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Verifying a news story?

Beth

Philosopher
Beth
Joined
Dec 6, 2004
Messages
5,598
News story I was sent:
Doodle' gets high school teen expelled

MCHENRY, Ill., Jan. 18 (UPI) -- A 16-year-old boy who doodled an alleged gang symbol in his notebook has been expelled from high school in McHenry, Ill.....The Chicago Tribune reported board officials said a doodle of a crown, a cross and a spider web with the initials "D.L.K." in the middle was a symbol of a street gang. The youth's full name is Derek Leon Kelly....
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It's from United Press International at http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php

Now, if true, I would think this story would be in the news. Maybe not major news, but at least locally it would be discussed. All other articles I can find on this reference this one as a source. McHenry Ill. is real enough, but when I googled on the kids name, I didn't get any local news hits which makes me suspect the story is bogus.

Now, given the current political climite in the U.S. I don't find it completely unbelievable , but I do find it implausible. Any ideas (or sources) to confirm or debunk this story? Anyone know how reliable UPI is as a source of news?

Thanks.
 
Beth said:
News story I was sent:


It's from United Press International at http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php

Now, if true, I would think this story would be in the news. Maybe not major news, but at least locally it would be discussed. All other articles I can find on this reference this one as a source. McHenry Ill. is real enough, but when I googled on the kids name, I didn't get any local news hits which makes me suspect the story is bogus.

Now, given the current political climite in the U.S. I don't find it completely unbelievable , but I do find it implausible. Any ideas (or sources) to confirm or debunk this story? Anyone know how reliable UPI is as a source of news?

Thanks.
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I can't confirm or deny this story, but several years ago (during the Clinton years), my pseudostepson was expelled for some drawings and notes. They weren't even gang symbols. There were some notes on a video game, and a hand-drawn map of the school. Also a xeroxed copy of an article on the Holocaust (he's a Jew).

I wanted to fight it, but his biological father and mother were (and still are, I suppose) spineless wusses, and I didn't have any power. At least I'm not married to her any more.
 
True story:

Way back when I was in the 3rd grade (around 1968 or so), my class was asked to write a short story in my English class. Being an impressionable Canadian youth, I wrote a story titled "Hells Angels on Sleds". I went and googled "Hell Angles on Wheels" and saw it was released in 1967. I guess that was my inspiration. It was a good story about a bunch of hoodlums on sleds (dang, I wish I still had it).

My teacher seemed quite aghast. She took me aside and asked me why I would write such a story. I doubt that I had written about any sex or violence in the story (I didn't "discover" girls until later). Still, I remember the teacher's reaction to this day.

Charlie (spare the creativity and spoil the child) Monoxide
 
Reminds me of a Norm MacDonald news story on SNL a number of years ago.

"A 27-year postal worker was fired this week for keeping two magazines that were addressed to non-existent addresses. Postal officials admitted they could have let him off with a warning, but then he wouldn't come back some day and kill everybody."
 
A crown and cross are symbols of the Latin Kings street gang around here, especially so when combined w/ the letters "L-K".

"D-L-K" could very well be initials of a gang slogan, I know for certain that "L-K-N" stands for "Latin King Nation" for example. Graffiti w/ those exact initials w/ the crown and/or cross adorn many a building in the Chicago metro area to mark the gangs turf. And though it is primarily a Hispanic gang, it has both black and white members.

Now, it could all be a bizarre coincidence that this kid happened to draw such symbols together in complete ignorance of their significance, but it's also very unlikely.
 
WildCat said:
A crown and cross are symbols of the Latin Kings street gang around here, especially so when combined w/ the letters "L-K".

"D-L-K" could very well be initials of a gang slogan, I know for certain that "L-K-N" stands for "Latin King Nation" for example. Graffiti w/ those exact initials w/ the crown and/or cross adorn many a building in the Chicago metro area to mark the gangs turf. And though it is primarily a Hispanic gang, it has both black and white members.

Now, it could all be a bizarre coincidence that this kid happened to draw such symbols together in complete ignorance of their significance, but it's also very unlikely.
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Especially if he saw his initials, or something close to his initials, spraypainted on walls all the time. It would certainly catch my attention and stick in my mind if "KL" was spraypainted on a wall.

Mind you doodling a gang symbol (especially one with a coincidental link to oneself) is not exactly evidence of hardcore villainy.
 
Kevin_Lowe said:
Mind you doodling a gang symbol (especially one with a coincidental link to oneself) is not exactly evidence of hardcore villainy.
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No, but it has no place in a school. If the different gangs are allowed to put their symbols anywhere they want it leads to violence. To a gang member, a rival gang member fashing his colors is equivalent to fighting words.
 
WildCat said:
No, but it has no place in a school. If the different gangs are allowed to put their symbols anywhere they want it leads to violence. To a gang member, a rival gang member fashing his colors is equivalent to fighting words.
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Was the kid in question "putting his symbol anywhere he wanted it", "flashing his colours" or doing anything else likely to cause trouble?

There's clearly a difference between private doodling and the public display of a symbol as a means of group identification. If he was just doodling he has my sympathies, but if he was engaging in gang behaviour he does not.

Is this another one of those US "zero intelligence" policies in action? It sounds like it could be.
 
"A 16-year-old freshman sketched a cross and a crown with five points, among other figures, on paper."

Anyone else find this odd?
 
Art Vandelay said:
"A 16-year-old freshman sketched a cross and a crown with five points, among other figures, on paper."

Anyone else find this odd?
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At first, I was going to say "no", because there are a lot of dumb kids. Then I realized that yes, it is odd, that nobody socially promoted him anyway.
 
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