PETOSKEY — As a new school year quickly approaches, Emmet County Prosecuting Attorney Michael Schuitema is asking parents to talk with their children about what they’re posting online — and warning that threats will be taken seriously.
Schuitema told the News-Review that in any given year, it’s not uncommon for the prosecuting attorney’s office to see at least one false threat made toward a local school.
“It doesn’t happen every year, but it is something we deal with on a somewhat regular basis,” he said. “The response is all-out, because we’re all aware of what can happen with school threats when they’re followed through on.”
Schuitema said a school threat — even ones made as jokes — have to be taken seriously and can cause trauma for students, staff and their family members.
Oftentimes, school threats are made shortly after another incident happens elsewhere, with people trying to gain notoriety. Schuitema told the News-Review that while people often make these threats intending for them be taken as a prank or a joke, there are real-life consequences.
“It helps to be open and transparent with the families and the kids that even though it may seem like a joke … it is a serious situation and it is going to be addressed seriously by law enforcement,” he said.
Schuitema recently posted a letter addressed to school parents, teachers and staff members to highlight the seriousness of threats. Making a threat against a school can lead to various charges — some of which are felonies and can lead to imprisonment for up to 20 years. Additionally, students making threats could be expelled, lose scholarships or financial aid, or be required to disclose pending cases and criminal convictions on future college and job applications.
Schuitema said he wants kids to know their words can have legs of their own, especially through social media and internet communication.
“Once you send something out into the internet or out into social media it can be forwarded on to any number of people and it can catch fire and it can easily cause a lot of people to become scared and concerned — and rightfully so,” he said.
In addition to concerns about school threats, Schuitema reminded students that it is illegal to make, possess or distribute nude images of anyone under the age of 18 — whether real or artificially generated. In the letter, he said there’s an increase in activity of people asking for nude images, as well as threatening to share the images with others if the student doesn’t provide more photos, money or complete other acts against their will.
“I believe that if we’re going to go through another school year where we don’t have to deal with this it’s going to be because the parents take the time to talk to their kids about responsible use of cell phones and social media, and responsible use of their communications within their friend group and others, and that they understand,” he said.
Schuitema said he hopes that with the whole community working together, and families being open and honest with their children about how they use cell phones and social media, they can have a successful school year.
— Contact reporter Karly Graham at kgraham@petoskeynews.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @KarlyGrahamJrn.
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Emmet prosecutor urges parents to discuss responsible internet, phone use with students
Reporting by Karly Graham, The Petoskey News-Review / The Petoskey News-Review
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