Gray Areas of Blogs and Social Networking
By Krista on Jun 10, 2006 in Legal, Security, Social Media, Web 2.0
It’s always a good idea to monitor what you write about less it come back to haunt you one day. What you post on blogs and social networking sites like MySpace and FaceBook can hurt your job prospects, be used as evidence in against you, and even get you fired. But the line between appropriate and inappropriate behavior is one of interpretation, as 17 year old high school student, Miles Haggard, learned recently.
A junior at Plainfield South High School, Haggard vocalized his concerns about the school district on Xanga.com. Part of his comments included
“I feel threatened by you. I can’t even have a public web page without you bullying me and telling me what has to be removed. The kids at Columbine did what they did because they were bullied.”
The school district took these comments as threat and suspended Haggard for 10 days. They will meet Monday, June 12 to discuss whether Haggard should be expelled or forced to transfer to another high school to complete his senior year.
His parents and attorney thinks the school is overreacting. Says his mother, Lori,
“It’s not right. He did not make a threat to the school, he didn’t threat anyone at that school and he’s never threatened anyone at that school,” said Lori. The school superintendent released a statement which reads in part, “When a (web) posting threatens the safety and security of students or staff, it is our responsibly to look into the matter.”
What constitutes a threat? Does the mere mention of the Columbine shootings constitute a threat? Or is this just a side effect of our war on terrorism and culture of fear? Where do you draw the line between genuine concern over a threat and censorship?
To me, it seems like the school overreacted, but then I don’t know this kid’s history. Perhaps there was evidence that he might do something violent. The news article paints him as a good kid who has gotten into trouble in the past… but can we trust the media? It will be interesting to see how the school rules on Monday.
Tom | Mar 4, 2007 | Reply
Miles has been a great friend of mine since the beginning of our highschool career and this entire blog just proves how rediculous plainfield south highschool really is. I attended for freshmen sophomore and now senior year at this school and even now I am hounded by the staff. Some teachers hall monitors and deans are ok but in some cases I feel that some of these people are just out to have fun by making kids life hell in school, possibly just because it makes them happy. I myself have a new dean this year and I have never been a good student as far as academics and behavior, but I usually had excellent attendance. I started off this year away from my parents which is a story in itself however now I have much more responsibility. I pay rent, gas for my car, school fees and tuition, insurance, and any added or extra expenses for possibly food, girlfriend, car problems, tickets, ect. At the end of the month it all adds up and I sometimes come short and dont have money for things. I commonly buget and take away from clothes shoes(mine are talking now)and holidays. Now I am on a final contract for missing 7-9 days of school this semester. About a week ago i came to school late 20 mins. and because i am on a contract my dean has to be notified everytime i come late or if i am absent. My dean(Adkins)came out of his office and into the main office in front of everyone there, students, parents, and staff, and said in front of these people “Tom if you are late or tardy to class again I will drop you, go to class” In person it was much more chaotic, but to me I was in no position to argue or say another word so I just went to class. Now tomarrow is pulaski day. My boss asked me if i could work 10-6 tomarrow and i said i cant i have school, he replied no you dont nobody in illinois has school its pulaski day tomarrow. I said ok and said i will work tomarrow and then he told me that the reasoning for this is that illinois has the second highest population of polish people in the world, second only to poland itself. tonight i went to hang out with my friends and we got in an argument about having school tomarrow and i used that line about how illinois is only second to poland in polish population then he showed me the school calender which showed the days off of school and pulaski day was not one of them. Now I am in a situation of work vs school, clearly any parent would say school to their child however i dont live with my parents and i need money for the month more now than ever. So I will call tomarrow and ask to speak directly to mr Adkins and be as courtious as possible. i will ask him to not count this against me and I already know that he will drop me and if i am dropped from any class i cannot pass highschool due to lack of credits then i can no longer attend highschool, not enough money, cant stay where i am for more than this year of school so thank you plainfield south, the only jackass school in illinois that i know of who doesnt get Pulaski day off!