How far is too far when it comes to a prank?

When do practical jokes go too far? That comes to light when a 17 year old Wheaton, Illinois high school student had done when he decided to be incredibly stupid by contaminating a batch of salad dressing in his school’s cafeteria. He was given a $750 fine, 120 hours of community service and 2 years of probation. Besides his legal issues he was also expelled from school for this and was ordered to write a letter of apology to school officials for this incident. He also has to perform his community service with an agency that services people with AIDS. The judge who presided over the case called the prank quoted from the American Online article as ‘beyond stupid’, and the student who was charged had told police he got the idea from watching a movie full of crude stunts.

 

It’s stuff like this that makes you wonder where was this guy’s parents, and that teens have too much time on their hands to be doing some ignorant, sick stuff. Shows like Viva La Bam and other shows that do crude pranks are what has some teens seriously thinking that they can go out after watching stuff like this to pull off pranks when this was the one prank that broke the mold for stupid. This guy wasn’t thinking when decided to do a sick prank such as this. Well, this joke cost this guy his senior year and endless humiliation for himself and his family. Do teens really think long and hard about their actions and the impact it has on themselves and those around them? Some don’t really think about the damage and the hurt they cause to the people around them. He was lucky students didn’t get sick from eating the dressing because that would have been treated as a felony charge which could result in several years in jail if someone had became ill from eating contaminated salad dressing. This falls along the line of teens being influenced by what’s on tv, types of music listened to, movies watched, and video games played.

 

When it gets to the point where kids are mocking shows like Mtv’s ‘Jackass’ there is something that the parents aren’t doing to get this kind of unacceptable behavior under control. This guy won’t even graduate with his class and attend prom…what a way to ruin your last year in high school by pulling something way beyond stupid, it was sick what logical minded person would do something like relieve himself as a prank to serve to his peers. The world is really crazy, but we have enough weird nuts in the world this guy now has a record that will haunt him since this will so not go over well with college officials who get word of this since it’s been publicized in the paper and on the internet. This will send a message to high school students who do stuff like this that pranks like this or anything that involves elements uncalled for won’t be tolerated.