June 21, 2007

StreetTalk

by Carol Rosen

Should Palo Alto High School student Blaine Marchant serve time in jail for the senior prank of tipping his Volvo over in the school quad? What is the craziest or weirdest prank you’ve ever heard of? Ever done a prank yourself? (Asked at Starbucks at Almaden Plaza)

“Yes, he should be punished, but not charged with a felony because the district trumped up the charges. I think he should be punished by the school, not be the government. The school could suspend him or not allow him to walk during graduation, but by charging him with a felony they are setting a dangerous trend. I’m actually glad that they dropped the charges to a misdemeanor and ordered his family to provide restitution. When I was in [a small] college—in Western Pennsylvania—a bunch of guys in a fraternity took a cow out of a field and brought it into the kitchen and got it to poop all over the cafeteria. Then there was a group of guys that got into the philosophy professor’s garage and picked up and turned his VW bug sideways so he had to hire people to get it out. He laughed.”

Dennis Jordan, 56
Almaden
Retired


“I don’t really understand why the school got so upset. It’s nothing different than [high school] seniors have done in the past. If it’s dangerous, then yes there should be punishment. But no one was hurt in this case. I think this happened at Leland because I heard some seniors planning it. They collected bras for a year. Then they hung them all over the school with a banner that said, ‘We’re busting out of here!’”

Trish Thomas
Almaden
Flight attendant


“He should not be charged with a felony, it’s too strong and will hold him back in lots of ways. What he needs is a good hand slap. When I was at high school, a group at Leland sprayed the word Chargers into Chuggers. Nobody got in trouble. It was a lot different here back then.”

Jim Nolan, 45
Almaden
Real estate


“No, I don’t think he should be punished. Just charge him what it costs to get rid of the car. I remember a few pranks. Some people took plastic statues of Colonel Sanders [from Kentucky Fried Chicken shops] and placed them in the foyer [at Archbishop Mitty High School]. All the doors were locked from the inside out so no one could get in. Another prank used the statue of Father Junipero Serra on Highway 280 near the 92 Exit. About a week before the Stanford/Cal big game they put a large football in his hand so it looked like he was holding it for a kicker.”

Lindsay Barker, 49
Almaden
Mortgage planner


“I don’t think he should be punished to the extent of being put into jail. I think that’s a little extreme. It would be easier to punish him with community service or working out things at the school. He’d have all summer. A long time ago, I heard that a person put a car in Bellarmine’s
swimming pool."

Scott Normandin, 17
Almaden
Senior at Bellarmine College Preparatory


“I think that what he did was great. We’re only young once and as long as no one got hurt, it should be OK. I did things a lot worse during high school than the Volvo prank and I never went to jail.”

John Besmer, 40
Almaden
Optical sales


"Yes, he should get some punishment, but not jail. I think it’s a little too strong. The punishment should fit the crime and this is the type of things kids do.”

Lena Jo Wilson, 68
Almaden
Fourth grade teacher at Graystone Elementary