Texas teen kicked out of school for creating Counter-Strike map

This school's response looks like a reaction to the discredited link between violent games and the Virginia Tech shootings. Although no video games were found in the dorm room of Virginia Tech shooter Cho Seung-Hui, the "link" between the tragedy and games like Counter-Strike was trumped up by pundits like Jack Thompson and television personality Dr. Phil. The nonstory gained traction in the mainstream press and may be a factor in the unidentified student's suspension.

Counter-Strike, the game that Cho Seung-Hui allegedly played in high school, is a popular online first-person shooter that pits teams of terrorists against counter-terrorists is a variety of scenarios. Players can also design their own maps for the game, and apparently the student in question created a map based on his high school. That was enough to have him sent to an alternative school, despite the fact that he had no disciplinary problems or incidents of violent behavior. "He did it at his house. Never took anything to school. Never wrote an ugly letter, never said anything strange to a student or a teacher, nothing," said board member Stan Magee to the Houston Chronicle.