Brickbat: False Alarm

In Vermont, Burlington High School principal Debra Beaupre has resigned amidst controversy after pulling a fire alarm at the school when there was no fire. Beaupre said she was trying to defuse a fight between students. Beaupre, who was just short of five months on the job, had been on paid leave since the incident in October.

Comments

[Nazi-Chipping Warlock]

Awwwww. I was sure this was going to be about Jammall Bowman.

[TwilaMiller]

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[Don't look at me!]

Awwwww. I was sure this was going to be about Jammall Bowman.

Nope. No charges filed. Like nothing ever happened.

[Mockamodo]

She should know only congress critters can do that and walk away from it unscathed.

[Adans smith]

I'm thinking she's glad to be the hell out of there.

[Fist of Etiquette]

It's their fault for putting it right next to the fight alarm.

[mad.casual]

Just like the patriarchy to erase Sandra Day O’ Connor’s “… and you can’t pull a fire alarm during a fist fight, either.” interpretation of the Schenck decision.

[Chumby]

Some quotes by the obese, uncomely former principal:

I realize that this alternative was stressful in the moment, as fire drills are surprising and signal an emergency ... I regret if any student or staff member is experiencing any lingering unsettledness

And added that she decided to evacuate the building to ensure safety and provide emotional space to students and staff amid a heightened, atypical situation.

[Inigo Montoya]

What a dummy. Doesn’t she listen to the news? She should have lied and said she was hurrying to get to a meeting and simply mistook the fire alarm for a door-unlocking switch.

[Earth-based Human Skeptic]

Practicing for a stint in Congress?

[Think It Through]

Sounds like innovation and quick thinking to me.

[Naime Bond]

'....Beaupre, who started on July 1 of this year, had been the school's fourth principal in three years....' Had she pulled a 38 special instead of a fire alarm she'd probably be up for some kind of award.

[mad.casual]

Suggesting a less violent way for the two combatants to work out their latent homoerotic urges probably actually would have.

[mad.casual]

Not to get all libertarian here, but when we say "pulling a fire alarm at the school when there was no fire" do we mean "... and the sprinkler system kicked on doing millions in damage to the facilities and two students suffered crush injuries in the evacuation." or do we mean "... and the fight was successfully broken up, everyone else got a 30 min. break from their mandatory indoctrination, and nothing else happened."?

I mean I don't mean to be any sort of free speech absolutist and I know skin color is the most important thing but isn't or shouldn't the libertarian issue be actual harm (or total hours in an indoctrination center)?

[Minadin]

If she just pulled the fire alarm manual pull box instead of setting up a scheduled fire drill through the alarm system, then the fire department would have been notified automatically and police, fire and ambulances likely dispatched.

In many municipalities, you can be charged or even arrested for causing a false alarm.

[mad.casual]

In many municipalities, you can be charged or even arrested for causing a false alarm.

Right. I'm certainly not arguing for any special treatment and I'll absolutely be the first to tell you that no one is owed a public (school) job. Just trying to be clear about the critical libertarian aspects considering how we always go over how everyone loves to drop the "and causing a panic" and "clear and present danger" whenever anyone invokes OWH Jr.'s "fire in a crowded theater" quote in a pro-/anti-speech debate.

The firefighters get paid either way and I've seen plenty of false alarms where nobody gets charged for anything. Again, certainly not arguing for special treatment but, at the same time, she didn't have an SRO choke anyone out, nobody got their legs broken being trampled by their peers (right?) and maybe she owes the taxpayers a couple hundred bucks for lost time and the spent diesel fuel?

Personal bias/full disclosure: We had an active shooter scare at the local HS a while ago at the beginning of the week. Classes were optional the rest of the *week*. There was no ammo in the gun, no threats were made, and the situation was completely resolved before the police managed the 3 min. trip across town but, still, people who were nowhere near the gun that couldn't go off had to take a mental health week... from HS.

[Chumby]

By the looks of her, and being in Vermont, she knows Ben and Jerry quite well.