Kids suspended for FaceBook posts

[cheermom1]

Agreed.

And keep in mind too- these schools aren't near each other. These kids aren't going to run into each other at the mall. They most likely wont' see each other again until next basketball season- and if they graduated this year, probably never.

well if that is the case what was the school thinking?

 

[TheZue]

Ya I get there was no bullying, but I just don't like going to the blanket statement of the school should NEVER intervene. I don't think they should have in this case but wouldn't say they never ever should. And again, if it was my kid they'd be in way worse shape at home and that five day suspension would be the least of their problems.

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

well if that is the case what was the school thinking?

Political correctness gone amok. They made insensitive remarks tied to race and sexual orientation. That had to be punished, and the school didn't trust the parents to do so...

 

[quentina]

Agreed - if this happened to one of my children, I would probably bring in my lawyer.

That said, it offers these kids a valuable lesson. Actions have consequences. You can control your actions, but not the consequences...

I think it would depend on the schools's bullying policy. Our district does include bullying via cyber space. As a parent, I would not defend my child for these actions. I do believe that the disiplice is required at both home and school.

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

I think it would depend on the schools's bullying policy. Our district does include bullying via cyber space. As a parent, I would not defend my child for these actions. I do believe that the disiplice is required at both home and school.

Sighs - There was no bullying...

 

[gina2000]

Cyberbullying is "is the use of electronic means by a minor to torment, threaten, harass, humiliate, embarrass or otherwise target another minor."

Fits the definition as far as I can see.....

 

[dakcp2001]

Again, there was no cyber-bullying. This was childish name calling. There were no threats of any kind.

Not sure how this thread jumped to that conclusion. Read the article...

In my opinion, the reason the school reacted so harshly is because of the inappropriateness of what was said. It just could not go ignored, due to the severity of the comments. There were no "threats" but name calling is bullying. It wasnt like a normal "you stink at basketball" kind of trash talk.


I think the parents of the other kids (the one that the statements were ABOUT, would def consider this a crime) These kids are def going to learn about consequences, and I think their parents need that lesson as well. Better to get suspended from school then get arrested, or shot or stabbed for making a comment like that in the real world. Where I come from a comment like that, on facebook even, would def make you unsafe. But I live in a city where kids shoot each other for far less than that.

 

[TheZue]

Either way they posted really stupid things online and it came back to bite them in the rear. If they had been employed they probably would have been fired for it. You can't put that crap out there like that. While the school is wrong, paying for a lawyer would only make the kids feel right; and they aren't right either. The only way I'd pay for a lawyer for my kid in that case would be if they paid me back, plus a fairly high interest rate. For Christmas they could have a credit towards their debt.

 

[dakcp2001]

TheZUe- Love the Nannerpuss! lol

 

[beattyfamily]

The school is damned if they do and damned if they don't.

Here in MA, a 13 year girl old killed herself for being teased via Facebook. The school did nothing (at first) and everyone was up in arms. They have since done something about it.

Bullying is also name calling, insulting and embarrassing among other things.......IMHO.

 

[Mermaid02]

They might as well suspend the entire school if "name calling" is grounds for suspension- and most likely most of the faculty too. And I dare say- every person on these boards has at one time in their lives, resorted to name calling.

 

[LisaR]

If these kids were in 7-11 after a game and a teacher overheard them call the other team ******s and illegal Somalians, would anything have been done?

I agree that cyber bullying is a real problem and needs to be taken seriously. Name calling is a whole other thing. If they said they wanted to beat/strangle/maim/cause any type of harm to said "illegal Somalians" now I see a problem. This is an issue that the parents alone should have to deal with.

I do, however, believe that this is what the world has come to. Don't post anything on the internet that could have even the slightest chance to come back and bite you.

 

[golfgal]

My school had a "Code of Conduct", I am not sure how common that is, but this would certainly violate it. Perhaps instead of the school the comments should be reported to the police instead, they could be considered a hate crime.

Same here, as well as the state high school league. The kids AND PARENTS have to sign both so they know full well what it expected. There was a high school near here that suspended several athletes after someone posted pictures of them drinking at a party. Our state high school league rules are VERY specific about this and most schools have a guilt by association rule meaning if there is a party and there is alcohol and the party gets busted EVERYONE is in trouble, drinking or not. Again, parents and students have to sign this so there is no excuse for not knowing what is expected. If the kids broke the code of conduct--they are out, period.

Sighs - There was no bullying...

Cyberbullying is "is the use of electronic means by a minor to torment, threaten, harass, humiliate, embarrass or otherwise target another minor."

Fits the definition as far as I can see.....

Exactly, name calling is most certainly bullying--the most common FORM of bullying actually. You don't have to threaten anyone with anything for it to be bullying. The point is moot since the code of conduct was broken anyway.

Employers have been known to fire employees for similar incidences. What REALLY bothers me is that people think there is something wrong with disciplining these kinds of actions. It is actually really, really sad that so many people here would "bring their attorney" and not but the kid's butt for being so stupid You wonder why kids act this way--they know Daddy will bail them out.

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

...I do, however, believe that this is what the world has come to. Don't post anything on the internet that could have even the slightest chance to come back and bite you.

Exactly. Some people will find offense at anything, so don't say anything that might offend someone. Sad - oppresses alternative view points very effectively. There was a time in our history when we would have argued for the rights of these kids to say these things, wrong though they may be...

 

[englishteacha]

I haven't read all 3 pages, so I apologize if I repeat what someone else said.

Here in Maine we have 1 to 1 laptops provided to all students grade 7-12 through the state Dept. of Ed. Most schools have a code of conduct of acceptable internet use, as well as guidelines for sportsmanship. I don't know what Brewer's policy is, but in our school, students are not allowed to use their school laptops for social networking like Facebook and MySpace. We have had high instances of cyberbullying, so we limit what students can do on their school laptops, even if they do get to take them home.

Many Maine schools have a code of sportsmanship as well and students can be disciplined by the school if they say or do something unsportsmanlike. This includes outside of school hours like at a b-ball game. If these kids had said this to an EL student in person, they would have been in just as much trouble. Since it was in writing on the other school's Facebook fan page, it was all that much easier to prove what was "said."

 

[TheZue]

They might as well suspend the entire school if "name calling" is grounds for suspension- and most likely most of the faculty too. And I dare say- every person on these boards has at one time in their lives, resorted to name calling.

I have, but I've never been dumb enough to publish it using my name in the most public medium ever invented. I also don't use racist and homophobic slurs to insult people regardless of where I am. I think the fitting thing would have been if they were sued for libel. The ****** slur probably would be sufficient grounds for it. That would have been great.

Freedom of speech isn't meant to spread lies and hate against people. Slander and libel laws have always been in place. You can't say whatever you want. Expressing an opion is not the same as out and out lying about somebody.

 

[TheZue]

I do, however, believe that this is what the world has come to. Don't post anything on the internet that could have even the slightest chance to come back and bite you.

Well to be fair it is the most effective form of mass communication ever. If somebody wrote an article about some kids and claimed they were illegal immigrants without being sure about it, and published it or posted it all over every telephone pole in town it probably wouldn't have gotten as much attention as putting it on the internet. And if it was untrue there would have been equally harsh concequences.

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

...Freedom of speech isn't meant to spread lies and hate against people. Slander and libel laws have always been in place. You can't say whatever you want. Expressing an opion is not the same as out and out lying about somebody.

You probably already know this, but name calling is not "slander" or "libel". Name calling, if it conveys a threat, is legally problematic, but otherwise is protected. For instance, I can call use a racial slur on national television to describe someone. I would face no legal ramifications. Social ramifications - you bet - but freedom of speech allows me to use those slurs...

 

[Mermaid02]

They said the most controversial comments referred to the Auburn school as “just a bunch of Somalians,” that a basketball player was “probably an illegal immigrant,” and another response contained the word “******.”

This is from the article- there is a large Somali population in the Lewiston/Auburn area.

Those don't sound "threatening" to me. Sounds more like sour grapes because Brewer was "taken to the woodshed" in that game! I bet the Edward Little players saw it for what it was- a bunch of whiny kids who lost.

Edited to add: sorry for the ***** word. If you go to the article you can see it.

 

[Nancyg56]

I can't imagine paying for a lawyer if my children said that junk. They would be on their own on that one lol. That would fall under sometimes life isn't fair, but you shouldn't put that out there on a public media. You're lucky it wasn't an employer who saw that.

And fun thing about this, I bet when they go to get jobs since their parents are fighting it if their employer googles their name this will pop up.

MTE. If any of my kids did this they would be dealing with the consequences. I would not be calling an attorney, i would not be complaining to the school system. i would be addressing this with my kids. I raised my kids to know that in the event they were disciplined at school....there would be discipline at home. And yes.....employers do check FB posts and make hiring decisions based on them. Would these parents then be complaining about this? Well, perhaps.

The school is damned if they do and damned if they don't.

I was going to post this. I am not sure that I agree with the decision that the school made but I do feel that if this escalated and someone got hurt the school board would be facing lawsuits.