Dec. 20--Here's the plan. When second lunch comes around, I'll get out of class, and we'll go get the copies and place them in front of each hall so every passerby can grab one. If I don't make it in time, just go without me. Here's the locker combo.
At second lunch, I got out of class and went to find Nemomancer and The Retro Ranger. They weren't at their usual hangout. I went to the locker to grab the issues to get ready for our plan. They were gone. I thought I made it on time, but I was wrong. I went searching for them. I saw no issues at the entrances of the halls. "Oh shit, where could they be"? Finally, I saw a student with a copy, walking aimlessly as his face stayed buried in Oblivion. I asked him where he obtained it, and he said there were some kids giving them out and security had caught them in the cafeteria. "Oh no, this is not good."
I went to the cafeteria and found Retro sitting at a table with a bag of chips. He filled me in on everything that happened. They took him into an office adjoining the cafeteria and took all his issues of Oblivion, including the copies that were in his bag. They asked him questions like "who is doing this?" "who is Jane Doe?" and "do you believe all this?" They were now going through the same process with Nemomancer.
After speaking with Nemomancer, things looked better. The vice-principal said it might be possible to get the copies back, and he would call us. Winter break ensued, and we were anxious to get them back.
Jan. 4--Nemomancer was called in to talk with the principal. He inquired about who was behind Oblivion among other things. Retro was called in and underwent the same questioning. Being the one whose locker they were in and the one who brought them to school, I was called in and the situation repeated. The principal said we would probably receive five day suspensions for distributing an unauthorized publication.
Later, Dagda was called into the office. A teacher had seen the Oblivion web site and recognized his handle. Not being computer literate, the principal assumed the site was on school computers and requested that it be taken down. Dagda informed him that he wasn't going to take it down and that there was nothing he could do about it. This was reinforced when the principal consulted with a computer literate teacher. He then told Dagda that it would be a good idea to take it down and left it at that.
Jan. 5--Near the end of the day, I was called in to the vice-principal's office. The vice-principal handles discipline, and this is where I would find what reparations I would face. After a lengthy discussion, I was informed that I was being suspended for five days for distributing the publication. I told him that they couldn't suspend me for that because I did not distribute them. He said that I brought them to school, and that was the same thing. His argument was that if I had marijuana in my locker, it would still be a crime even though I wasn't distributing it. "What? So possessing literature is the same as possessing marijuana?" Then he said that my intent was to distribute them, which it was. "So you're suspending me for my intentions? For thinking about doing something?" The conversation ended shortly thereafter. I don't think I made a friend.
I left his office with only a few minutes left in the school day. Nemomancer and Retro were waiting in the office for their turn to talk with the vice-principal. He would inform them of the same thing I was informed of, that we would most likely be suspended for five days.
Jan. 7--Nemomancer and Retro were called in once more to talk with the vice-principal. They found out they were not receiving five days suspension, they were receiving one day of Saturday work. Strangely enough I was never called back to talk with administrative officials.
Later in the month, I was facing suspension for an attendance problem (tardies). My father received a letter from the school so he went in to have a conference with the vice-principal. I don't know how long their conversation was on the subject of my attendance, but somewhere in their discussion, the vice-principal asked my father if I had told him about "the other problem" I was involved in. He then went on filling him in on all the details and showed him a copy. The copy had every profane word highlighted among other things. My father told me that after "scanning" through, he couldn't believe some of the things we said. He thought that the article about the teen prank was trying to relate the prank to an advocation of suicide when, in reality, it was simply telling the story of a woman who said that and the people who disagreed. It seems that a high lighter can do wonders for your argument.
Nemomancer and Retro did their Saturday work, and nothing has transpired between the Administration and Oblivion since. We have decided not to try and give issues out on campus anymore. Hopefully, we can avoid this crap in the future.