ahahahahhahaa. I almost did that, but I wanted to write my friends name in it, and then laugh. And she wanted to write my name in it, and laugh. (In the end laziness prevailed) So yeah, not emo like that kid wtf. >.> |
| They can't be sure, but it was practically an indirect way of saying "I want these people to die." and who knows how he wanted them too die if he wrote that in there. Regardless if someone thinks he will or won't do something, if you see possible signs something has to be done imo. They can't just ignore it. |
| Even if people do feel that the anime was partially to blame for his behaviour, I highly doubt this will effect the show. Not like it's going to get banned or anything. And even if it did, it'd just get kicked off Adult Swim. Subbed > Dubbed anyway ^_^ |
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| i read that on ANN an hour ago. Damn virginia! those students are just otakus! |
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| *sigh* People freak out about these types of things too much. It's quite stupid, really. I'm sure the principal just did it to avoid having concerned parents call in and harass him. I mean seriously, whoa, he wrote your name down on a notebook. Big deal. I would probably laugh if I heard my name was written down. Unless they had a really cause to believe that he is planning to hurt people, I really think most of this is an over reaction and more crap for the news stations to talk about. Geez, people need to learn to relax. |
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mayfly said: No, it's not illegal to write names in a book. As far as I know, the kid hasn't been charged with breaking the law. He has been punished under the school's behaviour guidelines. Hence, suspension, not jail time. Depending on how closely the local Commonwealth's Attorney wishes to interpret the law, and depending on how he phrased everything in the note, he very easily could be brought up on charges (since he's listed as a senior, he could very well be over 18 and open to adult prosecution.) The relevant section of the Code of Virginia is § 18.2-60: The Code of Virginia said: 2. Any person who communicates a threat, in a writing, including an electronically transmitted communication producing a visual or electronic message, to kill or do bodily harm, (i) on the grounds or premises of any elementary, middle or secondary school property, (ii) at any elementary, middle or secondary school-sponsored event or (iii) on a school bus to any person or persons, regardless of whether the person who is the object of the threat actually receives the threat, and the threat would place the person who is the object of the threat in reasonable apprehension of death or bodily harm, is guilty of a Class 6 felony. For someone who is not familiar with manga and anime, that might place them in "reasonable apprehension" as stated above. I'm slightly surprised that many people are somewhat dismissive of the idea of a Death Note being a big joke. Imagine if instead of the "Death Note" we all know and love this were a "rape note" or an "arson note" and think of the consequences then. |
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| What the principal did was correct. The way the news covered it is lame. |
LionPaws said: So he wrote names in a Death Note, so what?!?! He could've also write "I wish teacher X would die" in his Math note. The whole system is wrong!! The problem isn't the Death Note, it's the student mentality!! If he would have written it in another note, would it damage the note subject reputation? The principal is an idiot, he should have sent him to the counseluor instead of home AMEN TO THAT. Ban the student, not the anime. DDDD:< |
| The kid's friends knew she was joking therefore it wasn't really a threat, just a joke. No sense of humor. |
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| Haha, its not like its a real Death Note, and its not like these students are dead.. |
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mayfly said: I guess now that it has become a worldwide news story, there is no denying the fact that life amongst the other students at the school will become tough for him... Seems like, once again, the media has picked up a story and run with it, regardless of the consequences... I mean, while the kid's actions were definitely cause for concern, he has not committed a crime (as far as I'm aware) but the media is quick to jump on any story that bears a shred of resemblance to previous school shootings (especially where popular games/movies/whatnot seem to be the "influence"). This really should have been dealt with within the school... Whether the media picked up on it or not doesn't really have an impact on whether or not the school knows about it. Unless the school tries to keep everything under wraps, the truth is usually public knowledge in about 3 or 4 days anyway, especially, again, in a military school with closer-knit social units. Information spreads fast in any high school. Legion17 said: The kid's friends knew she was joking therefore it wasn't really a threat, just a joke. No sense of humor. a) It's a he, who reportedly kept to himself. b) Jokes of death threats are, from an administrative perspective, just as bad as the real thing. Administrators can't easily tell the difference between jokes and the real thing. Sometimes, whether it starts as a joke doesn't matter. (Ex: There is a strong correlation between people who joke about suicide with friends and people who actually commit suicide) Additionally, even disparaging jokes about killing creates a culture where it becomes, to the slightly warped mind, more acceptable. |
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Anaraine said: Ah, yeah, that's true. (I hadn't actually read the full article, just used the previous comments as my source of knowledge... figured all the important information would have already been mentioned by others.)While your arguments are sound, the news article was focusing on the fact that it was an anime that gave the kid the idea to write down the deaths of his classmates. Whether it was or wasn't isn't the issue; the world now knows that this kid has issues. And that they need to be taken care of. ... The general consensus isn't going to focus on the fact that the kid has some issues. They're going to focus on the fact that it was an ANIME that brought on the problems. Which probably isn't the case, seeing as how his classmates have already described him as somewhat antisocial and strange. But, yeah, the news likes to head off into that direction with things. I do believe that the media has a lot of negative influence (on everyone, not just kids), but it is a very rare thing indeed that a specific show, or even type of show, can be blamed for a major mental issue in a single person. The media's negative influences are more gradual, like the progressive acceptance of certain things being portrayed on TV (you know that if most modern programs were shown back in the days of B&W, there would be major public outcry, but now it's perfectly accepted by the masses). For a person to be that mentally unstable that it catches the attention of people like this, it's definitely much deeper than a cartoon (or even a lifetime of cartoons) could possibly reach. It's the kind of thing that only real life (or a chemical imbalance in the brain, perhaps) could have created. Unfortunately, people like to look for something specific (and easy) to blame... and a TV show (especially a foreign one) is an convenient target in cases like this. mayfly said: Yeah, I was thinking about that earlier. I don't know anything about Virginia laws, but I read a while ago that, here in Canada, to communicate a threat, whether to kill, cause bodily harm, or even to damage someone's property, is a criminal offense punishable by jail time. Well, I can't remember if jail time applied to property damage threats, but since it's part of the same law, probably so. Quite frankly, the kid got off easy with just a suspension.Iri said: ... For someone who is not familiar with manga and anime, that might place them in "reasonable apprehension" as stated above. Yikes. I didn't realise that... Torisunanohokori said: Bingo. I totally agree with Tori's point here. As I said before, if it is a joke, it's a pretty sick one. I'd worry about the mental health of a person who created a Death Note with names of classmates even if he wasn't seriously wanting to kill them.Legion17 said: The kid's friends knew she was joking therefore it wasn't really a threat, just a joke. No sense of humor. a) It's a he, who reportedly kept to himself. b) Jokes of death threats are, from an administrative perspective, just as bad as the real thing. Administrators can't easily tell the difference between jokes and the real thing. Sometimes, whether it starts as a joke doesn't matter. (Ex: There is a strong correlation between people who joke about suicide with friends and people who actually commit suicide) Additionally, even disparaging jokes about killing creates a culture where it becomes, to the slightly warped mind, more acceptable. And can anyone here really say if he was serious? Maybe the other students weren't worried because they just didn't think he'd have the "guts" to do anything, rather than thinking he was joking? Maybe they thought he might be serious, but couldn't follow though? Well, it wouldn't be the first time someone shy or perceptively snapped... It's better to be safe than sorry. We've had more than enough of kids killing their schoolmates, don't you think? |
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| Oh come on this is too good :))):))) i can t stop laughing at that guys stupidity . Did he really think they would die if he wrote their names in that so called " death note " . Even so the ones to blame i think are the parents , i mean look how they raised him . |
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