Gunn High School shuts down after-school robot program

Only in Palo Alto, Calif., would a public high school have an after-school robotics program (well, not really)—until now, that is. The after-school robotics program at Henry M. Gunn High School closed up shop for the year, and wouldn't you know it, not unlike any other hormone-teeming high school social sitch, an argument ending in a death threat over which kid would build their robot's drive train, a boy team member IM and email stalking and staring down a female teammate, restraining orders, and even a coach who plum gave up and took a leave of absence are to blame. Strange how despite themselves, even nerd social ecosystems resemble those of the greater high school melodramas of our time. Just with geekier means supplanted, of course.

[brunoflipper @ Dec 19th 2005 1:04AM]

"its sorta social, demented and sad, but social..."

[Exbzurg @ Dec 19th 2005 1:04AM]

brings back memories of my robotics club from highschool. good times...

[Rob @ Dec 19th 2005 1:04AM]

Yeah I did this program in high school also. A friend of mine up here at college was on that team last year, everyones pretty bummed out since it was a good team.

[Alan Anderson @ Dec 19th 2005 1:04AM]

Ryan, where did you get your details? They are a very sensationalized and exaggerated version of what I've heard from the people involved. (The newspaper report of the situation invented bodyguards and color-coded maps of restraining order restrictions where none actually existed.)

[OddManOut @ Dec 19th 2005 1:04AM]

Dagnabit! Someone beat me to the Breakfast Club quote!

[Brian C @ Dec 19th 2005 1:04AM]

I went to this high school. I thought it was a dorky school, now I know it. Please, death threats over building a robot. Get A Life Gunn students, and start partying for once in your lives!

[Anoym @ Dec 19th 2005 1:04AM]

Wow, this is really a bad report on what really happened. An the assumption that only a school in Palo Alto would have an after school robotics program is absurbed. There are 1000's of teams across the nation, even internationally and it's unfortunate that this teams bad fortune is making all the news for such a trivial matter.

[Steven O @ Dec 19th 2005 1:04AM]

It is bad news that the program shut down at the HS but I can understand. There should be none of that going on. The team competed in the US FIRST Robotics Competition (http://www.usfirst.org/robotics/) which has about 1000 teams with 36000 students around the globe. Most teams do not have problems like that (we have none at my school) and the students have a great, once-in-a-lifetime experience. All successful team follow what Dean Kamen calls, "Gracious Professionalism."

[misspicy @ Dec 19th 2005 1:04AM]

GRT has been and still is a role model team for they bay area. GRT is by no means dead. In the meantime GRT kids are volunteering at local competitions. They have a great robotics program at Gunn and I can't wait for them to regroup and compete next year.
814 <3 192

[Anonymous @ Dec 19th 2005 1:04AM]

As usual, the media didn't get the whole story out on this one. The real truth is that health and safety issues have been going on over there for the last 2 years! 4 kids were thrown off the team this year alone, and the teacher and Principal conspired to stop the robot from being completed - they even locked up the kit! At least the team's Animation is competing at the Silicon Valley Regional. Fortunately the team can be great again since the bully-loving teacher isn't returning to Robotics next year. FIRST Robotics, especially at Gunn High, has led many women into engineering, and supports the teams in any way they can.

[Anonymous @ Dec 19th 2005 1:04AM]

Uhh, the above comment isn't really true. I'm on the Gunn Robotics Team, and I'm not aware of any such problems. Although it may be easy to point fingers when stuff doesn't work out, I don't think any particular people are to blame.

[Anonymous @ Dec 19th 2005 1:04AM]

Although some of the articles put out have been exaggerated, there is a security guard (I've seen the guy, I mean, c'mon), and as for the color-coded maps, I don't know if they exist, but the two students who had the orders put on them have had their schedules and paths from class-to-class changed just to make sure the respective pairs of students don't come in contact with each other. As for the death threat, it wasn't serious; it was basically a rant in a blog. Safety issues are always big on ANY robotics team; it's not a problem just on GRT. We make sure all members of the team go through shop training and follow safety precautions to prevent any safety hazards. This year, two students were thrown off the team, and others left it of their own choice. Regarding this "bully-loving teacher not coming back next year" and locked-up kit business, I don't think that's true either. From what I know though, the team is competing for the Autodesk Visualization Award at the Silicon Valley Regional only. I'm not surprised this made the news; from what I can tell, GRT is pretty well-known; if you want correct info, the SJ Mercury is the place to go. Now can we please put this all behind us? What's done is done, GRT will be back next year, and we're all (for the most part) over it.

[Anonymous team member @ Dec 19th 2005 1:04AM]

The death threat could have very well been serious, especially coming from the person who said it. Our team is very safe when it comes to learning machinery, but people wise, there are many issues. Things like that shouldn't be taken lightly. There were many other problems as well. As for the kit, it was removed from access by team members, and the school strongly discouraged finishing the robot for the competition. I don't believe any parties involved wanted GRT to end, they just wanted safety. Also, the SJ Mercury, although so far is more correct, still has wrong information. My suggestion is for people to keep an open mind and realize this is far more complicated than what you've heard. I agree with putting this behind us, and await the return of GRT next year.

[Jesse @ Dec 19th 2005 1:04AM]

Can you paraphrase your second sentence?

[A FIRST Team Member @ Dec 19th 2005 1:04AM]

I have one question: WHY, IF the Robotics teacher (Dunbar) was as committed to the team as he professed to be on TV 2/28, did he bail
out on them in the middle of the robot build period to take a medical leave, instead of hanging in there until after the robot was finished? He should be the one taking the heat for the robot not being finished, instead of the 2 students who obviously deserved the restraining orders (otherwise the Judge wouldn't have granted them).

[John Smith @ Dec 19th 2005 1:04AM]

I just wanted to let everyone know that the original report on what happened is completely inaccurate. I am a student from the Gunn Robotics Team and I would like to set the record straight; anonymously of course.

First of all, it's not as though the entire team is fighting against each other. There are two specific students and one specific parent who were out to get Mr. Dunbar and screw over the whole team from the beginning (last year, to be precise). Mr. Dunbar asked the parent to leave the team because he was a complete a$$hole and everyone hated him. Mr. Dunbar did the right thing. However, the parent is a complete loser who has nothing to do all day and loved bossing the students around, and so he was really pissed when Dunbar told him to leave.

From that point on, it was just the parent and two students basically trying to screw over the team. The restraining orders had absolutely no validity whatsoever, and during the court hearing the two students lied blatantly under oath to substantiate their claims, and the judge believed them.

The death threat was not at all serious. Everyone on the team hated the student at whom the death threat was made, and I can tell you personally from being on the team that the death threat expressed quite well the feelings of almost everyone on the team.

As for the "threatening stares" and emails that the other student complained about, that's just completely ridiculous. Basically, the guy who was accused had once, a year ago, had a crush on the girl. Since she needed some way of complaining about the team to screw us over, she transformed this tiny incident into a huge issue.

And as for the idiot who wrote post number 15, I have this to say. Dunbar DID NOT ditch the team in any way. It is absolutely impossible to run a team when there are two restraining orders between students on the team. And after having been cross-examined and humiliated by one of your own students in court, you'd want a medical leave too. That's exactly what the two students and the parent wanted---for the team to get shut down in the middle of the build period. And for the very parent who started this whole thing to say what he said in post 15 is despicable beyond words.

[A thought @ Dec 19th 2005 1:04AM]

I'm sure the validity of the judge is absolutely in question. I mean a federal court judge doens't have anything to do with the truth of anything. They aren't proffesionals who's job it is to find the truth at all. There is a reason why they are elected as impartial people who find the truth behind subjects. Who are you to say that a death threat is valid or not? You are not the one who is responible for the lives of others so please do not discuss validity. If you think things are lies back it up. Show evidence. I personally would loveeee to see what evidence you have showing "lies" thank you. post 16

[Daniel @ Dec 19th 2005 1:04AM]

I'm a novelist, and usually just make things up. But this event -- the good parts and the bad parts too -- is fascinating to me. I want to write about it. I'll be in Palo Alto next week. Is there anybody connected to the GRT who would like to talk to me? Let me know, you can find me through my site. Thanks.