My high school experience was somewhat of an enigma.

If you observe the archetypal characters explored in the ultimate teen film “The Breakfast Club,” -- prom queen, jock, thug, nerd and weirdo -- you may see glimpses of yourself during your own high school years. I was a nerd but somehow managed to find myself at the top of the food chain and was part of one of the most popular clicks.

I did not get there because of my keen fashion sense or killer looks, although some may argue I was kind of adorable in a skinny, OP T-shirt, Van sneaker-wearing, geeky sort of way….lol. I established myself among the cool kids because I was always good for a laugh.

I guess that is why the story of a kindred spirit caught my attention this week. Apparently, an 18-year-old Indiana senior is in jail with a $30,000 bond and could be facing felony charges because of a senior prank that went very wrong.

Tyell Morton is a decent student and by all accounts is basically a good kid. So what happened?

A custodian told school officials at the Rushville Consolidated High School that he saw someone suspicious leaving the building. Video cameras showed an unidentified male wearing a hooded sweatshirt. (I know; given today’s fashion statements, that would make most of the kids in school a suspect.) What tipped authorities off is the suspect was wearing latex gloves and carrying a box into the school but minutes later left empty handed.

Morton admitted that he was the figure in the tapes, but he said he was only placing a box containing an inflatable doll in the girls’ bathroom as a joke.

Holy Sex Toys, Batman! And what was up with the latex gloves? This kid may not be as innocent as we thought….smile.

According to Rush County prosecutor Phil Caviness, school officials were not amused as they called the bomb squad because they feared the box was dangerous and contained explosives. This prank cost the school an $8,000 service call.

Caviness was quoted as saying, "In this post-Columbine world, that's what you get when these kinds of things happen."

In addition to jail time and significant fines, Morton was not allowed to participate in graduation.

As a former class clown and prankster, my heart goes out to this kid. I know we should be cautious, but this is too extreme. We have an epidemic of young African American males who drop out of school, and here we push one out for a simple, albeit stupid, prank.

Kenya Brumfield, a supporter of Morton, has launched a Facebook page and blog that post updates to his case and assist in raising funds for his defense. Brumfield told BlackAmericaWeb.com, “I did some checking to make sure I wasn’t out there on a limb. His school record was good. Apparently, he’s never even been stopped for anything. He’s really a super, good kid.”

Should the kid be expected to pay the expense of having the bomb squad summoned? Maybe. But is jail time really necessary? In a day and age where youth are committing much more serious offenses, is this not over reacting?

I know many of us grew up in more innocent times, but in a media-driven, video game and Internet-obsessed society, can kids still just be kids? We can all recall some pretty interesting high jinks during our own coming-of-age stories.

To help put this into perspective, I offer Professor Locs’ Top Five classic high school pranks:

5. We had someone lie on the floor in the hallway and quickly outlined their body in chalk, circa CSI, right before the bell rang to change classes.

4. Wait for an unsuspecting victim to fall asleep on the bus. Fill their hand with oil, lotion or whatever Jheri curl product was available. Slide some string along their face until they slapped themselves into a hilarious, gooey mess.

3. Wait until Friday afternoon to stuff some victim’s locker with a few slices of lunchmeat. Then gather around for the big stinky reveal Monday morning.

2. Using a color marker, we secretly placed a mark on one of our fellow bus companions, then we’d inspect them the next day. If the mark was still there, the victim was publicly accused of not bathing.

1. Waiting for one of our friends to be absent from school. They would return to find mock milk-carton posters of themselves plastered all over the school. The real twist was that, instead of a reward, there would be a note from the parents saying how much they would pay the kidnappers if they kept the kid.

Are we being too paranoid these days? Yes. These pranks seem sophomoric to adults, but these are kids. So in support of young Tyell Morton, I challenge you to share your own youthful prank stories.

***
Professor Locs, aka Charles Easley, is an educator who explores race, class, gender, sexuality, media and popular culture with humor and insight. Click here to read his blog.

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