I truly hope this recent senior prank at McClatchy High School in Sacramento is one of the last high school “joke” involving peanut butter. As a result, one student ended up in the hospital, one with a mild allergic reaction, several peanut allergic students not being able to attend school and pranksters being banned from their graduation.
Here is the million dollar question that I would like answered: WHY PEANUT BUTTER?
Spray paint, toilet paper, eggs and peanut butter (spread on hand rails and door knobs) were the tools that dozens of seniors used to leave their mark! Well, they were quite successful as they left a mark for sure. A mark that is costing the school several thousand dollars. Apparently, they turned over tables and simply trashed their school.
Even worse, two peanut allergic students were placed in peril and others were not able to attend classes. Thankfully, the school excused peanut allergic students from attending school due to the danger and intense task of trying to remove peanut oil from buildings. This prank was seriously dangerous and not in one bit amusing.
Back to the million dollar question: WHY PEANUT BUTTER?
I am finding it hard to believe that out of at least 30 students, no one knew there were peanut allergic kids at McClatchy High School? Although, I can entertain the concept that they may not have known about peanut allergies if the peanut allergy students didn’t share this information. Did they choose peanut butter since it is nice and sticky or to be jerks to peanut allergic students or faculty?
If they wanted a sticky substance, they could have used honey or pancake syrup..so why the peanut butter? As you can see, I’m pretty stuck on my million dollar question.
Thankfully, this prank’s investigation may turn into a criminal investigation due to the high cost of the damage on the building and harm to the peanut allergic students. Teens must learn where the lines of a funny gag cross over in dangerous situations or ones that cost an already financially stretched school district money they don’t have. The principal of McClatchy High School was quoted saying that he was planning on seeking restitution.
Here are a few links regarding this Senior Peanut Butter Prank:
Sacramento Bee: McClatchy High Prank Turns Dangerous; 30 Banned from Graduation Ceremonies
LA Times: Peanut Butter Pranksters May Be Banned From Graduation
Until crimanal charges are enforced on anyone using a known allergen on a group of allergic individuals this will continue. I hope these students are charged appropriately before they truly harm or kill someone. Not to mention being held responsible for the physical damage they caused their school.
One of the hardest things I find about managing both life threatening food allergies and asthma is talking to others. I hate to be the one that might be perceived as demanding, pushing or for asking too much. What I now know, fourteen years later, is that honest, clear information presented with kindness works!..
teenage prank… or a narcissistic expression by high schools seniors ill-prepared to join adulthood. peanut butter was a not a random choice for the students. it was an idea considered by one in the group and approved by many. while i can appreciate the fun of tossing toilet paper all over a school, i cannot find any excuse to justify the use of PB. parents, school administrators, and advocacy groups like FAAN & AAPE need to use this incident as an example for anyone else considering the same kind of celebration in the future.
I ‘m right there with ya on that million dollar question, maybe even more so…
I don’t for one second believe that peanut butter was the chosen product for innocent reasons, I really and truly believe that it was with malicious intent! :-(. There really isn’t any argument I have been able to imagine that would convince me otherwise unfortunately…
I really don’t see the use of accusing these teens of maliciousl targeting their nut-allergic peers. I highly doubt that a group of pranksters, who were unable to consider the consequences of being caught destroying a building, were able to think of the consequences of using peanut butter. My guess is that they simply didn’t think about it. And the people who are dedicated to raising awareness on this issue, myself included, need to put away the pitchforks for just one second, and remember that people stop listening the moment we start yelling. Kids like this need to be in charge of the clean up effort and educated about what it really takes to removes all traces of peanut protein… not chased out of town. Don’t get me wrong, as the mom of a nut allergic kid, this horrifies me. But let’s take the finger-pointing down a notch, shall we?
Amy, I feel you are right on target! I don’t think the kids thought about consequences of any kind. Even if they were purposely using PB, again, I think the consequences were not thought out. As food allergy advocates, we need to step up our efforts in educating since I believe that if even a few kids thought PB was a good idea, someone in their crew would have realized the danger. I feel the kids need to pay the costs for the damage to the school and take responsiblity too. They’ll never learn about consequences if they don’t ever experience them. I understand the feeling of wanting to use a pitch fork though..this kind of behavior just raises the hair on our necks since we understand the life threatening element of this prank.
Looks like we all have our work cut out for us! Thankfully, there are folks like all of us reading this blog that are dedicating towards educating and helping our society learn to live with food allergies. This is a great learning experience that we can share–it really highlights that kids needs to be held responsible for being agressive with an allergen too.
Keep up the passion ladies!
Amy… why peanut butter?
Judie, peanut butter is easily accessible and relatively cheap. You can find it just about anywhere, probably including their home cupboards which they all probably raided as fast as they could before they went to destroy their school. Perhaps it would be helpful to consider what we hope to find out by continually asking why they chose the peanut butter when it is clear that some of our minds are already made up that this was done maliciously. Why peanut Butter? Because this is a group of teens desperately in need of education, on so many levels. This is a teachable moment and we ought to treat it as such. I think there is a thin line between “making an example of someone” and educating them. It might feel good for a minute to make an example of these Kids, but I promise that it will do a lot less good. If we want to keep accusing people of targeting our nut allergic kids, let’s keep on accusing people of targeting them and it will become a self fulfilling prophecy.
And something that no one has pointed out; how great it is that the Principal was educated enough to know to contact all the nut allergic kids and let them know. Sometimes its the small victories:-)
i’m still not convinced that PB was a random choice for vandalism.
The principal needs to be congratulated on recognizing the danger and excusing students with peanut allergies while managing the physical damage to the buildings.