Teen's punishment was not justified

Good Deed? What, telling the truth under fear of being caught knowing you are violating the law and rules of the school is now considered a good dead? Are you really that nieve? Stop it witht he zero tollerance crap as well. Zero tollerance would mean he would be charged with a felony, arrested by the BOE Police or Sheriff's Deputies and the school would have to expel him from campus for no less than a period of one year as per the handbook and laws of the state of GA. He made a mistake, reported his actions after the fact and now should accept the more than fair consequences. The BOE did not deny him one single day of education and that is what school is for. Being a football player has (or should have) no bearing on this incident whatsoever. His punishment was GREATLY reduced to an in-school/alternative school suspension which is about as easy as it gets. The BOE must enforce the rules, especially about guns on school grounds which is posted everywhere and known by anyone entering a campus nowdays. He seems like a good kid and he did right in reporting himself now he should do right and accept the more than fair and just punishment. The CCBOE did a fair and just job.

Want to know more on the story and read how he brought the gun on campus 5 days in a row.... Then read the Columbia County News Times Editorial: http://newstimes.augusta.com/stories/111608/opi_483627.shtml?cpage=last

ggaahhhh I'm sooo tired of reading the Whiney editorials about this kid, he got a freakin christmas present, ISS and crossroads....then right back to Evans...he should be gratefully thanking the CCBOE for not doing to him what would have happeend if he was in a RC school.

He should be glad he isn't in jail charged with a felony which would ruin any collegiate or career life.

A big part of what is wrong with teens today is that big dummies like old Bill here are allowed to raise children. This attitude that the kids are always right & authority is always wrong is a disease. Please folks, if you are going to write in to the paper, first know what happened and second know what the published rules are. Bill you may be a great guy, but you are just plain wrong on this one. This dead horse is beginning to stink up the paper. I hope this will be the last foolish LTE about this matter.

please read the article in the columbia county news times. he had that rifle in his vehicle for more than one day - five to be exact. weapon responsibility, security and safety were all violated ..lucky it wasn't stolen out of his vehicle by an upset child and used in a criminal manner.

Just a thought. How many of you have actually had a gun in your hands?

If this had been a baseball bat there would not have been the same punishment or outrage. Unfortunately the american people are stunned at the sight or mention of a gun because they never grew up with guns and don't know a thing about them. Some of us have become soft and can no longer fight for ourselves. We have become a society of rules and the belief that everything can be solved in a board meeting. If that was the case then World War I and II would have been won at a conference table. Wake up people learn to fight for yourselves. Don't let others do it for you. Was it Stalin who said that America would fall from within? We are witnessing the fall with the anti-gun sentiment in this country. I had to carry a loaded firearm for years, ready to fire at any time. It was never pointed or fired at anyone unless it was self-defense. It never went off accidentally and yes it is possible to forget that you have one in your vehicle. Especially if they are a part of your everyday life. This is the type of young man that will serve his country in the military and fight for some of the cowards of this country so that they will be able to spout their hatred and stay free even though they don't deserve it. And to imagine he would probably take a bullet for them.

It isn't 1% or 2% tolerance---it is ZERO tolerance!!!! What is so hard to figure out about that?

On WGAC they are making this kid out to be a saint because he told the truth. That does not cancel out the fact that he BROUGHT A GUN TO SCHOOL!!!!

0 tolerance should mean 0 tolerance. He had the gun for 5 days and knew it. Quite whining and take the punishment like you should. Maybe the parents should have been paying attention. I hope this kid doesn't get a break.

Bill Harding says, "Unless there is more to this story than has been reported, I see no justification for the draconian punishments which the Board has chosen." The story has been accurately reported in the CC NewsTimes, and the story shows that the discipline meted out by the School Board can in no rational way be considered "draconian." Instead the Board was very lenient and the Sheriff's department was overly lenient in my estimation. Confessing a crime does not exempt one from paying the penalty for the crime. The boy's parents have set a horrible example by teaching their son to be a crybaby and not take his punishment like a man.

he rode around with a gun in his car for five days. If this had happenend in a richmond county school the young man would be in prison forever. however just because he's one of the good ol boys he's only going to alternative school until the semester is over.. GET OVER IT!!!!!!

he is just a kid, please adults stop bringing it up!! what's done is done. let's all learn a very important lesson from this!!!

covertrecon, I've handled guns, and i believe in them. I also believe in handling and storing them responsibly, and following the laws that govern them. This kid's irresponsibility and the attitudes of those who whine about his "draconian" punishment are the very people who give ammo to those who would like to ban guns.

I have to concur with the poster who said that we have become a nation of softies. If this young man (a KID is a baby goat, not a human being) had any ill intent he certainly would have carried it out within the five days that he is said to have had the gun in his vehicle. By the way, just a side note here: Naive is the correct spelling and tolerance is the correct spelling of that word. I'm constantly amazed at the lack of grammatical correctness in many of these posts. Now back to the main event: A few years ago the majority of young men, especially in rural areas, would have proudly displayed their weapons on gun racks in their trucks. Even now some probably do a bit of hunting before and after school. That is not to excuse the fact that the young man broke the law by having the gun on campus. Someone wrote a letter to the newspaper but to this point I really haven't seen any whining (another misspelled word in a post), neither have I see that his parents are trying to teach him to disobey the law. He in fact did break that law but even in more serious crimes, negotiated please are often the resolutions. That seems to be the case here, a negotiated type of plea.

CoastalDawg: You seem intent on correcting everyone else so FYI it is not "negotiated please" but "negotiated pleas"

covertrecon: Of course "If this had been a baseball bat there would not have been the same punishment or outrage." The Code section does not apply to baseball bats. See http://law.justia.com/georgia/codes/16/16-11-127.1.html