By Orcas High School senior math and business class

Recently a lot of fuss has been stirring in the community over a class project at Orcas Island High School involving criminal suspect Colton Harris-Moore.

The project was culminated in a Math With Business Applications class by teacher Corey Wiscomb that challenged students to work as a team to create a design, digitally render it, have an apparel manufacturer ready to produce it, open an online credit processing account and a business email, and post sales advertising – all within four hours. The students created a Colton Harris-Moore t-shirt. Proceeds from the sales were intended to go to uninsured victims of Harris-Moore’s crimes.

“The base skills and process that we followed are exactly what it takes to open and run a small business online,” Wiscomb said. “And to their credit, the group of seven senior students had it all up and running in about three and half hours. They’re going to survive tomorrow’s economy because they have great ingenuity and follow-through.”

What Wiscomb and his class had not expected was a community backlash against the project. When some islanders heard that a school class was selling a Harris-Moore t-shirt, they were livid, and understandably so: Who would want their children promoting a criminal? But were the students promoting his actions or berating them? The design itself is slightly ambiguous to some, reading “You Betta Run Colt Run” (“betta” being slang for the word “better”), showing a silhouette of a male figure running with a police car and several officers in close pursuit.

“I don’t even understand why people are upset, it’s not like our design was promoting him,” said student Sam Prado. “What we were saying is that we’re coming to get you!”

As was the goal of project, and stated in the online advertising, the students intended to give 100 percent of the profit raised to the uninsured local victims of Harris-Moore’s criminal actions.

“We felt it was a good, creative way to start the healing process,” said student Alison O’Toole, “perhaps even help the forgiveness thing get started. He’s obviously an intelligent person, but he’s doing really stupid stuff.”

Even with a good intent behind the project, one victim of Harris-Moore who wishes to remain anonymous commented, “I wouldn’t take one red cent that has been raised because of that criminal.”

The class was ready to defend their stance until talk began to spread about community members not supporting the upcoming school bond in the August election due to the project.

The class decided to take a vote to determine the future of the project. Student Emily Diepenbrock’s comment summarized the decision: “It would be far harder to persuade the community that our project was not promoting him than to just drop it and save (hopefully) the far more important issue of the bond.”

And so the class has pulled the plug on all sales and permanently removed the shirt-design from the internet.

“I just don’t see the connection with why people in the community would vote against a bond that fixes the decrepit buildings that our children have to go to school in because of a school project that was trying to help community members out,” Wiscomb said. “It doesn’t make sense. Or perhaps it is true when they say no good deed goes unpunished.”

A tough, but important lesson for the young entrepreneurs as they discovered that there are times when one needs to stand up to an issue, and other times that one needs to fold with dignity. As is often the case with youth, the class just wanted their voice to be heard, and to let the community know their intent was noble.

Soccer athlete and youth boxing champion Luis Fernando Arevalo’s comments speak a great deal as to the spirit and belief of the class: “He’s no Robin Hood. He’s just a petty thief. I hope I do see him so I can run him down and drag him to the police myself.”