You have to admit; simply taking the casing off a store bought 80's clock, putting it in a suitcase and bringing it to school could easily be grounds for a bomb hoax.
Yes, but the possible input to a chess game is strictly limited - one player cannot just change the way a piece moves or introduce a new piece, and thus, it is not taken into account in any strategy. These sorts things must be taken into account when programming.
So they should get away with it to ensure that their funding isn't cut? I'm intrigued what you'd consider a "big enough" risk that they should face punitive measures.