A 16-year-old Aberdeen High School student, who served as a student counselor at the Harford Glen Environmental Education Center in Abingdon, was arrested Friday after police found seven knives in her possession while on the premises.
According to the Harford County Sheriff’s Office, just after 10 a.m. on Friday Harford Glen staff learned that a student counselor was in possession of knives. A Student Resource Officer was immediately contacted and responded to Harford Glen, while the girl was asked to report to the nurse’s office with all of her luggage, so she would not be near the elementary school students who were visiting during the week. In the office, the girl asked to pull everything out of her back pack and suitcase. Seven knives ranging in size and style were recovered.
The administrator of Harford Glen contacted the girl’s mother and advised that her daughter was being charged with possessing a weapon on school property and disturbing school operations, police said. The mother signed the arrest form release agreement and her daughter was released back into her care at just before 1 p.m. Friday.
The girl had reported to Harford Glen on Tuesday and was due to leave on Friday. All knives were confiscated by the Harford County Sheriff’s Office.
“We have no reason to believe that the student intended to harm anyone, however, carrying weapons of any kind on school property is a serious offense and one that is not taken lightly,” Harford County Public Schools spokeswoman Teri Kranefeld said. “Appropriate disciplinary action has been taken against the student involved.”
The Harford Glen property is owned by the Harford County Public Schools, which has operated a residential outdoor education program for students on the site for the last 30 years. From the Harford Glen website:
Since 1980, Harford Glen has offered a unique experience to Harford County Public School’s fifth grade students. The three and a half day residential outdoor education program allows students and teachers the opportunity to be immersed in environmental education. Using the theme of Environmental Stewardship, fifth graders learn about the world they live in and their role in protecting, conserving and improving natural resources. Upon returning to school, teachers have the option to implement a schoolyard habitat project. This project will demonstrate student knowledge of what they have learned at Harford Glen.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly attributed Kranefeld’s quote.
If she meant no harm than why arrest her and tar her future. Is there no room for discretion in this ridiculous politically correct world we live in.
No, Not in the day and age we live in.
She got arrested because the laws are very clear. Knives in the possession of a student on school property are considered weapons and this warrants an arrest. So many of you are making light of the situation, even apologizing for the girl. I would be very concerned about the decision making capabilities of a 16-year old who knowingly brings SEVEN knives to a place where she is responsible for the safety and well-being of 50 or more 5th grade students.
Don’t think for a moment that this student did not know she was breaking the rules. It is in the student handbook/agenda that every student receives at the beginning of every school year that weapons of any type are prohibited on school property. I know of at least one student at my school a few years ago that was arrested and suspended for carrying a pocket knife. You cannot chalk this up to “she didn’t mean to hurt anyone”. If she thought it was ok to bring these knives with her, who knows what else she may have thought was ok?
Is there some way to scan individuals before they come onto school property. There is signs saying that individuals are subject to metal detector searches, but in alot of the school cases where someone brings a knife or a gun to school you here about it after the fact. Who does the metal detector searches? seven weapons is alot, one is Bad enough but seven what was she planning on doing? Did she want to teach a pocket knife class? was she going to cut Rope. Was one blade not enough? was she a Ninja warrior with throwing stars? There is a Big problem here, what ever the reason I will have to evaluate this program and find out weather or not to place my child in a dangerous situation where the counsler or babysitter are carrying multiple weapons and disrupting school activities, thats something we rarely see in an elementry school, The other thing is what type of screening is involved with the counslers? Somewhere there was a break down of communication where this Counsler thinks its normal to have in her possesion multiple weapons, I dont think that the Swat team carries that much gear. What is the measures to ensure that the next youth Counsler is not carrying Billy Clubs and Chains, with spikes and brass knuckles?
maybe she wanted to work for the Dagger!
LOL!!!!Anyone else care to take a STAB at it?
no but i just wanted to say Shank you, and Shank you very much
This ain’t funny, so CUT it out.
i was just Sharpening my reading skills
i just wanted to take a HACK at it!
Wow, I was a counselor there and we thought we were bad asses for sneaking in late night pizza deliveries. They do teach some survival skills, perhaps she was preparing for the Zombie Apocalypse
Exactly! Not the zombie apocalypse, but anyone who ever was a scout knows a knife is integral with survival teachings. But now this girl will have this black cloud over her head. Granted, 7 knives is a little excessive, but lets use some common sense as her intent was not to hurt anyone!
Carrying knives and teaching survival techniques was not in her job description!
no it wasnt and she knew the rules! she should be ashamed of her self
She’s still a minor, so it’s unlikely this will impact her future at all. Nobody will know about it, generally speaking.
I was wondering if it was a case of culinary knives. Menacing, but necesary for kitchen work.
And in case of a zombie apocalypse, you might come up short with just a “knife.” I’d recommend something with more range.
You can’t have justice when laws are absolute. When they discovered that she had a collection of knives on school property, they have no choice but to call the police. As a sdtudent counciler at an outdoor program, I would think her intrest in knives are related to camping. On the other hand even my 2nd grader knows that you can not take a knife on school property. I know this girl knew that she would be in a lot of trouble if she got caught. I hope that the consequences of her actions fit her crime and are not a one size fits all punishment. This will effect her future because of the type of “crime” it is.
My 14-year old son can be a real doofus sometimes. I was cleaning out his backpack the other day and found his pocket knife in the bag. It turns out, he’d used his backpack to go deer hunting with his dad and forgot to take the knife out of the bag. It’s a good thing I caught it before he went to school! I think it’s true that sometimes kids do forget about stuff in their backpacks, but I don’t think you’d forget that you had seven knives in your bag!
To everyone who thinks she was carrying them on purpose, she always has them in her bag. She always has collected them and carried them. She’s a great person, gets straight A’s, and is a very faithful Christian. The comments are rude. You people don’t know her. This article makes her seem like a psycho. The media really twists things up.
No where does this statement reflect her name, number or address, so i dont know how it affects her at this point she remains a jane doe,
This is a Big problem if you knew that she always carries them you are risking someones safety, your a problem if you didnt do something. Thats the same as saying well my friend drives drunk so thats acceptable
You standing up for this young lady’s character is admirable, but also completely irrelevant. If, as you say, she always carries them, then she has been bringing weapons to school every day for quite a long time now. Someone with the moral character you describe should know that what she is doing is wrong and against school policy (and local laws).
Don’t blame the media for reporting the facts of the case as they have been presented by the Sheriff’s Office. Nowhere in the article was her mental health questioned. Several posters have questioned it, but the media has not. I question her decision-making ability. I don’t know who this young lady is, but I would be very concerned about having someone in class who has knives with them. When you inevitably respond by saying that she doesn’t take them to class, she keeps them in her locker, I get to respond by saying that it doesn’t matter. If this weren’t someone you knew–if this was a student from Bel Air or Joppatowne–would you feel the same way you do now?
Um, yeah. No. The article doesn’t make her seem like anything. It makes her look pretty foolish for making such a poor choice (intentional or unintentional).
What makes her look like a psycho is probably the people in her circle of life who didn’t know this about her and wonder, quite normally, why in the world she always carries around knives with her.
And thats really the only way this influences her life short or long term.
No way she’s getting charged as an adult and juvenile records are sealed, and when she goes to college nobody will ever know.
This has gotten way more attention than it deserves already.
Her lesson is to be a little more street smart and think with your head on. There are brilliant people everywhere who do fundamentally stupid things.
There was no reason for her to have brought these. I have been a counseler there 3 times and there is absolutly no reason why she would need these. The scary thing is that she was sleeping less than 5 feet away from the 5th graders. She is lucky that they did not get injured. She has no reason at all. The campus is completely safe and they would not need to be used for protection. We are choosen because we are such good students and good people. We are required to have a 3.5 GPA and a clean record…not even a detention! She is giving a bad rap to us counselers and I am ashamed. Harford Glen is not a joke. It is a great oppurtuniy for these 5th graders and the teachers do a spectacular job. This is the first time many of them have been seperated from their parents and it is the first time many of their parents, “release the chains.” I am scared that parents will not allow their children to come becuase of what this immature girl did. This is a fantastic learning expirience and the HG staff and program does not get as much credit as they should. This is a wonderful program and I am sad to say that I only have 2 more oppurtunites to go before I graduate. The weeks that I have gone have been some of the best of my life and I would never trade them for anything. This is a shame.
This is a smart girl making real dumb moves, not only at school but on the street, is this young lady trained in hand to hand combat, whats the deal?> she better check her self before she wrecks herself, this is real serious business, get caught somewhere else and they might label you a terror threat, pull one of those blades out and you might not make it home, so girl out there if your reading this, put the blades down, and maybe take up Karate, or boxing, or even wrestling
This has nothing to do with race religon grades or attendance this has to do with her piss poor decesion to revolt against the state laws set up to protect our Childern, The laws protect are kids, period they dont discriminate. I think that this young person needs to be educated on COMAR, also anyone who has the balls to pull a weapon out to show off with better be prepared to take a few beatings, people dont realize how quick they can be killed with theese objects,
This program is one of the best experiences of my Life, Not only do we as counslers learn about the Environment and get to work with Children we get away from all of the hustle and bustle of the bricks and the cement for a few days. From the time you arrive you are welcomed by a heart warming staff, who is ready to teach. There is alot of responibility as a counsler, from helping 5th graders unpack there bags to just being a friend. Also the rules are explained even before you get there and for this one bad apple to just not care does not speak for me or anybody else. I have been to state parks, and other secluded areas, and this is one of the best kept secrets in Harford county, I must say that i feel very safe here, and for one person to bring negative attention to a very secure, well maintained, clean, healthy, child friendly place is out of touch. This person made a mistake yes, but she made the wrong mistake 7 times, and she was a threat to the teachers, kids, and other who enjoy this place. so i do not feel bad for her, she made a choice and knew the rules, and i hope that this doesnt make you think this is a dangerous place because its not.
This girl is a terrific girl. I do understand why she must face charges because she broke the rules and had weapons on school grounds. However, I know her personally and that she meant no harm with these knives. She is a Straight-A student, and a faithful Christian. She meant no harm to anyone. She is also a faithful girl scout, and camps a lot. She has also been to places around the world using her time to help others in need. She was very excited for this opportunity to go to Harford Glen and enjoy nature and help 5th graders out. So, even though she made a big mistake by bringing knives to camp, she is a very nice girl and did not mean any harm. Also, as a former counselor Harford Glen ONLY picks the top students. As stated earlier, to be a counselor you must have awesome attendance, a 3.5 GPA or better, and no detentions or referrals or anything. You must be an almost perfect kid. You also must be trustworthy and recommended by a teacher. Harford Glen puts their trust in these students to follow the rules, and in this one case out of the THOUSANDS of counselors that have been here, one person made a mistake. However, they meant no harm. So please do not blame Harford Glen for this. They have great security and only pick the best of the best.
Great she’s getting straight A’s and is a good Christian! All good things, BUT bringinging weapons to school deserves a harsh punishment if for no other reason than she knowingly broke local and state laws that purposefully endangered innocent kids and adults. A not so nice student could have found them and used them to harm others… They have no place in school! Have fun at alt. Ed
Whether the girl is a good student or not, she still broke the rules and must be punished for it. Also, Harford Glen should not get a bad rap for this. I have been a counselor there 2 times so far and I have loved it. The program is terrific. All the counselors there are great students with great GPA’s and clean records. Harford Glen only picks the best of the best. Just in this instance, one broke the rules. But even though parents may be worried, Harford Glen is a very safe place and they put safety first. Harford Glen gets less respect then it should get.
Unless the school can provide evidence that their ‘No-Knife’ rule was properly diseminated to their camp workforce, and willfully ignored by this 16-year-old camp counselor, this looks to be another case of administrators making a mountain out of a molehill, or in this case, making a scapegoat out of a good student.
I’ve visited Harford Glen, and since I did not do so through an academic program, my impression was ‘nice nature area’ rather than ‘a school’. At summer camps and parks across the nation thousands of people camp, visit, and and walk about with knives, but this one camp is going to punish a 16-year-old worker for having one. A KNIFE IS A TOOL, and just about the most useful and versitile tool that can be kept on one’s person, especially at a camp in in the woods (which Harford Glen is). If a box or package needs to be opened, twine or rope needs to be shortened, a stone removed from a shoe, a burr removed from a piece of wood, or food ingredients prepped to edible/cookable size, what would the camp management say? “Employees must gnaw with their teeth, because knives are dangerous and forbidden”?
I feel sorry for the people are are frightened by the idea of someone possessing, but not threatening anyone, with a knife. They must live in perpetual terror, what with all the hammers, automobiles, sharp pencils, hockey sticks/baseball bats, scissor, etc. in the world.
My daughter brought home a card and has done so every year, regardless of what school she attends, that says that weapons are not allowed in school or with school associated events. They clarify in the accompyaning literature that the bus, bus stop and other buildings count. It can not be anymore clear. She was at a school system facility. Having been to Harford Glen do you think smoking or drinking is OK there?
Also, in the Harford Glen handbook it lists there rules, and all of the SCHOOL RULES as well. So they had rules stating that you couldn’t bring weapons.
Fair enough, HighSchoolStudent. If the counselor knew the rules, and chose to break them, then penalize her under the rules. Do keep in mind the rules say no weapons, and under MD law § 4-101(a)(5)(ii)(2) a penknife/pocketknife is not a weapon, so you can only charge the counselor for blades that do not fold back into the handle. This is unless you are applying MD law § 4-102(a)(4)(b) which bans knives in general, but then you would have to arrest every adult park conservator, kitchen staff, groundskeeper, and administrator possessing so much as a kitchen paring knife. If you’re going to run strictly by the rules, you can’t apply the rules according to your personal view on who they apply to, you have to treat every person equally.
Actually you can because in some cases rules do not apply to some people. For example a lighter held by students is against the rules but a chemistry teacher may reasonable need matches for their job and thus have one. We differentiate rules all the time. 5th graders at Harford Glen can not have a cell phone but I believe the conselors can.
CDEV, lets try to keep to facts germane for this incident. I would not expect drinking at Harford Glen on account that (a) the National Minimum Drinking Age of 1984 says minimum age of 21, and (b) Maryland State Park service already bans consumption of alcohol save in cabins/motor homes/with permit. As for smoking, MD state law would come into play banning minors from possessing or using, then any state/county/municipality rule on tobacco use in the park. School rules are the least authority, the last rung of the ladder to be considered.
As for the real issue, if as you have said that administrators have done their duty in disseminating clear rules, the remaining point to prove is that the 16-year-old had ‘weapons’. If under § 4-101(a)(5)(ii)(2) she had knives other than penknifes/pocketknifes (which are not defined under MD law as weapons), then you can charge her. If you are charging her under § 4-102(a)(4)(b) which prohibits all knives on school property, then show that Harford Glen is owned by the school. Of course, since § 4-102(a)(4)(b) does not list school officials and parent volunteers as exceptions, please arrest them the instant they pick up a paring knife to cut an apple or a penknife to trim a hangnail.
If you plan to go No-Tolerance strictly-by-the-book, then apply the law exactly as written and to all applicable parties, not just who you think it should apply to. This is why No-Tolerance can also be No-Common-Sense.
No I was talking about you. When you travel to Harford Glen do you think smoking is OK? Using Tobacoo products on school property is a violation of the Drug free schools act. I guess you would arrest every caferteria worker. The law differentiates between knives as weapons and legitimate educational materials.
CDEV, whether the focus of your question was myself or a school student, my answer remains the same. If there is a law banning public consumption of alcohol in a state park, it does not matter if the consumer is a student or a senior citizen, the state park law bans alcohol consumption equally for all persons before any age specific law would come into play. The same is true for tobbaco use; if there is a law encompassing all persons that forbids smoking, then it does not matter whether a person is 16 or 60, that activity is prohibited.
You seem unable to comprehend that I am not advocating alcohol or tobacco use, but rather am standing for correct implementation of the law. When a law is implemented, it should be correctly interpreted and equally enacted on all applicable parties. In this case, if some of the counselor’s knives were kitchen knives, do not charge her for them unless you will charge the kitchen staff too. As MD statutes and case law have demarked pocketknives/penknives as not being ‘deadly weapons’, you cannot charge the counselor for having a ‘deadly weapon’ if she had a penknife. Other laws against knives (including penknives) may yet apply, but not that one. If the law has declared a type of knife to be a legitimate tool, then don’t apply double-standards based on your personal beliefs.
A bit of advice, CDEV: people will take you more seriously if you calm down and avoid the emotionly charged outbursts. Learning to spellcheck helps too.
Apologies on that last bit about the spellcheck; if you ended up re-typing your post a couple times due to the website timing out as I did, and indeed there is no spellcheck computer function here, then typing errors are understandable.
I stand by the rest, that my point is for laws to be fairly and equally applied to all applicable parties, with addendums and supplements to the law taken into account with the primary law.
I personally would not want every cafeteria worker arrested for having a paring knife even if the law demanded such, my personal opinion says this is absurd and would run contrary to the law in that case. Nevertheless, personal opinions on how the law should be play no part in how the law currently is. I would say that, if paring knives were permitted as legitimate tools and not weapons, you cannot spare one group and charge another without a specific law allowing such. Hence my earliest arguments that a knife legal to possess under the law (penknife) cannot be used to persecute one party (the counselor) and not others (camp staff). This could be permitted if there exists a supplemental law excusing the camp staff, but absent the supplement the law must be applied equally.
CDEV,
I’m not sure what all of the ruckus is about. The student has known full well for a long time full well what the policy is and she knows full well what the penalties are likely to be if violated. So she violated the policy with – count them – not one knife but seven. Now she pays the penalty. Seems pretty logical to me. I don’t think she will make that mistake again. She’s a minor so her privacy is protected therefore no long term issues.
Im sorry she’s a good kid who is in big trouble but like cdev said the rules are crystal clear and a straight A kid knows better… A knife may be a tool but so is an axe would be ok to walk around school with one of those or a chain saw every day?? A knife is also a weapon that can inflict fatal wounds plain and simple
Excuses, there is an endless list of tools capable of inflicting fatal injury, including an ax or chain saw. However, tools have intended uses and places where those intended uses occur. A student is not expected to be doing lumberjack work in school, so it is not reasonable for a student in school to have an ax or chain saw. A person at an outdoors camp would have legal and proper uses for a knife. Nice try for a straw man argument, but you are taking things to illogical extremes in an attempt to uphold your case, so I discount your argument on account of “Your Logic = Fail”.