Idiots at school

Give it back to the VP and let them deal with it.

I hope this VP person apologised to you.

Fretwrecker94 said:

Here's the breakdown
-Kid shines a laser at other kids eyes
-I get blamed because I have the rep of "that laser guy" since I build them but would never assault someone with one.
-I tell the VP who it really was
-I explain why this could be very dangerous
-VP asks me to meter it since I told him I have one and if its over 5mW it could have caused some damage
-It turned out to be ~30mW
-I'm debating whether or not I should keep it from this kid by paying him off since I'd rather be out $10 than have kids get injured.

I think Sigurthr and Vk2fro are right. I should just hand it back, tell him the mW Rating, explain what harm it can cause at that power, and tell him I don't want anything further to do with it.

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If I were you, I would stay altogether away from the situation. Explain the situation the vp and let him deal with it.

In the future let them search your locker or whatever voluntarily (they can do it anyway), and then demand an apology in writing for the accusation.

Yeah but what gives you the power to buy the laser off the kid? Did the VP give you the laser to keep? Because I doubt very much the VP is going to give the laser back to the kid.

OK, I'm not calling you a liar, but this is not how situations like this are handled. Anything worth taking away from a student is just kept by the office, and parents would be called if there was a danger. He shined it at peoples faces here. They wouldnt be handing the laser to another student, no matter the reason. And they wouldnt hand it back to the kid, giving you the chance to buy it. That's F**ked up.

Do you take your lasers to school (except for science projects etc). If not tell them so, and explain that you know the dangers, and would only bring one along for science class for experiments.

Stix62 said:

I hope this VP person apologised to you.

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Yeah he did, he's a pretty reasonable guy

Tech_Junkie said:

Yeah but what gives you the power to buy the laser off the kid? Did the VP give you the laser to keep? Because I doubt very much the VP is going to give the laser back to the kid.

OK, I'm not calling you a liar, but this is not how situations like this are handled. Anything worth taking away from a student is just kept by the office, and parents would be called if there was a danger. He shined it at peoples faces here. They wouldnt be handing the laser to another student, no matter the reason. And they wouldnt hand it back to the kid, giving you the chance to buy it. That's F**ked up.

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Nah, the VP just asked me to meter it and report back with the results. You're probably right that he'll confiscate it. I guess I was planning for the event he would give it back to the student. Honestly the kid would probably sell it in a heartbeat for a few bucks for who knows what. I don't know anything about what punishment he'll get. Our VP doesn't know anything about laser safety/danger so that's why I'm going to tell him what kind of injuries it could cause.
You're right that this isn't how situations with students with weapons are handled, but it seems that people like my VP, who has no knowledge of lasers, do not think of them as a weapon so much as a "bright gadget".

vk2fro said:

Do you take your lasers to school (except for science projects etc). If not tell them so, and explain that you know the dangers, and would only bring one along for science class for experiments.

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I've brought a lab style module that I built to school twice. I cleared it with this guy and explained to him that the safety keys, which I put on a ball and chain necklace, and my locked case would make it unable to be operated by anyone except me. He just assumed "this kid builds them... he must be responsible somehow"

*Edit* both times I brought it were for science projects

Fretwrecker94: I know you have your heart in the right place in this matter, but don't even touch that laser, let alone offer to buy it or--heaven-forbid--modify it. If that moron does cause some incident, you're going to be pulled into it just like you were pulled into that VP's office and blamed.

Distance yourself from such people, and make it known that you are not associate with such people, or their lasers. You don't want any connection to these people or you could be liable for such things. You could be, for example, blamed that you did not report a laser you knew was dangerous or some other completely idiotic charge. Even if you are guiltless, the legal charges can be very painful to deal with.

If your VP asks you to meter it, or whatever, great. However, get in writing that you are not liable for anything regarding that laser, that the laser is not your property even if it is in your temporary possession, and has not been altered or modified by you, and also that the use of the information regarding the power level of that laser is not guaranteed, and definitely not your responsibility nor liability (for example, if someone accuses you of not taking that "dangerous weapon" out of the hands of someone who blinded another because you "knew" about its danger).

If some incident does occur, and you are being blamed for something criminally, keep your mouth shut. Why? Because anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. To read that another way: nothing you say can or will be used for you in defense. Let the lawyers and evidence present itself. Don't say something that you think will helpful to your case, because ultimately unless it's presented as evidence in a court it is hearsay, and can be forgotten, misinterpreted, or outright changed against you.

This video covers the topic exactly.

In any case, make sure you don't do anything that would compromise your position, like taking into possession other peoples' lasers.

My opinion would be to depotmod it and give it back.I would make the laser 5-3mW.But maybe he pot-moded the laser before?

Spyro said:

My opinion would be to depotmod it and give it back.I would make the laser 5-3mW.But maybe he pot-moded the laser before?

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If you knew this kid you'd understand why assuming that is giving him far too much credit. This is the kinda kid who doesn't even know that an AAA battery has 1.5V. He knows "button down, light come out" and nothing more.

Fretwrecker94 said:

"button down, light come out, act like an asshat" and nothing more.

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Corrected.

If that were me, I'd dial the pot back to <1mw. That way this moron can't hurt anyone anymore. Those people that he did that to probably have permanent eye damage for life; you should rub it in this idiot's face and make him feel really sorry about it. Never let him forget it. Make sure he understands the severity and make sure he understands it well to the point where he won't want to touch a laser ever again.

Tech_Junkie said:

In my day I'd slap him up the side of the head, and tell him if I caught him doing it again I'd shove it up his a$$.

I do some volunteer work up in the mountains every year. Last year we had some collage students working with us. I showed off my laser, and the first thing one of them says is "can you use that to blind people?" My heart dropped. Another one asked if it could burn holes through people. Faceplam. One kept offering money, up to $400, to buy it and I said forget about it.

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Ugh, honestly people like this make me sick. And I'm not exaggerating; they actually make me feel a bit sick inside. And you declined his money on moral basis, good for you! In my opinion people like that should have any kind of laser. Even if the guy was just joking (Which he probably wasn't), if he's going to make jokes about that then it means he doesn't think anything of it and shouldn't be allowed to carry a laser.