a little overreacting by the idiots that run the school???? Original Article E-mail divides Marcos parents Fight warning spread fear Colleen Sparks colleen.sparks@arizonarepublic.com The Arizona Republic Dec. 17, 2005 12:00 AM Suspending or expelling a student for sending a text message that warned a gunfight might break out at Marcos de Niza High School on Friday is not the appropriate punishment some parents say. "I think it's wrong to treat it as a threat," parent Marci Beaudoin said. "He was not threatening. I think that the district is reacting to the e-mail instead of the danger that exists on campus." Nearly one out of every four Marcos de Niza High School students skipped classes Friday after rumors that a gunfight would break out, although no violence occurred. The text message the student sent this week came after two fights broke out at the high school Monday. The student apparently heard that the fights were going to escalate into gunfights on Friday, parents and students said. He was trying to warn his friends so they didn't get hurt, Tempe police Sgt. Dan Masters said. But his friends sent the messages on to other students and the text messages spread like wildfire, building fear among the campus teens and their parents. The message the student wrote was: "If you have friends at Marcos, tell them to be safe Friday . . . A gunfight may break out, and some people may die." Linda Littell, Tempe Union High School District director of communications, said the student who sent the text message faces 10 days of suspension to expulsion. His name was not released. Retired Marcos administrator and former Marcos parent Bill Vanney said it is hard to say what an appropriate punishment is without knowing the student's whole story. But Vanney said schools should take a tough stance on threats. "You have to take a strong position that this is not acceptable," Vanney said. "You may want to remove that person from the situation until you are able to collect more information."Marcos student Atraio Navarro, 16, said students often send each other text messages at school. Navarro said a 10-day suspension is appropriate for the student because "a lot of people got worked up" over the text message. But he said he does not think the student "was threatening anyone at all." Tempe parent Susie Aragon sent her two children to Marcos on Friday, but doesn't agree with suspending the student. Aragon said she is glad that word spread quickly about the potential danger, however. "They should have other punishments besides having them (students) suspended because they are losing time at school with their work," Aragon said, adding that students who miss school could get into more trouble. Despite fears, Friday was calm at the high school, Littell said. Eight extra Tempe police officers patrolled the school as a precaution. About 450 students called in absent Friday out of the nearly 2,000 students at the Tempe high school. Police could decide Monday whether to file any criminal charges against the student, although it's unlikely. Reporter Katie Nelson contributed to this report.