and ERIC R. OLSON - eolson@nwherald.com Comments (92) CARY – When asked by a teacher to write an essay about anything he wanted, Allen Lee made references to violence, drug use, and a dream about a shooting spree where he had sex with dead bodies.

According to a criminal complaint signed by Cary-Grove High School Principal Susan Popp and filed in McHenry County Court, Lee's free-form essay also included the line "as a teacher, don't be surprised on inspiring the first CG school shooting."

“At the very last sentence, I said that this teacher’s method of teaching could lead to a school shooting,” Lee, a senior at Cary-Grove High School, said Wednesday.

School officials also alleged that Lee used violent and strange imagery in the essay, which was detailed in the complaint charging Lee with disorderly conduct.

"So I had this dream last night where I went into a building, pulled out two P 90s and started shooting everyone, then had sex with the dead bodies. Well, not really, but it would be funny if I did."

The essay led Cary Police to arrest Lee Tuesday morning on disorderly conduct charges. The arrest shocked those who know the 18-year-old Cary-Grove High School senior, and prompted some students to circulate a petition complaining about the way the incident was handled.

School officials said they had since removed Lee from the general student population and placed him in a separate building to continue his education. Lee said he had been told he could face expulsion from school.

The essay was the result of what Lee said was an in-class assignment in his creative writing class during the last period of the day on Monday. He said his English teacher, Nora Capron, told the students to write whatever they wanted.

They could even write “I don’t know what to write about” repeatedly for the duration of the class period, Lee recalled his teaching saying.

Allen Lee said he had a 4.2 grade-point average, wrestled on his high school team and planned to join the Marines after he graduates later this year.

But with graduation a month from today, Lee could be sentenced to up to 30 days in jail and a $1,500 fine if convicted, and might not get to finish the year at Cary-Grove.

He said in the light of recent events, particularly the Virginia Tech shooting last week where Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 students before killing himself, and the 1999 Columbine tragedy, the statements made in the essay were inappropriate.

Lee was set to begin boot camp in October, but now is worried that if he can’t get his high school diploma before that, he won’t be able to attend.

District 155 Superintendent Jill Hawk said the response to remove the student from the others, put him in a separate annex on the campus and call the police was appropriate. Lee still is being supervised and receiving an education, she added.

The district responded to another threat made last week at Crystal Lake Central High School. About half the students at Central stayed home Friday and police presence at the school was increased after threatening graffiti was found on a bathroom wall. The graffiti was determined to be a prank, officials have said.

“He’s an outstanding kid; a good athlete,” said Nick Charles, a senior at Cary-Grove who wrestled with Lee their freshman and sophomore years.

Lee’s friend, Jameson Emling, who also is in the class, said he felt the teacher overreacted to the essay. Emling also has enlisted in the Marines.

About six weeks ago, Emling said he gave a 10-minute speech in the same class describing what his life would be like as a “hit-man” and identified students he would shoot. He said he was not punished for that speech.

bequicknow wrote on April 26, 2007 2:26 AM:"Since the exact content of the essay has not been published it's hard to say whether the teacher or pricipal overreacted. Mr. Emling did not state if he is of Asian descent - if he is NOT and he did indeed give a speech as he described, one would have to wonder if the teacher/principal is discriminating against Mr. Lee - even if it is subconsciously. I steadfastly defend our right to free speech. Wouldn't the more appropriate first response have been to call the parents - not the police? Did Ms. Capron feel imminent danger for herself or others or was this a lynching because she has a personal dislike of Mr. Lee - perhaps because of a student's arrogant attitudes towards their teachers.It sounds like Ms. Capron encouraged supposed creativity in her class. Teenagers respond with papers and speeches that include violence because that is pretty much what interests them and what is fed to them on a daily basis via video games, movies, newspapers, paintball sports, and class discourse on the subject. I believe the school would not be too happy if a bunch of parents started petioning the school board to ban all the violent books and movies that are part of many classes - the school would condemn the act of censorship and want the community to support their efforts to teach our children with those materials. They would be appalled if the community felt that their musicals and plays depict too much violence and should be banned. Why is there a double-standard for the schools - students can be arrested for bringing a gun-type of object to school but yet the music dept is allowed to have students use starter guns on stage. Why then has commonsense gone out the door for a student? This sounds like the incident a few years ago when a first grader was arrested for bringing a squirt gun to school. It seems like this may be a case of CYA gone wild."

razmin13 wrote on April 26, 2007 2:31 AM:"As for Jamie being Asian, I know him personally. Although he is 25% Japanese, you would never know unless he told you. He looks Caucasian. It was only after a few years of knowing Jamie that I found out he was Asian, and even then I thought he was joking. So racial profiling could very well be a factor."

casual reader wrote on April 26, 2007 7:24 AM:"Not everything kids learn while in school happens in the classroom. While the remark seems innocent from the writer's perspective, the real world requires restraint and maturity that obviously didn't happen here. If the student is going into the USMC, I can only imagine what my DI - Master Sergeant Preston Robinson, would have to say to this young man if he did something similar in Basic. Maybe he should keep a journal and report back to us on his experiences in the Corps."

silence wrote on April 26, 2007 8:01 AM:"I can make an argument that the school did what they had to. When you see stuff you document and you report it. The Cary Police Department, though, not as much. I'm thinking that they could have - oh, I don't know - investigated and perhaps gotten a better read on the situation before arresting the kid. Crazy, I know. But I've heard that some police departments actually ask questions and implement some form of common sense before pulling out the cuffs. Anyway, I'm not surprised. I can tell you from first hand experience that this police department can be over-reactionary. "

concerned07 wrote on April 26, 2007 8:22 AM:"Public school teachers are what's called "mandated reporters" - if they see, hear, or read anything that poses a physical or emotional threat to a student, they are required by LAW to report it to a direct superior. This teacher did exactly what she is required by law to do. Any further action taken (in the form of an arrest or disciplinary action) is solely decided by the district administration and police department, not the teacher."

consider this wrote on April 26, 2007 8:42 AM:"Wow, there are so many points to make here I don't know where to start. First, razmin13, just exactly what does ANYONE'S ethnicity have to do with this? Since you're obviously in a learning stage in your life, racial profiling is when the police single out a specific race, constantly harass them and find them guilty of everything they can, every chance they get. Sequoit, I think you went just a bit too far with the firing idea. I believe they should both be suspended w/o pay and have their actions put in their personnel files. And by the way, that goes for Jill Hawk as well. C'mon Jill, you can publish the name of an 18-year old but "refuse to identify" the teacher!! Like her name isn't going to get out unless you release it. That's a bit naive don't you think? Pnp, these people aren't idiots, they are however, obviously prone to overreaction. They are well-educated people who have had little, if any training on how to handle situations like this. Makes you wonder what they would do in a REAL emergency doesn't it. Seems like a little common sense would have gone a long way here. Ms. Capron, Ms. Hawk and Ms. Popp, did any of you gals ever think maybe, just maybe, it would have been a good idea to talk to this kid and get a feel for where his head is at and why he wrote the essay he did, BEFORE having him arrested and humiliated publicly? Tell you what I want you to do; until you get a little more mature in your decision making, I want all three of you to take two tablespoons of cool every morning and if things don't get better, call me. "

knowyourfacts wrote on April 26, 2007 8:55 AM:"I am pretty ashamed to live in a community where we blame our educators for the poor decisions our students make. Do you all really think that teachers work for the money? Really???? I am embarassed for you all."

RamessesII wrote on April 26, 2007 8:55 AM:"Allen Lee does not realize how lucky he is, that this is not 1692 and he is not living in Salem, Massachusetts, writing about 'witchcraft'. He could find himself being burned at the stake. A bit better: it is not the early '40s and, being Oriental, he might find himself in Manzanar. This whole dam*** country is becoming hysterical and crazed with fear. Our freedoms are being eroded on an almost-daily basis and nobody seems to care. Our schools are here to foster teaching and guidance; not to become outposts for Big Brother."

trevorr77 wrote on April 26, 2007 9:30 AM:"Sequoit wrote on April 26, 2007 6:40 AM:"Principal and teacher should be fired for diregarding the U.S. Constitution Bill of Rights."Are you serious? AHHHHH!!!! GET EDUCATED! Here is the AMENDMENT you are referring to:Amendment 1Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.Now if you actually READ the Bill of Rights, you would see that its protecting us from having LAWS made that take away our free speech or choice of religion. This has NOTHING TO DO with the first amendment. It has everything to do with giving students the right to get an education in a safe environment. I don't neccessarily think they did thing right here but if you think this is a "freedom of speech" issue its time to sit down and study what our Bill of Rights and Constitution REALLY protect. "

bequicknow wrote on April 26, 2007 9:38 AM:"RamessesII - I care - and I couldn't agree with you more. Schools are being allowed by the voters to become substitute parents to students. Parents need to enforce their parental rights and duties and not allow school boards/schools to take over. Lazy parenting has allowed schools to believe they have the first right to discipline and mold the student. And knowyourfacts - of course teachers work for money - you must have some virtuistic ideal if you think they don't. Do you not realize teachers are paid for even their extracurriculars and if they weren't they wouldn't be doing them? Of course, I respect the ones who truly have a passion for their work and those teachers are obvious to even their students because they respect them and want to learn. But whether or not this teacher is passionate isn't the problem - was she and the principal overreacting to a student's creativity? YES. Did she use any commonsense? NO. Concerned07 - if you are saying that teachers are mandated - then why do we frequently read in the papers about teachers molesting students at school - do you actually think those bad teachers hadn't been seen or heard or made their progressive grooming of a student not obvious in front of other teachers? So why don't good teachers report molester teachers to the cops? Is it they don't want to get involved? If the kid made actual threats against actual people/things then he should be investigated by the cops but if he didn't arern't his civil rights being trampled on?"

mayaya wrote on April 26, 2007 10:06 AM:"As educator, they have a responsibity to help Allen, at least call the parents or get a social worker involved, instead of calling the police and have Allen arrested. To Cary Police department, did you do any investigation before you put the handcuff on Allen? This is not being handled in a proper manner. Both the school and police department owes Allen an apology. As a parents, we all worry about our kids safty at any place. But, what would you feel if one day your kid walk out the house and get arrested? Remember, there were no actual threats against actual people or thing as the police chief indicatecd!!!"

bequicknow wrote on April 26, 2007 10:13 AM:"Trevorr77 - are you a civil rights attorney? Or a teacher? Anyone in the public can interpret the constitution, only the supreme court has the final say how it effects a person's rights. Maybe you should check Wikipedia regarding civil rights and students. Out of the millions of students in the USA there are some truly violent ones, but do we enact laws that have our schools trample free speech because of the off-chance that one in a few million might actually be violent? Was Ms. Capron's reaction to Mr. Lee's essay because of VA Tech (which is totally understandable but not right) Shouldn't the schools be EDUCATED as to the actual symptoms of a possible threat and have a discussion with the parent first. I again refer to that incident regarding a first -grader with a squirt gun brought to school - has commonsense gone out the window?"

RamessesII wrote on April 26, 2007 10:31 AM:"When this particular teacher was a little girl, I'm willing to bet that she ran home, crying, every time her dress got a little dirty. Some people just have thin skins and should not be in positions of power. A college degree does not guarantee common sense, only proof of money spent and time put in. Then, give 'em a job; fill a vacancy."

trevorr77 wrote on April 26, 2007 10:49 AM:"bequicknow - The point of the comment was that the first amendment doesn't give you the right to spout off and say anything you want. Mention the word 'bomb' while passing through a security line and see what happens. The first amendment protects us from the government enacting laws, its there in black and white: "Congress shall make no law...". I think the teacher totally overreacted and the kid is getting unjustly punished but to bring the first amendment in is ridiculous. "

trevorr77 wrote on April 26, 2007 10:52 AM:"Ask yourselves this...what questions would you be posing on here though if the teacher had done nothing and then the next day, the student shot up a local school. Then suddenly our schools don't have the systems in place and blah blah like VT is experiencing. Its a lose lose situation for them really. Did they overreact? Yes. Should they have? Maybe. Maybe if our government would have overreacted to their intel before 911 we wouldn't be in this war right now!"

mayaya wrote on April 26, 2007 11:50 AM:"Not only Jamie does not look Asian, nor does he have an Asian last name. I have to say that racial profiling could very well be a factor."

Shazaam wrote on April 26, 2007 12:01 PM:"Eh..Lee can be a Asian last name...Maybe we should tell the students what they can write and what they can't..Write anything would include what Mr.Lee wrote. Just like the airport..people are warned not to say bomb or face arrest..we should at the very least let the students know the rules before we punish them."

philmccrakinn wrote on April 26, 2007 12:04 PM:"The kids is obviously a punk who is trying to be provocative. I guess you went too far kid. Next time consider the impact of your little essays may have on real people, in the real world."

chidweller wrote on April 26, 2007 12:17 PM:"As a former Cary-Grove student who experienced both the Bennet and Popp eras, as well as having been a resident throughout my entire life, I can safely say that nearly everyone in a position of power in Cary is over-reactionary. This applies to both the school administration, as well as the Cary Police Department. This situation was handled nearly entirely inappropriately. Should the administration have been notified? Yes. However, once news reached Mrs. Popp's desk, it should have ended. If there had been a clear line of RATIONAL communication, this entire situation would have been avoided. However, knowing how the current principal of Cary-Grove operates, I can see how it would be blown entirely out of proportion, as it has been. Mrs. Popp was never one to sit down and think things through, most likely believing she is being "proactive", when she is really being over-reactive. I can recall several situations where her line of logic entirely broke down, much to the students, and many of the parents, dismay. If there had indeed been a rational conversation about the situation, they would have talked to the student, and his parents, and realized that this was not a disturbed individual bent on murder and revenge, but a student who was aggravated by a teacher who clearly is not that good (honesty, who would suggest to their students to sit there and write "i don't know what to write" for half a class period?, that's not eduaction, it's a waste of time). The Cary Police, as well, should have been far more rational in handling this situation (as well as countless others). Cary Police have a nasty reputation of being EXTREMELY over-reactionary (anyone remember Officer Keyes?, enough said). This just plays further into many peoples distaste for Cary's Officers. Sure, Lee's comment was out of line, particularly given recent events. However, this does not mean that he should be arrested, and his plans for the future jeopardized. A detention, sure, an arrest and possible expulsion? This punishment is ridiculous, and Jill Hawk and Mrs. Popp seriously need to rethink their ideas of rationality in the way they reacted to this controversial, yet harmless, situation."

Barbara wrote on April 26, 2007 12:24 PM:"It's pretty disturbing that the a high school English teacher would rather have students write repeatedly "I don't know what to write" than to express themselves through actual creative writing. Not having seen the essay, I can't really say if what he wrote was inappropriate however there are a lot of books, movies, etc. out there that are pretty violent and I'm sure nothing he could have written could be more offensive than what is being created by the motion picture industry. Perhaps next time the teacher should put a little more enthusiasm into teaching English and be more explicit with her instructions on what to write and put a little less effort in teaching "drama""

dinosaur wrote on April 26, 2007 12:44 PM:"Careful "chidweller" I put a post to yesterday's article and it was deleted, perhaps because "the truth" must have been considered "Potentially libelous...". So yours might also disappear. One of the items in my rant gave a website that gives you the ability to reference any and all salaries in the state of IL for teachers and administrators. Maybe that was the problem, but thought that some might want to know what we're paying these people for what they do. www.thechampion.org "

Henry McHenry wrote on April 26, 2007 12:45 PM:"“At the very last sentence, I said that this teacher’s method of teaching could lead to a school shooting,” Lee, a senior at Cary-Grove High School, said Wednesday.Very poor judgement considering the events of the past week along with the Columbine anniversary. I think the teacher was acting in the school's best interest by reporting it. Maybe other action should have been taken before arresting the kid, but I would rather them err on the side of caution than to just shrug it off."

Homer Simpson wrote on April 26, 2007 1:04 PM:"The police in Maine need to drop what they are doing and go arrest Steven King - lock him up - and while they are at it, let's arrest everyone that may have violent thoughts. Then, the 3% of the population that remains free can relax and feel all safe, snuggly and secure. Mayberry's finest strikes again. Take the bullet out of your shirt pocket, Barney Delelio, before you shoot yourself in the foot. Oh, wait, you already have. "

momsview wrote on April 26, 2007 1:21 PM:"Please people! It's time for a rewrite. Drop these charges NOW, reevaluate your actions and proceed accordingly. I would guess this might include some public apologies from a number of people to try to make things right. This sure wasn't Cary's finest moment. Let's see if we can be more level-headed from here out. "

fcc wrote on April 26, 2007 1:33 PM:"This is what is wrong with some (teachers)don't know how to teech.Leave the youngs to wonder there is no idea nor motivation in class.Racist? Once a caucasian child told another that he was going to cut him in pieces. The other child refuse to go to school.Family moved nothhing was done.Poor hispanic child."

TotallyOutraged wrote on April 26, 2007 1:35 PM:"Here we go. I am also a former student who went to Cary-Grove and I can say with a clear head that: Cary-Grove is messed up. The people who run the school are power mongers who get kicks out of severely disciplining teens for minor incidents. This is a prime example of the corruption that plagues this school district. Allen Lee writes an essay that has a controversial sentence at the end. "This method of teaching could lead to a school shooting." At face, is an insult to the teacher and nothing more. Given recent events and the history of school shootings, reactionary measures should have been taken. They were taken, but to extremes that do nothing by put a black mark on an upstanding citizens record. He had a 4.2, played sports, was well liked and was planning on joining the army. Now there is no specific "profile" of a school shooter, but through even the SLIGHTEST investigation the police, teachers, anybody could see that there was no need for such a brash and unreasonable reaction. Freedom of Speech does apply here no matter what anybody thinks. The First Amendment protects the written word that everybody can write. How do you think so many controversial essays and even magazines are released every day, yet one high school student who has a commentary on a teachers method of teaching is singled out as troublesome and arrested. In lew of recent events, it was the student's err in writing that sentence. The issue isn't what he wrote as we can all see. The issue is what was done about the situation. Instances like this shouldn't necessarily be ignored, but should be and could have been handled by the administration."

Dub wrote on April 26, 2007 1:36 PM:"Cops in Chicago can beat up bar patrons, and as long as they pay them hush money, charges go away (Jefferson St. Pub). A kid writes an essay and gets arrested. I understand - I too hold police officers in lower regard than I do your average high school kid. After all, in high school, a multiple choice spelling test would be laughed at. In Law Enforcement classes, they call that a "final exam." With lower expectations comes being held in lower regard. I for one am entirely willing to hold cops in a lower regard than high school kids."

Lisa wrote on April 26, 2007 1:56 PM:"I think this entire situation is complete bull. JUST because there was a school shooting not too long ago does NOT give them the right to ARREST somebody who wrote something creative. They're robbing us of our intelligence and creativity. You don't see the authors of horror movies or books getting arrested, do you? No. If they're going to arrest a good student and friend like Allen, then they should maybe start looking on arresting half the nation. I hear and see people everyday doing things that would now seem like "disorderly conduct". I think that this world is really messed up, and this just proved my thoughts to be true. I'm behind Allen 100%"

Lisa wrote on April 26, 2007 2:03 PM:"Oh, and as for the comment that Jamie made..being an old friend of his, I know that he did NOT mean it in a psychotic way at all, though it does come off that way. Jamie is one of the most creative minded people that I have ever met in my entire life. And I respect him for that. His mind is difficult to understand, but it's what makes him unique. I hope that his comment doesn't get him into any trouble either, for he is very smart and has terrific goals set for himself. It would be sad to see that all get torn away from him for being a little different from the rest."

whatever wrote on April 26, 2007 2:05 PM:"I truely believe that this might get natioanl attention on account of VT events. This should go all the way to embaress the heck out of this school system. I really think that the teacher took offense to what he said and wanted to repremend Allen for his remarks. I also believe that this is a supurb example to the fact that some students if not over half of them in the school districts across America are smarter, brighter than those teaching. Although in retrospect they will not/never release the contents of this essay so that the school district can twist and turn things on to Allen. Jill Hawk is just and over paid baby sitter and she should not of flexed her muscles in this matter!!!!!!!!!!!!"

CFIFA wrote on April 26, 2007 2:22 PM:"Why isn't anyone looking into WHY he claimed the teacher's methods would CAUSE a school shooting?? Maybe there is something lacking in that department. Sounds to me like the teacher was OFFENDED by his comments and I agree with a previous post, wanted to punish him. If he really had the inclination to go shooting up his school, would he really put it out there like that? This kid is clearly not stupid. Instead of punishing this bright kid who plans to defend our country, why not seek out those who are truly a threat? As far as I can read, he made NO THREATS, just made a comment; stated an opinion. How sad that we cannot speak our minds anymore. If we make threats, yes, they need to be dealt with. This was not a threat."

trevorr77 wrote on April 26, 2007 2:28 PM:"Its really hard to have an opinion on this though without really seeing what he said...the article is VERY vague. I am sure he wrote it to get a response though and guess what, he made a decision to do it anyway knowing there could be a penalty for it. He could have been creative in SO many ways, but he chose this one. In light of all that has happened in schools, especially recently it was a poor choice...now he is learning how to make smarter decisions in the future...a very important lesson to learn! Some things are appropriate while others are not...be discerning in life. Just because our government allows you to express your opinion doesn't mean everything needs to be said!"

whatever wrote on April 26, 2007 2:33 PM:"Jill Hawk made $195,999 last year! Lets compair tactics and follow-thuogh here of professions. An engineer that makes $200k a year will get fired if he makes a mistake. Now if an over paid babysitter makes a mistake what then!!! That is money not well spent...at least an engineer will admit fault or can be proven wrong. Proof is in the pudding....www.thechampion.org"

chidweller wrote on April 26, 2007 2:35 PM:"trevorr77 - yes, this doesn't mean that everything NEEDS to be said, but it does protect everyone's right to say it. Whether that offends someone, or not."

mytwosense wrote on April 26, 2007 3:01 PM:""these kids should walk out friday. police and schools are going to keep abusing your kids until one snaps and we do have a vtech on our hands. these people that made the to choice to call and arrest him are bullies flexing there powers they were given. they are nothing but adult punks that need a good whooping by an attorney. this teacher knew what she was doing and she was offended so he got arrested. maybe she should be teaching preschool and not high school. STUDENTS STAND UP FOR YOURSELVES AND STICK IT RIGHT BACK TO THE MAN. WALK OUT AND DEMAND THE SCHOOL AND POLICE EXPLAIN THEIR ACTIONS. YOU HAVE RIGHTS DON'T LET THE THESE BULLIES WALK ALL OVER YOU. EVERY YEAR THE POLICE AND SCHOOL ROB YOU OF YOUR RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS TAKE THEM BACK. YOU MUST FIGHT FOR WHAT YOUR RIGHTS. IF YOU DON'T YOU WILL SLAVES TO THESE NAZI'S. ""

RamessesII wrote on April 26, 2007 3:06 PM:"Maybe this is a good, early life-lesson for these kids: authority figures are gonna continue putting you in your place, the rest of your lives. Get used to it."

phins2left wrote on April 26, 2007 3:15 PM:""philmccracken" wrote: "The kids is obviously a punk who is trying to be provocative. I guess you went too far kid. Next time consider the impact of your little essays may have on real people, in the real world." To which I say: I can't phil your crack in, cause your already philled with a substance one would expect to find in your crack. Who are you to pass judgement on this kid for being provocative? In case you hadn't ever thought of it, the sole value in literature is its ability to be provocative. So what if you, or anyone else, doesn't like the subject matter. What would Jonathan Swift done if he was thrown in jail for writing 'A Modest Proposal'? I'm tired of small-minded people appointing themselves the thought police, and that includes the teacher whose precious feelings were hurt after she so short-sightedly assigned a writing task for which there were no parameters. Maybe she should be arrested for criminally wasting my tax dollars by being such a crummy teacher."

briarose wrote on April 26, 2007 3:16 PM:"If the school actually felt this model student was a threat the reasonable action would have been to schedule a meeting with a psychiatrist and a meeting with the parents. This is an example of over reaction. Another student can pretend to be a hit man and tell which student he'd shoot in his presentation to the entire class and he doesn't get in trouble. This student writes an essay that is only read by the teacher and he gets arrested. Someone start a defense fund for this boy. I'd contribute."

bequicknow wrote on April 26, 2007 3:39 PM:"Trevorr77 - you sound like you would favor a total police state. If you mention the word "bomb" in the airport - I don't think your future would be ruined - you'd be taken in for questioning, your background looked at, and if your attitude was "humble" (in that you realized you were a dumbass for saying it"), I believe you may be released with a warning. Comparing Mr. Lee's situation to intel pre-9/11 is so over-the-top overreactionary. If you have a teenager, or had one, or about to have one, then you would or will know they do stupid things, but Mr. Lee's situation shouldn't have been escalated to the police. I'm pretty much sick of the stuff that goes on at CGHS in that the administration looks the other way when criminal/unethical activities are committed by teachers but students are held up to a higher standard. Hey, Dist 155 school board(maybe a sharper player - Mr. Wagner?) & CGHS administration, maybe you need to fire/report real criminals within your own walls and let this kid off with a warning - bright arrogant kids are tomorrow's thinkers and lawmakers, not lawbreakers."

lilac wrote on April 26, 2007 3:40 PM:"Jamie and Allen are both in my creative writing class, and I totally agree with the people who are claiming racial profiling. Jamie is a good kid, white, middle class, wrote AND presented a disturbing paper. For this same assignment, I wrote and presented a paper written from the mind of a homicidal schizophrenic. No disciplinary action was taken on either of us. Allen is a good kid, Asian, middle class, wrote a FREE writing paper and was arrested. Does this make sense?As for why Capron's teaching methods may cause a school shooting, she and Allen haven't gotten along all semester. It's a personal vendetta against the student by the teacher, and I think she just wanted to get him in a little trouble. I don't think she realized that it would cause this big of an uproar, but trust me, she's feeling it constantly now. Most students that know him are on Allen's side. "

bequicknow wrote on April 26, 2007 3:53 PM:"Maybe all the creative writing students need to go to the administration and the school board and explain how none of you could no longer participate in "free writing" assignemnts because you could get arrested and have your reputation ruined. And by the way ask for more censorship of some of the provocative literature they expect you to read. While you're at it - better explain how seeing violent movies and violent musicals and plays would be best left to college students whose rhetoric or opinions are rarely subject to arrest."

SameGuy wrote on April 26, 2007 4:07 PM:"What is with the censorship? I thought public schools were liberal? Maybe the teacher shouldn't have said "anything you want" I guess that wasn't really true."

loserville wrote on April 26, 2007 4:14 PM:"Nice job by the administration and police...did anyone even talk to the kid or have him talk to a mental health professional, to see if he is actually a danger to the school? I think they should apologise and drop the charges..I see a huge lawsuit and the kid deserves every penny."

xjcaho8a wrote on April 26, 2007 4:22 PM:"LETTER TO EDITOR....Dear Mr. Lyons,Below is a copy of an email to someone who wrote about how to react to this kind of thing and what has happened to my 15 year old son. Also a good student with no violent history in school. This may well destroy my son's future ambitions as a game programmer, yes he has and has been working towards that goal. Included is the FBI's report of threat assesment and how to react to show these school's are reacting. I have also contacted the ACLU in this matter. Dear Sir, My son was suspended yesterday for 10 days pending a hearing. He was asked to take a current history event and write a report then give his OPINION. He did this, but since his opinion indicated his curiosity of killing they suspended him. I am using part of this page http://watkins.gospelcom.net/school.htm about why students think about this and how you have shown we should watch them and how jumping to an extreme can do more harm than good in his defense. I feel he was asked to give his opinion, he did not say anything openly and freely. He was asked and they didn't agree so now his is being punished. He has no record of violence in the schools and the Principal even admits he know nothing of my son other than he is a quite, polite student ,yet he is willing to jeopardize my son's future for giving his opinion. Do you have anything else that i can reference in his defense ? ie: percent of students that think about death or killing, percent of students that find school boring, not challenging, and hope for excitement of anykind."

risenbird wrote on April 26, 2007 4:26 PM:""The man who trades freedom for security does not deserve nor will he ever receive either." Benjamin Franklin "

rofl wrote on April 26, 2007 5:28 PM:"There has been a lot of blame being put on the teacher and the principal, however, they are not the ones who arrested the kid. The reported the letter, and the police are the ones who arrested him. Someone at the police department must have thought what he wrote was worthy of an arrest. Then, the District Attourney had to feel there was probable cause to file the charges. So blame the teacher if you want, but she was not the one who arrested the student."

Jim1234 wrote on April 26, 2007 5:30 PM:"The CG Administration, Superintendent, BOE & Police Chief should all go. The School Social Worker, Psy, Parents or student were never involved in this process. These are people involved in the educational decision making process for the high school age students in Cary & Fox River Grove. This is a very scary situation we have on our hands. If they are going this far as zero tolerance, then any and all publications on the should that have any reference to violence should be removed from the school and no student should have access to them. The situation that they have created is a very sad one for the community and students. Any student given a writting assignment going forward will need to request in writing exactly what the perimeters are for the assignment and exactly what the teacher wants. Its CYA or fear being held to the same treament as Allen Lee. I wonder how much time will pass before a law suit is filed. The school needs competent individuals at the management level. We currently have Micky Mouse and Donald Duck."

clresident wrote on April 26, 2007 5:55 PM:"Any lawyers reading this? Correct me if I'm wrong, but what significance do the events of Virginia Tech and the 8th anniversary of Columbine have on this case? Yes, those events make people nervous, but in law, does it even have an impact that authorities should be citing those cases? To me, sounds like D155 is overreacting to the overreaction of not canceling school at CLC last week. And, again, correct me if I'm wrong, but that unfounded threat should also not be brought up in this case."

ProgressiveIsTheWay wrote on April 26, 2007 6:03 PM:"If it was a creative writing class and there were no restrictions, then Lee had every right to write what he wanted. If the schools do not want kids to write about violence, death, sex and/or drugs, then set the boundaries when handing out writing assignments. What a bunch of idiots. On the other hand, if I were Lee's parents, I'd be talking to an attorney."

springfield wrote on April 26, 2007 6:14 PM:"Mark my words, these totalitarians (whether far left or far right) will dig in their heels in every attempt shout down the community outcry. Our justice system revolves around legal rhetoric that is just a challenging game to the attorneys and judges, so don't count on them. Common sense is just a romantic notion these days. We can only hope that they find a way to back off while saving face and let this young man go on with his plans. "

ProgressiveIsTheWay wrote on April 26, 2007 6:19 PM:"Obituary of the late Mr. Common Sense Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, CommonSense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure howold he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucraticred tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuablelessons as: Knowing when to come in out of the rain; Why the early bird gets the worm; Life isn't always fair; And Maybe it was my fault. Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don'tspend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, notchildren, are in charge). His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentionedbut overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6 -year- oldboy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teenssuspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacherfired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition. Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers fordoing the job that they themselves had failed to do in discipliningtheir unruly children. It declined even further when schools wererequired to get parental consent to administer Tylenol, sun lotion or aband-aid to a student; but could not inform parents when a studentbecame pregnant and wanted to have an abortion. Common Sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandmentsbecame contraband; churches became businesses; and criminals receivedbetter treatment than their victims. Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defendyourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue youfor assault. Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a womanfailed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled alittle in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement. Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents , Truth andTrust; his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son,Reason. He is survived by his 3 stepbrothers; I Know My Rights, SomeoneElse Is To Blame, and I'm A Victim. Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he wasgone. "

disheartened wrote on April 26, 2007 6:28 PM:"Now that the contents of the essay have been revealed, I hope people can comprehend that the teacher, principal, and police performed required actions. If you researched school law, you would realize that if there is a potential threat to the student population, free speech is no longer protected. No one should "joke" about school shootings. Harris and Kliebold joked about killing before the Columbine shooting. This student's GPA is completely irrelevant. Poor students don't corner the market on psychoses. If this brilliant child with an inappropriate sense of humor shot up Cary Grove, the people that are defending him now would be screaming at the school for not doing everything they could to protect the other students."

rgarieny wrote on April 26, 2007 6:41 PM:"Look I know there's freedom of speech and it's a creative writing class... But you kind of have to understand the teacher’s actions. If I was a teacher, grading papers and I came across that particular paper, I would be a little bit freaked out too. Especially because of what recently happened at Virginia Tech. What was the teacher suppose to do just put the paper aside and pretend she never saw it? Keep in mind she probably doesn’t know Allen Lee very well; so how does she know what he is capable of. I'm sure he's a nice kid, but you can never be too careful. I wouldn’t let something like that go ignored. Imagine being a teacher, being in a school full of 1800+ students, there's kids who do musicals, drugs, drink, play volleyball, etc. and then there’s the kids who have hit lists, you have no idea what kid dreams of killing everyone around him or what kid is just a creative writer. I DO NOT think Allen should be charged or expelled! Not one bit! But I think we should stop criticizing the school and the cops just because we all know that Allen probably wouldn't do that and just because he was able to write about “anything” he wanted too. Someone mentioned the teacher and Allen haven't quite seen eye to eye all semester long, well then tell me if you were that teacher who is not getting a long well with your student and you then read a brutally violent paper written by that student...wouldn't you be a little bit freaked out too?"

cg girl wrote on April 26, 2007 7:09 PM:"are you all serious? this isn't a question of free speech. maybe the guidelines of the assignment were questionable, and maybe an arrest was not necissary. but as a cg student myself, i'm glad that the administration cares enough about us to take action. reading all of your comments, it really makes me wonder what you would all be writing if nothing had been done, and for whatever reason, God forbid, something bad had come of it. i'm sure all of you same people ripping our administration apart for being proactive would be ripping them apart about why they didn't "see the signs". face it people, this is the world we live in. we have to take things like this seriously, or we'd be having a whole lot more VT's and Colombines. I know Allen, and while I may not call him a personal friend, I know he's a smart kid, but in this case he was being immature and ignorant. Obviously his 4.2 gpa means nothing, because as an 18 year old adult who feels mature enough to enter the marines, he should know better than to do something like this. I know he has an odd sense of humor, but this goes way beyond that. seriously though, you all read the parts of the essay that have been published. that doesnt creep you out at all? I must admit, arresting him was a little overboard, but I don't this suspension is outrageous at all. But again, CG administrators DID NOT ARREST ALLEN. The Cary Police arrested him. It's unfair to chastise the administration for protecting their students. Get real people, Allen did something stupid, he needs to know that, and that there will be consquences for actions such as his. This is the real world, you can't act like that and expect it to go over as a joke."

rgarieny wrote on April 26, 2007 7:20 PM:"Hey "Mytwosense" I am guessing you're a teenager*, not a teacher, so I would stop talking... I'm 18... Sometimes it seems like we're treated unfairly. But this is different. If I knew the kid sitting next to me in english class wrote something like that and the teacher did nothing about it, I would not feel safe in school. How dare you even compare Nazi's, who are responsible for helping kill and torture 6 million people, to teachers. And how are we slaves? We're going to school and getting an education so we can get jobs and make a difference, we're benefiting. I think you're overreacting, not the teacher, not the principle and not the police. Try working at a high school for a year and then tell me what you would do all about this. *I'm sorry if you are not a teenager... but at times teenagers can be a bit immature, and that's what you sound like. My apologies. "

clresident wrote on April 26, 2007 7:29 PM:"TO cg girl, as a student of C-G HS and a member of the D155 District, are you going to start a petition that the district install metal detectors and have each and every student wanded as they walk through the door. There was no direct threat against anyone, any school - anything. Allen turned his paper in - if he really was a threat, he probably would have written that he didn't have anything to write. I just looked through "To Kill A Mockingbird" which my freshman son had to read. I never read it as I went to an all girls Catholic school in the 70's and the nuns certainly would not have allowed it. My son and I had a discussion about the book and it is violent. Killing a person (Mockingbird), rape, using derogatory (do you know what that means?) terms of others), etc. Is this book appropriate? I believe if Allen gets hung out to dry, then D155 has to let each and every parent know the required reading very soon so interested parents can read the material that our children will be writing about. Creative writing and people's emotions are very personal and people's emotions should certainly not be turned in to a teacher. Do you listen to the music of today? Extremely violent - especially in terms of the way women are viewed, as well as our world. Maturity - age is not a measure of maturity. I know 50 year olds who possess the maturity of a 5 year old. I feel anyone who willingly enlists in any of the armed forces is mature enough to know the risks and Allen is obviously mature enough to know that the world we live in is not a nice place sometimes. I just don't agree with the adminstration's or the police's response. And you, my dear, had better read and re-read every single thing you write that has to be turned into a teacher. Absolutely, everyone will be scrutinized."

justmyopinion wrote on April 26, 2007 7:31 PM:"I think this kid made a bad mistake - some things you just can not joke about - they are not funny - they are taken seriously -especially in lieu of the recent news -I think that the school should have started with the parents before going right to the police - but then who knows -there would have been the issue of why weren't the police notified - it is a bad situation and unfortunately this kid is going to pay for this mistake for a long time -"

bequicknow wrote on April 26, 2007 7:58 PM:"How can one defend a teacher who allowed violent creative speeches in class by two of Mr. Lee's classmates approximately 2 weeks prior to this situation and not question her exact intent with this particular student? Columbine and plenty of other violent school incidences had already taken place - so did VA Tech had to happen to wake up this teacher - where has she been? Why would she allow her class to create violent speeches and then be shocked at the outcome of a freeform "anything you want to write" creative essay? I feel for ProgressiveIsTheWay's comments about the death of Mr. Commonsense."

al_lee wrote on April 26, 2007 8:01 PM:"Yes, this is probably who you think it is, I know a lot of you are curious about the handwritten essay and I’d like to disclose a few things. It is undeniable that the essay contains violence and the crudest humor a decently educated high school senior could come up with, now with that given, the nature of the assignment must be discussed concurrently. Although the assignment was a last minute change of plans assignment, the assignment was handed out on a printed sheet detailing in bullet point that the free writing assignment be done without censorship or judgment on the contents. A copy of this assignment can be obtained from any student attending a "creative writing" class at Cary Grove High School. Further comments by the teacher (Ms. Capron), suggested that the students may specifically target the teacher and that the assignment would in most probability not even be read. Now, given the standard required censorship within school for all writings (turned in or not, because what you write privately in school is subject to disciplinary action within school grounds) I felt like a writer from the 1600's who was just granted the first amendment. I have read several reviews that believe my actions were a prank, and that I was looking for a reaction. Let me make this clear, it was not a prank, I was not expecting my essay to be read, and I wrote believing I was fulfilling the requirements of the assignment with no intention of causing Fear or Harm in any shape or form. (I pray that I did not mistype or that this comment gets edited without my consent). Multiple copies of the essays are currently in circulation, although not under my control and I have no idea where the original is. I do believe that the essay will be eventually released along with the assignment. The actual basis for my arrest under the charge of Disorderly Conduct, filed by Susan R. Popp is "but as a teacher, don't be surprised of inspiring the first cg shooting." Any legal expert can tell you that no personal threat by my person is indicated in that statement, or threats to any persons or property. At best, I should have been considered a "whistle blower" (someone that believes a threat may be present) rather than a potential homicidal manic to be arrested within 16 hours of writing an assignment as I was told to. For those of you wondering specifically what I was thinking at the moment I wrote that statement, I was exaggerating the general feeling for Ms. Capron in the student populous. Why did I exaggerate to such a degree? Because that is how I was instructed to do so by my teacher to pursue creative writing. It must also be understood, that I am proud to have attended Cary Grove High school, no matter the outcome of the case. I deeply respect and cherish my relationships at school with both my fellow students and teachers. My current goal is to receive my diploma and continue with my military aspirations; however I can not continue to attend Boot Camp in San Diego without a clean record. I deeply miss my teachers and friends, and cannot wait to talk to my Law in America teacher to hear his opinion and the events that have transpired. My deepest thanks go out to my friends and their families in support of me in this difficult situation. Hopefully the media coverage will end soon, and I can go back to being a normal student, graduate, and continue on to be a Marine. "

jim1234 wrote on April 26, 2007 8:02 PM:"Ms. Capron should be fired. What caliber of a teacher does D155 hire that gives an assignment that the students can write "I Don't Know What To Write About" the entire period. This is not teaching. Allen Lee is being made a victim because of what happened last week in Virgina. There are no similiarities to the student in Virigina & Allen. It sickens me to see the number of journalists who continue to do this.The proper chain was not followed. The Dean, Social Worker, School Psychologist, parents and Allen were NOT involved in any conversation prior to the administration calling the police. What a shame."

CGHSstudent wrote on April 26, 2007 8:04 PM:"Ok, these are the 3 main reasons why this situation got where it is. 1-This is the Creative Writing teacher's first year. She is new and, due to that, she could have handled this situation a little bit better. She could have went to a veteran teacher and said, "Hey, I got this weird essay that makes me worry. What should I do?" 2-The Cary Police department has too much free time on their hands. Cary is a smaller, rich, white, suburban town. The police in this village see very little action. So when a "big" issue pops up like this, they are going to do everything they can to glorify it. It's a small time police department making a big deal out of very little. 3-The CGHS administration over reacted once again. The admin, once again, jumped the gun. You don't see one "red flag" and call the cops. After the first sign of disturbance, you take him down to the office, sit him down, and sort things out. You give him a warning and (if he needs it) give him the professional help he needs. You just don't pick up a phone and go nuts. THE POLICE ARE A LAST RESORT!Sure this whole situation happened at the worse possible time. AND, of course, he shouldn't have said anything about guns, killing people, and having sex with dead peoples' bodies. HOWEVER, YOU DO NOT ARREST THIS KID. Arrest is the last resort; the last "straw" if you will. The minute the admin saw this essay, they should have talked to the kid and said, "We need to correct this." They didn't. Arresting this young man does not help the situation. You need to let the kid speak his mind and talk...that’s an opportunity the Columbine killers, the V-Tech killer, and many other "killers" never had. Allen is an excellent person and WILL be a great contribution to society. You first talk to him and decide if he needs professional help or not. After that, you wait and see if he does anything again. IF HE DOES...THEN you drop the bombshell and call the CPD. An arrest on a permanent record is a horrible thing. Don't ruin this kid’s future if you don't have to. Unnecessary police action: that's what bugs me…"

Silent Majoriety wrote on April 26, 2007 8:14 PM:"Hi Dub,OK, Disorderly Conduct arrest was way over the top. Now, lets say the teacher reads the paper and does nothing about it. Then lets say Mr. Lee walks into Cary Grove High School and then pulled out what did he say "two P 90s and started shooting everyone, then had sex with the dead bodies." Alright the sex with dead bodies is kinda sick for a 18 year old and if I was his age hey a great shocker.Who is going to get crucified on this one after people had been shot. (RED FLAGS) What should have been done was counseling and the parents be contacted and informed of the behavior. Now, for Mr. Lee, an obviously very intelligent student (like DUB) should have known better. If I wanted to write a paper such as this type of paper I would have notified my teacher that I am going to write something way over the top to do a shock effect. I am a firm believer in freedom of speech.CGGirl bravo on your view. Now in defence of Cary Police they do arrest people but in Mr Lee's case the District or teacher must want to sign the complaint. The Officers cannot testify to being alarmed and disturbed and a victim. As a just retired military officer and a commander of fine troops in Iraq I hope that Mr Lee gets through basic and tests for OCS (Officer Candidate School) Good luck MR. Lee, poor choice of a paper though."

cyanide wrote on April 26, 2007 8:22 PM:"simple facts it was a creative writing course, so he wrote a story not knowing it would get him trouble. than the teacher is disturbed by said paper and reports it. pricipal receives said paper and instead of relaying it to the parents she decides to have the kid arrested. thats rediculous, based on that theory every single person who writes a horror book or horror movie should in turn be arrested. so lets get goin start arresting stephen king, queintin tarantino, ohhh i know tim burton should get arrested too. so lets hurry and hop on that before it gets out of hand."

rgarieny wrote on April 26, 2007 8:25 PM:"Allen & Virigina are not the same, but it could be the same. Wouldn't have been nice if the Virigina Massacre never happened? If Cho's writing was taking a bit more seriously by adminstration, that would not have happened. The police and school are making sure something like that won't happen. What is wrong with that? No offense but his 4.2 gpa has nothing to do with this nor does his plans after graduation, if that happens. What matters is what he wrote about. Which at this time is completely irresponsible to do because of the 33 (including Cho) lives that have been ended recently from a school shooting. I don't think 33 people dying, from something that could have been prevented, should be taken as a joke. If Allen had any sympathy for those families who lost their sons or daughters he would not have written such a brutal paper. So if Allen's paper was a joke which mentions school shooting in it, then basically he was joking about every single student who died at virigina and every single student who has ever been killed in school from a disturbed individual who had enough rage to pull out a gun and take the lives of innocent people. Allen probably wouldn't do that, but I don't think it's good if they were to take a paper like that lightly, especially at this time!"

al_lee wrote on April 26, 2007 8:32 PM:"because of recent events that have transpired, I'm trying to get the information out myself since the district has decided no to. I was hoping for the media coverage to subside, however with a second complaint filed, and in the nature of how it was filed, I saw fit to alert my lawyers I wanted everything release. I recently sent this personal note (below) to Newsweek along with the comment I had previously posted.Hey, it’s Allen and this is the first copy of what I’m about to post, I recently was alerted by a visitor that a second charge has been filed against me on the state level by my teacher. Up till this point, I placed no serious blame on the teacher other than failure to seek a counsel or alert my parents, which is excusable by her inexperience since it was (at first) only the administration of D155 that filed a complaint. The second complaint filed by her has addition excerpts from the essay added, but not the entire essay or the assignment for which the essay was written. I was actually going to remove personal blame from Ms. Capron for the incident, just a moment before I was about to post the original comment. I am now thoroughly “p*ssed” that she would attempt a second charge without full release of evidence. I am truly grateful to a reporter who brought the second charge of disorderly conduct to my family, since my family has not yet been informed by the authorities of the second charge. I have also requested that my lawyers release my essay and the assignment publicly. I have also notified a good friend of mine, (who works at Kinko’s) to help me publish my essay along with the assignment to be passed out at school tomorrow."

al_lee wrote on April 26, 2007 8:43 PM:"On another note, I voluntarily sighed a paper allowing the Cary police to take my computer and go through the files (I thought they'd just look not take). I did so knowing that there was no criminal material on the computer, or anything that would allude to violent behavior. I signed a paper on Tuesday, and my computer has not been returned. In state of the events relating to my disorderly conduct charge and the police department’s role in the charge. I am concerned on what they are doing with my computer; they can't honestly like adult content (I attempted to post this comment with the correct terminology, but the word flagged.) that much.I'd appreciate everyones comments on everything, including why a charge was filed two days after the first one, late in the day, containing just fractions of the entire essay. I've actually heard the thoughts from the reporter who brought me a copy of the charge, and I am truly grateful to him"

hksm3turbo wrote on April 26, 2007 8:57 PM:"everyone needs to lay off of ms. capron. i was in the first class she has ever teached this year at cary grove. my first reaction was that she was strict but fair. shes a first year teacher who has to plant a foot and not let students walk all over her. ms. capron is a darn good teacher who deserves a lot of credit for her unique teaching ability for a first year teacher. i understand that everyone blames her for all of this, but the fact of the matter is allen lee wrote a creative essay involving shootings as a joke. things like this are being taken very seriously these days so i dont blame ms. caporn for telling the principal. ms. capron never intended for allen to get arrested and possibly expelled the fact is that it was out of her hands. she didnt make the police call. i have known allen for years and hes a smart kid who should know better that to joke about things like what he wrote. everyone needs to stop blaming ms. capron for this and realize that allen might have crossed the line. but even after all of this i dont agree with arresting him and it was not ms. caprons fault that he did get arrested."

cyanide wrote on April 26, 2007 9:01 PM:"my friend what is happening to u is just not right, the right thing to do if they were really worried was get u some professinal help not have u arrested. on the topic of trying to stop such things from happening why didnt they shut down the campus and warn everyone that a shooter was on the loose. dont come back at me with ohhh they used emails and blah blah blah cause its garbage, they should have made contact with every teacher, student and worker on that campus as soon as they knew there was a dangerous individual on the loose. stop making excuses on why some joker couldnt handle his problems in life and took it out on a bunch of innocent ppl."

My Opinion wrote on April 26, 2007 9:02 PM:"Hey Mr. Lee...did the Columbine kids also post rants similar to your writing? With content that you are accussed of, what did you expect as far as a reaction? Kinda like the kid in a Christmas Story dreaming of an A+++ for his Red Rider disertation. Do you think you could have approached the teacher and discussed the issue first? Maybe at the time you handed it in? Hindsight is 20/20, but the school has a responsibility. What if a kid wrote a disturbing note and later did a harmful act? Would the school be liable for not acting on it? You have to cover your butt these days....you and the school both."

Silent Majoriety wrote on April 26, 2007 9:39 PM:"Awesome My Opinion.al_lee, I am going to rewrite my 2014 hrs comment: You wrote, two P 90s and started shooting everyone, then had sex with the dead bodies." Alright the sex with dead bodies is kinda sick for a 18 year old and if I was his age hey a great shocker. Who is going to get crucified on this one after people had been shot. (RED FLAGS) What should have been done was counseling and the parents be contacted and informed of the behavior. Now, for Mr. Lee, an obviously very intelligent student (like DUB) should have known better. If I wanted to write a paper such as this type of paper I would have notified my teacher that I am going to write something way over the top to do a shock effect.Why did you not tell your teacher your plans? I will tell you as a retired officer in the Marines and your intelligence level you need to go to (OCS) to keep you challenged. I do have a concern about your thought pattern though. SEX WITH DEAD PEOPLE OK it takes all kinds!"

lilac wrote on April 26, 2007 10:05 PM:"Hey Allen, we'll all give Capron a hard time for you, god knows she's been having a hard enough one putting up with us the past few days. Tell Jamie I want a copy of your paper.. and also, well I have an idea, and I'll tell Jamie about it tomorrow in class and ask him to pass it on to you, I think it'll help at least a little. Best of luck to you. ~Cortney"

mayaya wrote on April 26, 2007 10:39 PM:"Hksm3turbo, Ms. Capron did not call the police or got Allen arrest, however, she has filed charges against Allen today on her own. Why do you think that is? "

CGwrestler wrote on April 26, 2007 10:41 PM:"Allen, I'm so glad to see you stick up for yourself. Once all the facts get out, I'm sure people will see who the real victim is in all of this. I thought the school's job was to uphold the education of ALL its students. It clearly forgot about one student, and his name is Allen Lee. Were your parents ever actually contacted before the police showed up at your front door? This new charge by the teacher makes her look even worse and proves what has been evident all along, she just wanted to cause trouble."

al_lee wrote on April 26, 2007 10:41 PM:"In response to rgarienyI honestly did not have the victims of VT in my mind at the time I was writing the paper, and that seems like negligence on my part. I apologize to the families of the victims at VT if they were offended. I wrote the paper without any outside influence on the content. There is however no relation between my situations and that of the VT shooting except for the fact that I am Asian and disturbing essays were written, although mine was done by nature of the assignment. Not that anyone cares, but the shooter was Korean and I am Chinese. Do my grades reflect the situation? Under a complaint of disorderly conduct, all personal information matters. That is why I voluntarily allowed my room and computer to be searched. I completed the assignment as I was instructed to do so. I also did so with no intent to cause harm or fear; as you would know if you read the rest of my posts. I was not expecting a reaction; I was not expecting it to be read under the statement by my teacher that she probably wouldn’t bother to. My arguments to the complaints of my insensitivity to write the paper as I did after the tragedy at VT, is that: I do not believe my rights to write about a school shooting are void. Have I seriously lost my right to write what I want because of someone else? Had it been coincidental that a well known author released a publication depicting school violence concurrently, should he be arrested? I agree completely that quick action resolve a concerning essay is a priority of school administration, however does the term “false accusation” mean anything to anyone? Does a Japanese Interment Camp or the national reaction to Muslim population after 9/11 ring any bells? "

al_lee wrote on April 26, 2007 10:46 PM:"i'm trying to get my paper released, and am currently making copies of it along with my other posts, i'm hoping to have it handed out school tommorow, but i am waiting on an ok from my lawyer, for thoes of you who know me personally, I will gladly show you the paper personally, and off record in its original form"

Gus wrote on April 26, 2007 10:50 PM:"No more Mr. Nice Guy. Allen, next time the police or the Superintendent or the Principal call, tell them that you'll be very happy to talk with them, just as soon as your lawyer says "Okay" and can arrive to be there with you. Cops' favorite saying, "You can go, just as soon as you answer a few more questions." Yeah, right..... go where? Right down the hall to the cell. It looks like your situation is heading south. There is a lawyer in Woodstock who is expensive, but great. It may be even better to get an out-of-county lawyer. Be sure to get a shark - one who will clean all the meat right off their bones. Be especially suspicious when they say, "Just sign this and we'll drop everything." Right now, focus on your coursework and complete your diploma requirements. Do your best to put all this on the shelf for a month and stay focused. Then you'll find plenty of support in creating the right outcome - full dismissal of all charges or a Not Guilty verdict. Keep complete records. Write down everything. Print all of these postings. Stay strong!"

CGwrestler wrote on April 26, 2007 10:51 PM:"Allen, that last post pretty much sums up my feelings: Why should your personal opinions be limited because of a social standard set as a reaction to the VT incident! It's pretty pathetic that people compare you to school shooters when you have not and will not ever harm anyone. Those people had a history of violent behavior inside and outside of the classroom. You were simply completing a class assignment."

Barharbor_parent2 wrote on April 26, 2007 10:53 PM:"Allen, in your own interest, I would talk to your lawyers before you post anything else on this or any other blog site."

Barharbor_parent2 wrote on April 26, 2007 10:56 PM:"After rereading my last post, I want to clarify that I don't want Allen to say or do anything that might make this bad situation any worse."

jim1234 wrote on April 26, 2007 11:14 PM:"Allen, I agree with Barharbor_parent2. Be careful. You really should not post anything. Legal counsel at this point is extremely important to you. Do as they instruct you to do.Many people in the community are behind you and want the best outcome for you. I hope your legal counsel is a shark. Best of luck to you."

bequicknow wrote on April 26, 2007 11:57 PM:"al_lee - please listen to all of the previous advice - public comments can be used against you. Ms. Capron probably filed that second charge because she is probably being represented now by personal counsel or the teacher's union counsel. Hopefully, the ACLU will be contacting you shortly to give you advice on how to protect your civil rights. Good Luck!"

Hail Odin wrote on April 27, 2007 12:11 AM:"First off: Allen, don't post an apology for anything. Second: Don't post anything. Third: You have my full support and the Calculus Class and I look forward to seeing you back at school soon.I'm not sure if this will help anyone put this into perspective, but I'll post it anyways:About two months ago there was a "monologue" assignment in my Cary Grove creative writing class (not Allen's). One of the students, we'll call him "Andy", wrote a fairly descriptive paper about killing his future family. In addition, though this wasn't presented to the class, it involved the rape of his daughter's body. His presentation did involve: skinning his daughter, bashing his son's head in, and shooting his wife, all represented in detail. "Andy" went around to his friends and acquaintances joking and bragging about what he wrote for the better part of two weeks. Granted, this was before the Virginia Tech shootings, but I don't see why this is completely overlooked now. If Cary Grove is proactive enough to report a Chinese man who wrote an essay (which was intended to be read privately by a teacher) completely sanctioned by the given guidelines, it should obviously look into a white student who veered far from the beaten path to present vivid violence to the entire class. Anything short of that would be hypocrisy.Good luck Allen in your court battles that are to come."

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