Posted May 2nd 2007 7:30AM by John Bardinelli
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Joystiq and
FortBendNowA Chinese student was removed from Clements High School in Fort Bend, Texas after parents complained he had re-created the school grounds in a game and uploaded the map for his friends to play. The boy was placed in the district's alternate education school and later arrested, as the police considered him a "terroristic threat". The Chinese community and the boy's mother have rallied behind him, saying the school has acted too harshly in the wake of the Virginia Tech shootings. No charges were filed, though the boy won't be allowed to participate in graduation ceremonies.
The map the boy designed mimicked Clements High School. And, sources said, it was uploaded either to the boy's home computer or to a computer server where he and his friends could access and play on it. Two parents apparently learned from their children about the existence of the game, and complained to FBISD administrators, who investigated.
Richard Chen, president of the Fort Bend Chinese-American Voters League and a acquaintance of the boy's family, said he is a talented student who enjoys computer games and learned how to create maps (also sometimes known as “modsâ€ÂÂ), which provide new environments in which games may be played.
“They arrested him,†Chen said of FBISD police, “and also went to the house to search.†The Lin family consented to the search, and a hammer was found in the boy's room, which he used to fix his bed, because it wasn't in good shape, Chen said. He indicated police seized the hammer as a potential weapon.
While an agenda document does not specify details, the board is holding a special meeting tonight to address the boy's actions and the discipline that was meted out as a result, sources close to the matter say. The boy's name was not identified last week, and the district has declined to discuss his case.
Here's an update:
from FortBendNow
Computer Game Violence Level, Confiscated Swords Led To Student's RemovalOfficials also weighed whether there might be a connection between the swords found in the boy's room, and “weapons depicted in the game itself,†Simpson said. “You see these big, dark hands with knives in them†in the boy's modified Counterstrike version.
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