Recently in Irving, Texas, freshman Ahmed Mahamed was cuffed and suspended from MacArthur High School for allegedly making a bomb. The lack of actions taken during the day have left numerous people feeling skeptical about the incident.

 

After being shown Ahmed’s homemade clock, his teacher jumped to conclusions and claimed it to be an explosive. Strangely, the school was not evacuated, nor was a bomb squad notified. However, the staff took pictures of this “bomb.” The required procedures that should have taken place when an alleged bomb is on campus were not taken which begs the question: what was their true intent in having a talented student arrested?

 

When taking key factors into consideration, such as Ahmed’s religion and location, it seems that those factors may have taken a considerable impact on the judgement of MacArthur staff. According to the Texas’s Historical Association, Muslims make up only a little over 1 percent of the population. Ahmed was humiliated simply because he made a clock. When a student comes into any school with an electronic device they created, it seems far fetched that the first conclusion a school staff member would jump to is “bomb.” The administration at MacArthur High allowed bias to cloud their thoughts when accusing this young man of creating a weapon.

 

Some say that the true intent of the staff was merely to humiliate a student. This may seem far fetched, but when everything is taken into account no other motive makes sense. They were not seeking to protect other students because the school was not evacuated. Then, Ahmed was even put into the police cruiser along with the “bomb.” It does not add up that they thought this was an actual bomb. Nothing adds up. MacArthur’s true intentions may never be known, but what can be taken away from this event is that race and religion may still play a larger role in the decisions of officials regarding certain students. This is unfair and unjust. No student should ever be profiled by anyone — let alone a teacher.

 

Happily, many benefits have came from this situation. Ahmed was invited to the White House and has received many enrollment offers from various schools in Texas. MacArthur High has apologized to Ahmed and hopefully another incident like this — or any incident where race or religion provides reason for bias — will not occur again.