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School Officials Fear the Death Note
Friday, June 13th, 2008 at 8:56 am by Jami
AZM regular Kevin Bahrt sent along these news blurbs that illustrate that school officials around the U.S. fear the Death Note.
* A senior at the Franklin Military Academy in Richmond, Virginia was suspended after being caught possessing a replica Death Note notebook with the names of fellow students.
* In South Carolina in 2008, school officials seized a Death Note notebook from a Hartsville Middle School student. District officials linked the notebook to the anime/manga. The notebook listed seven students’ names. The school planned a disciplinary hearing and contacted the seven students’ parents. The principal, Chris Roger, sent letters to all the students’ parents saying “Regardless of the origin of the book, we take the situation very seriously. The safety of our school family is always our top priority. We treat situations like this the same as if a student called in a bomb threat or brought a weapon to school. While there may not be any serious intent to do anyone harm, we cannot and will not take that chance with our students. We will take all steps necessary to ensure our students’ well-being.”
* In Gadsden, Alabama, two 12-year-old sixth grade boys were arrested for possessions of Death Notes that listed names of several staff members and fellow students. According to Etowah County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Lanny Handy, the notebook was found the previous afternoon by a staffer. The students were suspended from the county’s schools. The students, their parents, and school officials had met with Handy and a junior probation officer.
* In Gig Harbor, Washington, one middle school student was expelled and three were suspended on May 14, 2008 for having their own Death Note books. A father of one of the students said that the notebook was “an outlet for frustration from about two years of bullying.”
Okay, so schools these days are the last place on earth you want to threaten anyone’s life. I imagine that if I were a school official, I would rather err on the side of caution.
Having said that, high school and middle school are fairly dramatic times in a kid’s life. I feel a Death Note is one of the least damaging ways for kids to deal with the overwhelming stresses that come with every day life. It’s probably a good idea to let the kids write out their frustrations. Suspending a kid isn’t going to stop the Death Note. If anything, it’ll make them more furious and may even engender stronger responses. Just let the otaku write in their book and be done with it.
Personally, I don’t think I’d deal well with a Death Note. There are some truly despicable people in the world (child molesters, serial killers, self-important rappers), but having the power to end them is not a responsibility I would ever want. Having not seen the show, I wonder how specific a Death Note can be. For instance, instead of killing a person, can I kill an aspect of them? Like their career, perhaps? Say if I wanted to stop a certain rapper with a ten year old’s voice from ever rocking a mic, could the Death God help me with that without actually killing the person?
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