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The Lion's Roar

The Official Student News Media of Southeastern Louisiana University

The Lion's Roar

The Official Student News Media of Southeastern Louisiana University

The Lion's Roar

    Police follow correct procedure in arrest of student clock maker Ahmed Mohamed

    William Schmidt's Headshot

    On Monday, September 14 Ahmed Mohamed, a young 14 year old boy, was arrested at his Irving, Texas high school. The young student was detained by police after bringing a homemade clock into his class to show his teacher at MacArthur High School. 

    After being taken into custody and questioned by police for the “hoax bomb,” which is a Class A Misdemeanor, he was released after two hours without being charged. For most states, a Class A Misdemeanor is considered the most serious non-felony offense possible. 

    When I first heard about this, I naturally took the side of Mohamed because of how the news portrayed him as a Muslim, a minority and how it was an attack upon a minority religion. One news interview even had Alia Salem of the Council on American-Islamic Relations say, “This wouldn’t even be a question if his name wasn’t Ahmed Mohamed.”

    But, like all my opinions, I want to make the most informed decision, as well as ensure that my belief is backed up with solid facts. With doing a little digging, and most likely having the majority of my friends getting mad at the new opinion I formed, I side with the police for taking the correct form of action. 

    First, I looked at pictures of the clock, and it looked like the classic “bomb” used in the majority of 90s films when the hero has to race against time to stop the bomb from detonating. 

    Also, Irving, Texas is roughly only 35 miles away from Garland, Texas. I think people are forgetting the shooting that took place at the end of a controversial drawing of the Prophet Muhammad cartoon. The shooters were later claimed to be a part of the group of ISIS as well as seen as Muslims. 

    I believe this shooting in Garland has had much of a negative impact on Americans just as 9/11 did. The police officers in Garland were hailed as heroes but in Irving, they were seen as attacking a minority group which I do not believe they were doing. 

    Though I know not all terrorists are Muslims, America has a way of trying to “fix” the negative impact created by minority groups. Just as during World War II when between 110,000 and 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry were forced into relocation and incarceration, today Muslims are looked upon with suspicion, a fear that I hope and pray changes soon.

    But, in Mohamed’s case nobody questioned him throughout the school day until an alleged encounter with an English teacher.

    Supposedly, the English teacher asked Mohamed to put the clock in his book bag, but due to being in a nervous situation, the principal was informed and police involvement occurred. 

    Though I don’t agree with everything Bill Maher says, I think something he said rings true. In response to Republican candidate George Pataki’s explanation on a zero tolerance in school for things that are suspicious, Maher said, “What if it had been a bomb? So, the teacher is supposed to see something that looks like a bomb and go, ‘Oh wait, this just might be my white privilege talking. I sure don’t want to be politically incorrect, so I’ll just let it go.’”

    The police did exactly what they were supposed to do. They asked Mohamed to explain what he had and he wasn’t completely forthcoming. Yes, I would have been scared to death if when I was 14 the cops asked me such a question, but, common sense dictates that he didn’t respond immediately causing the situation to be sketch. And though I’ve been called an extreme liberal before, I do not fault authorities in the least for what happened. I think people need to make sure they are informed completely of the situation before making up their minds.

    I will say though, an apology is in order. Thankfully it has taken place in a most unexpected way.

    On the POTUS Twitter account, President Barack Obama invited Mohamed to the White House by tweeting, “Cool clock, Ahmed. Want to bring it to the White House? We should inspire more kids like you to like science. It’s what makes America great.” 

    Along with being invited to the White House, Mohamed will not have to worry about going back to the high school that caused him to go through such an ordeal. Now, he has scholarships to choose where he would like to go. Oh, and let us not forget some of the technology leaders such as Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Box CEO Aaron Levie inviting Mohamed to visit their Silicon Valley offices. 

    In the end, though both sides of the fence see differently, the end justifies the means because Mohamed is now one of the lucky ones; he can choose a school and as described by some teachers from MacArthur High School, use his brilliance to make a better tomorrow for America.

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