I attend Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, AR. This past Tuesday a few fraternity members of Lambda Chi Alpha thought it would be fun to play a practical joke on some of the students at the A-State campus. Well since one of the students was a trained, registered, and licensed pilot, they thought it would be cool to use a plane in the acts. So these few idiots took the plane and some water balloons and flew really low over the Fowler Center (performing arts) and began dropping them on unsuspecting students and faculty and it goes without saying that these people were frightened because of the recent events in this country. Now normally this wouldn't be that great an issue but with the recent attacks on America this practical joke is just plain sick and twisted. The students were arrested upon landing and could face several charges. The FAA is now investigating along with local authorities but even though they face several charges it looks like they only face a minor fine for breaking a city ordinance against dropping objects out of aircraft. Is it me or should these guys be held accountable for more?
I don't know if legally they could be held accountable for more, unless you want to do some serious stretching of the law. The only way they will be held more accountable is for the University to take punitive action against them. Other than that, I don't know.
Ziggy: "LOL that prank is classic. The terrorist factor just adds to the genius." RR: Genius, really? Not in these times. Those kids are really stupid, irresponsible and insensitive. Expulsion seems extreme, but I don't know....
Someone squeezed all the life out of these kids, and unless movies and TV have lied to me, it's a crusty, bitter old Dean.
They could just let the rest of the collective student body beat the crap out of the morons. Er, that's probably not very nice of me to say...
Typical lame fratboy stunt..... Morons I have a feeling they're not going to get off so light though. You can bet the pilot will probably get his license yanked....numerous FAA violations. If they actually hit anyone, that's assault at the very least. Plus I would think that this would almost be akin to yelling fire in a theatre...there's laws against that too.
Jesus was it stupid . . . YES idiotic. . . YES are you overreacting? YES!! Shall we call them communist and blackball them or maybe deport them? I don't like what they did but to punish someone MORE because of the TIMING of their crime is just . .dumb to me. Rocket River if it happened before 9/11 or after . . the punishment should be the same
How exactly am I overreacting? Surely they should be charged more than breaking a city ordinance, not because of the timing but because of what they did. I mean there were people where the balloons were landing so like MoonDogg said they should consider a charge of assault.
Because maybe a good stiff punishment would influence the other idiots out there to actually THINK before acting. Sorry, but I just have a very low tolerance level for stupid people. Of course, my two years in retail might have something to do with that...
I once got hit by a water baloon thrown from a fourth floor window; it hurt like sheet. One thrown from an airplane could do some serious damage.... if not be lethal.
Wait wait wait I can top it! How about an unmarked envelope with some baby powder put in the dean's mailbox! Man I kill myself sometimes.
I disagree, dude. The timing has everything to do with it. If it had occured before 9/11 the whole reaction would have been different. It might have even brought forth a chuckle or two. The perps had some idea of the reaction they would receive due to the events on 9/11(they counted on it).....therefore that should be reflected in the punishment. If we follow your logic(awarding the same punishment for all crimes regardless of the the time frame), then what do we do with someone who tries to smuggle a box cutter onto an airliner now? Should that punishment be the same as before 9/11?
You need to grow up. Your 'genius' factor is really an 'idiot' factor. With all of the warning about planes recently, wow did people below know what the hell was in these balloons? Would they be laughing if word went out about a bioterrorist attack from their plane and they were met by an F-16? That would certainly be in the realm of possibilities after 9-11. What if one of those seemingly innocuous water balloons had hit a child from that height? Pranks can cross the line, and timing IS relevant. This prank crossed the line and these guys will certainly pay for it.
Oh yeah, using the death of 6000 people and the fear it caused by murderers in a practical joke is just GENIUS! Maybe we can mail envelopes with powder in them and have people thinking they have anthrax! Better yet how about we get a loud speaker and play a recorded tape of a loud explosion outside the houses of the friends and families of the victims and just have a knee slapper of a good time! Oh the hilarity! As for people saying they are overreacting, NO THEY'RE NOT! Don't you understand that when idiots do this this causes the government to investigate it and waste time and manpower! It's the same way if you call 911 as a joke and cause the police to waste their time. Scaring hundreds of people and have the government have to investigate it after all the BS that is going on now is ridiculous. The punishment should be WORSE now then it was before 9/11. With all the talk of possible biological and chemical warfare, how do you think people are reacting with balloons full of water coming down on them!? The government is calling this "America on Alert", we don't need crap like this right now. Drop the hammer on them.
If I were Dean, I would recommend disciplinary action pending an investigation. The investigation would take four and a half minutes, and deciding the disciplinary action would take thirty seconds, with expulsion handed out to everyone involved. Then I would tell the local law enforcement authorities that we would aid in any criminal investigation they might have on the matter. Bad timing. Really, really bad timing.
