Facebook Photos Land Eden Prairie Kids in Trouble 626
slim-t writes "The Star Tribune is reporting that students have been disciplined for photos of them on Facebook. 'Eden Prairie High School administrators have reprimanded more than 100 students and suspended some from sports and other extracurricular activities after obtaining Facebook photos of students partying, several students said Tuesday.' Is the school right to do this? My opinion is that the students should know not to post pictures of yourself breaking the law."
I'd just like to know what all those administrators are doing cruising Facebook pages looking at the students in their school.
Hah. (Score:5, Funny)
Looking for delectable jailbait, of course.
Re:Hah. [[ Supposedly pics were delivered (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Hah. [[ Supposedly pics were delivered (Score:4, Insightful)
I was in the EP school system from Kindergarten until halfway through 9th Grade... and I recall it was pretty clique-ish and people were particularly nasty and cruel to other kids.
Most people might say it's the same in every high school, but I went to 3 high schools my freshman year (EPHS inclusive). And the high school in Connecticut and especially the high school in Arizona were a LOT nicer in terms of students' attitudes and treatment of other students.
Sounds like revenge!
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Re:Hah. (Score:5, Funny)
Masturbating, of course. The internet means you don't have to wait for the goddamn yearbook any more!
Re:Hah. (Score:5, Interesting)
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So much for that idea of "the punishment should fit the crime". Hmm, what you are saying or portraying is disagreeable
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Re:Hah. (Score:5, Insightful)
Not that I'm all bonered up about annihilating a kid's future because he/she did some stupid shit while they were young, but the line must be drawn somewhere. Using school equipment to post pictures of highly illegal exploits is beyond that line.
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Re:Hah. (Score:5, Insightful)
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You must be american.
The reasonableness of drink laws aside, every culture has norms or laws that others find odd.
For example, the German's outlaw NAZI symbols - understandable given their history but still odd to others who view free speech as important.
Godwin's Law.
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Because when an 18 year old votes, there is zero chance they'll kill someone due to their inexperience with voting. The same cannot be said of a 16 (or 18) year old who gets their drivers license and to celebrate, gets drunk and goes driving.
Yeah, yeah, parental responsibility and all that. As a recent article on here related, teen brains lack impulse control. They don't have the
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MADD is a dangerous organization because they are truly a temperance society, as evidenced by their support of unreasonably low BAC limits under 0.10 that
Drinking vs. Voting (Score:3, Funny)
Mom, Dad, I've been watching the debates and reading the questionnaires and following the issues, and I think I'm going with Sam Adams over Heineken. See, the objectification of women in the Heineken commercials is something I want to avoid, and Sam Adams is made here in America. Plus I'm not entirely comfortable with the way they get their hops from Germany, because I don't know if ther
Re:Hah. (Score:5, Insightful)
In the case from the article, that could be certainly be true. I'm glad I'm no longer in school and that when I was I didn't give a rusty rat fuck about scholarships or any of that. It's far too cutthroat for me.
Re:Hah. (Score:4, Funny)
No, but it certainly helps!
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Befriending your students is a good thing. The problem here is that some do-gooder snitch was cruising Facebook for pictures of students doing things they shouldn't and turned them into the administration, who made like good little fascists and punished said students for things that happened off campus, which should be firmly outside the jurisdiction of the school administration but unfort
Won't somebody think of the children? (Score:4, Funny)
Er, wait
Re:Won't somebody think of the children? (Score:5, Funny)
WHAT they're thinking of the children, though, you probably don't want to know.
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Don't they have anything better to do? (Score:4, Insightful)
Also, if the students are breaking the law outside of school hours, isn't that a matter for the police and not the school?
Re:Don't they have anything better to do? (Score:5, Insightful)
This is the crux of the matter. Yes, those kids are idiots for posting evidence of illegal behavior for all to see. But the administrators have no jurisdiction over what goes on outside of school. He should have reported these pictures to the police, if anything.
Re:Don't they have anything better to do? (Score:5, Informative)
As far as taking pictures of doing something illegal, who cares, like one girl in the article said, they're just PICTURES..they don't prove the kids were DRINKING and even if they did, unless you are caught COMMITTING the act, the police can do nothing (except maybe stake out your party spot for next time!) if I was an enterprising kid, I'd take a bunch of pictures of my friends with EMPTY cans...and call a lawyer!! again, the administrator is getting into trouble here.
I understand the whole "teaching kids to be ethical" thing and "representing the school", but these are PUBLIC schools, no code of ethics applies to students required by law to go there except the LAW. Perhaps the principal could address the issue with PARENTS (who's job it is to raise kids!!!), but it's completely out of line to punish students for random events that happened sometime in the past... that reeks of corporate-fascism!!!
Re:Don't they have anything better to do? (Score:5, Insightful)
What if your parents caught you doing something illegal? Should they not punish you? Should they instead go straight to the police and turn you in? What kind of Gestapo bullcrap is that? Do you really want to live in a police state where you can't even confide in your own parents?
Consider the options. "You take the punishment we are dishing out or we turn these photos over to the police. Which do you prefer?" Most kids will take the school's punishment and they would be right and smart to do so. The school may or may not be dishing out appropriate punishment and that needs to be figured out. But they are at least trying to do the best thing for these kids and that is to discipline the kids without the extreme of getting the police involved.
There will be some who decide to not post their photos on facebook/myspace/etc... But most will still take pictures and that's still a liability. The school wants them to just not do these things in the first place. While they can't control people like that, they can influence and that's exactly what they are trying to do and that is the whole damn point of punishment.
Re:Don't they have anything better to do? (Score:5, Insightful)
As others have said, this all has to do with one thing: power. It's a lot easier to control kids than it is to teach them, so that's what schools do.
Fucking pathetic.
Re:Don't they have anything better to do? (Score:5, Insightful)
Reasonable to think they weren't drinking? (Score:3, Insightful)
That's not proof. I know it's unlikely, but unlikely is not how the law works.
The burden of proof in a misdemeanor case for underage drinking is beyond a reasonable doubt. If you saw a photo with a room full of people drinking out of cans and bottles clearly labeled as containing alcohol, in what appeared to be a party setting, what would you think? I think it would take an effort of willful blindness to buy the notion that they weren't drinking alcoholic beverages.
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Or these administrators could mind their own fucking business and stop wasting my tax money cruising Facebook for pictures of their students drinking off campus. That would prevent any additions to the kids' permanent records (snort) as well. I work for my damn money and if the government (state and/or federal) is goin
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If they wanted to do that, they would have contacted the students' parents. The school has no right to punish students for a possible "offense" that occurred outside of school grounds and hours.
The article even mentioned that some of the photos were taken during family vacations, which may have been in entirely different countries where the legal drinking age is lower. At least in the wedding pictures mentioned, one can be confident the students had their parents' supervision while drinking, which makes it
Re:Don't they have anything better to do? (Score:4, Insightful)
So really, they couldn't ignore it. Someone slipped them a CD with photographic proof, the cat's out of the bag. If I'm whoever sent that CD, and the school tries to ignore it -- I grab a copy of the student directory, and mail a copy of the CD to each and every students' house, addressed to the parents, with a nice letter explaining the administration not only knows about this, but is actively covering it up. And if I REALLY want to be nasty, I also send one to the channel 5 news, and the channel 7 news, and MADD, and the local state's attorney's office (among others), with the same insinuation -- 'School supports underage drinking!' tends to get headlines. {Not that I personally would do such a thing myself -- but whoever sent that CD obviously wanted to get these kids in trouble.)
Like it or not, avoiding this kind of political firestorm is part of the job of running any organization, schools are no different; they're supposed to be teaching the kids, not focusing on managing PR disasters. So no, the school administration can't ignore this.
Re:Don't they have anything better to do? (Score:5, Insightful)
It's pretty simple, really. If that "crime" has a victim, report it. If not, then let people make their own mistakes, especially if you're talking about something like drinking a beer. The most severe action that is warranted in that case is informing the parents. To compare that to sexual abuse and murder is absurd; to put it (very) mildly, this is comparing an apple to an orange.
I know this idea is very scary to all of you law-enforcement-fantasy types who really think you can legislate morality, but controlling behavior is the least of your problems. If you really believe that putting a substance into your own body that someone else might disapprove of is morally wrong, what you need to improve is the power of your message and the reasoning behind it, not the government school's power to manipulate behavior by means of sanctions. The first option might actually persuade people to see things your way; the second option will drive said behavior underground and result in people who are better at not getting caught (namely, by not posting evidence on a public network).
"I'd see the wisdom of..." (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Don't they have anything better to do? (Score:4, Insightful)
My guess would be some teacher caught a student goofing around on that FaceBook page, recognized what was going on in the pictures, and that's where this came from. I agree the administrator has better things to do than search FaceBook for this.
The kids are morons (but what do you expect from a 15 year old with the chance at "fame"). The first rule of Fight Club is you don't talk about Fight Club. The 1/2th rule about Fight Club is don't take pictures and post them on the 'net.
Is this legal? I'd say... yes. Kids have no privacy. They aren't adults. They deserve to be punished if they broke the rules. Now I have two ideas at this point. If they violated a code of conduct that they signed (like for a sport), then they need to face the consequences. They chose to do it. If it's a private school, kick 'em out if you want if they violated the rules. If it's a public school and the kid isn't in any activities, you don't have any authority to punish them, since there isn't anything to bad them from.
Either way, if the pictures clearly show them drinking, those should be turned over to the police/DA. If they want to do something, they will. If they don't, it's over. But there are crimes there (drinking underage, drinking and driving probably, supplying alcohol to a minor, probably others).
But really, they need to learn their lesson. When you do something illegal/wrong... you don't document it and post that on the 'net for everyone to see. That's just plain stupid.
Re:Don't they have anything better to do? (Score:5, Funny)
Note to administration: warrantless-wiretap the children to get the dirt on their parents.
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Re:Don't they have anything better to do? (Score:5, Informative)
340A.503 PERSONS UNDER 21; ILLEGAL ACTS.
Subd. 3. Possession. It is unlawful for a person under the age of 21 years to possess any
alcoholic beverage with the intent to consume it at a place other than the household of the person's
parent or guardian. Possession at a place other than the household of the parent or guardian creates
a rebuttable presumption of intent to consume it at a place other than the household of the parent
or guardian. This presumption may be rebutted by a preponderance of the evidence.
Re:Don't they have anything better to do? (Score:5, Interesting)
340A.503 PERSONS UNDER 21; ILLEGAL ACTS.
Subd. 3. Possession. It is unlawful for a person under the age of 21 years to possess any
alcoholic beverage with the intent to consume it at a place other than the household of the person's
parent or guardian...
Here in Georgia, they have been running ads and propaganda about how drinking under 21 is harmful and illegal, including parent's hosting of "drinking parties" for their underage kids. While the laws here are obviously different and still heavily conservative/religiously based (one of 3 states with no sales on Sunday still enforced as a State law, which the governor refuses to repeal (vetoed again last year on the basis that it teaches "time management") ), citing that drinking anytime, any amount before being exactly 21 years old as harmful is ridiculous. Kids will do stupid things, and when I have them, if they want to drink, they will whether I want them to or not. I would rather they do it with supervision of an adult, preferably me. This is about as idiotic as the policy of "stop handing out condoms because it encourages sex" crap. Arresting parents for doing what they are supposed to: monitoring and supervising their kids to keep the stupidity under control, is counter productive. Its also evidently not a state law as identified here [nih.gov], though they sure make it seem that way.
To re-link this thread back to the article, kids do stupid things, but the control of that stupidity is their parent's responsibility. The school really has no right to dig into the non-school activities unless it poses a threat to the school itself. If, as has been said higher up, these activities were reported to the school, the school's responsibility ends at notifying the parents and possibly local authorities (if legal infractions are severe enough: ie property damage).
Enough ranting....
Tm
Re:Don't they have anything better to do? (Score:5, Informative)
Here in the UK you are not allowed to buy alcohol until you are 18 but you are allowed to drink on private property from the age of 5.
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Yeah (Score:2, Funny)
Sure makes you wonder, doesn't it.
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Isn't it easy? (Score:5, Interesting)
Maybe it will be a good lesson to these idiots not to document their wrong-doing.
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Re:Isn't it easy? (Score:5, Insightful)
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Let them eat cake (Score:2, Interesting)
Reminds me of this NYT article [nytimes.com] on some George Washington University students who trapped their administration busting parties and had a great time at it as well!
This would seem to aid one of my longtime complaints; namely, that many schools at all levels of education spend far too much money on administrators and not enough on teachers... If they have time to be nosing around students' lives on Facebook, they probably don't have enough real administrative work to do.
Rights not online (Score:4, Insightful)
This isn't a "rights online" question. It's a natural consequence of the stupid prohibition laws we have. They need to be repealed.
If the only way anyone found out about the drinking was looking at Facebook after the fact, then how was it harmful?
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I tend to agree that 21 is too old when 18 is old enough to vote, but this is a really poor example to hold up to argue that point.
Re:Rights not online (Score:5, Insightful)
How is that? According to the article one kid was just holding a drink. Another was standing behind a bar. The article makes no mention of any crazy antics. You're making that assumption because they're young and got in trouble.
The problem here is the system, not the students.
Re:Rights not online (Score:5, Interesting)
Surely you're not telling me the legal drinking age in the US is 21? Hell.. I the worst hangover of my life was the day of my 16th birthday when I could finally drink legally (everyone in this country drinks illegally from about 14). The second worst hangover was at the school party that year where they'd thoughtfully provided free drinks..
You'll never learn to drink responsibly unless you've drunk irresponsibly a few times when you're younger. OTOH I was drinking wine with meals at 7 years old, so was kinda used to it by then.
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Of course, getting drunk is much less a problem than to get shot. That's why you can't go to the army unless you're 18, but are allowed to drink at age 16.
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Did nobody even bother to read the article?
Let me post a few interesting bits that should answer about half of the "insightful" questions raised in the comments today:
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I'd say both sides are wrong (Score:4, Insightful)
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Maybe these pictures were posted by the students themselves, but not posting pictures of yourself does nothing to protect you from this shit.
The problem simply lies in the students underestimating the level of surveilance in our society. It isn't spy satellites or cameras on roofs, its just other people. If someone can see or hear you, they can record it without you eve
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Jurisdiction? (Score:2, Interesting)
What the hell, man? I've asked before and I ask again: what the hell gives schools such a wide bullshit jurisdiction?
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Similarly, if the kids had been busted by the police, the police would notify the schools and the kids would be suspended from games. T
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Students get bad rep; parents decide not to send little Jimmy to "that school with all the drunks"; school either has to put up with the children of parent who don't give a fuck about who their kids mix with or reduce intake, which means reduced budget.
There: wasn't that complex really, was it?
TWW
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Yeah, right. (Score:3, Insightful)
First off, the kid is a liar.
Second of all, if he's freely distributing evidence of himself breaking the law, he's lucky it's just his school that is punishing him.
Third, he's lucky it's just him getting punished and not his parents.
Kid breaks law, gets in trouble. The internet was mildly involved. News at 10:00. Bitching on Slashdot at 9:30.
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Most schools I know of have codes of conduct which prohibit such behavior, whether in a school function or not. At a minimum that code of conduct typically states something like "you shall obey the law at all times".
So, obligation no, right yes.
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Because now the character of the students is brought into question. The student is drinking underage, and was careless enough to post pictures of himself doing so. The school now has the responsibility of being certain that this student has never brought, and has no intention to bring or distribute alcohol on school grounds.
I had a friend who was a cop who explained it to me as this: Police Officers a
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http://kstp.com/article/stories/S307125.shtml?cat=1 [kstp.com]
One of the best parts is that, in their defense, one of the students said some of the pictures were over 4 years old! So if they're seniors that would be pix of them drinking as freshman.
My wife is a high school teacher... (Score:5, Interesting)
She doesn't do it because she's out to get them, though. If she learned that a student was smoking weed at a weekend party, it's not like she'd call the cops on them. I think she does it just to get a better sense of who her students are as individuals, and can then better tailor her instructions to each individual.
Let's say Katie is really emotional, and loves to answer questions in class. However, Katie has just gone through a rough breakup with her longtime boyfriend (we learn over myspace)... My wife would be a bit more understanding about why Katie is acting so depressed.
Or, she may learn that a student routinely smokes pot in the bathroom every morning before class. She might pay extra attention to that student, and if she smells pot on the kid while he's in class, she can certainly get the administration involved.
Or kids might comment about a stolen test. Or how they hacked into the computers and changed grades. It's crazy what they'll write about.
The point is, of course, don't put up information that you don't want your boss, teacher/SO/parents/whoever to read.
Posting anonymously for hopefully obvious reasons.
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Actually, I think what your wife does is pretty amazing though. Not many people would take their responsibility to the kids that far.
Re:My wife is a high school teacher... (Score:5, Interesting)
First, this isn't just a good idea for a teacher... if you want to communicate with someone... be it as a Supervisor, Boss, Teacher... understanding that person as an individual will greatly help you communicate with them and create a rapport that will allow them to trust you as well. As for teaching... it is an incredibly intimate subject, everyone learns differently and you play to each person's strengths and weaknesses to help them learn best. The young boy who loves art might learn from hands on activities more than the girl who sits with her nose in a book and would rather just do rote worksheets to learn.
One of the hardest jobs I ever held was a substitute teacher. As a sub you rarely make those connections with students and you are just a person in the room covering for the teacher... who knows them best. You don't know the kid who lives in a motel room because they are too poor to afford an apartment... and how that might affect his learning. No, I'm sorry, but from my experience you are completely wrong... in fact Schools probably need more of the OPPOSITE... more teachers need to understand their students and their backgrounds. Public Education has its problems that need repair... but needing more teachers detached from their student's personal lives is NOT one of them.
Tough... (Score:2)
Now if they cant prove that there is alcohol in your drink, then more power to you, but you got off easy this time.
These kids are in high school, wait till they get to college and some of them join the athletic programs. They will spend several hours in NCAA compliance meetings, signing papers, and reviewing every single detail about drug abuse, alcohol abuse, and felony's. Trust me, I got busted for alcohol and they didn'
Just a thought... (Score:3, Insightful)
It's surprising, I know, but some teachers actually care about their students. Not just whether they make the school look good at scholastic meets and football games, not just whether they pass all their (irrelevant) standardized tests. Some teachers care whether or not Joe Quarterback makes it home from prom nite. They actually care whether Suzie Cheerleader makes it home from prom nite unfertilized.
Just a thought. I didn't have the greatest high school experiences myself, but even I know not all school officials are malicious animals prowling 'That Facebook Thing' for whom they may devour.
There is, in fact, some middle ground left to on which to stand.
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Yes and No, if the police caught them in the act then it can be put in the hands of the police, otherwise these kids are lucky they didn't get caught by the police and the school is taking disciplinary action. Remember, these kids signed papers that said they would not drink and thats in and out of school activities and hours. Some schools even have a 24 hour rule, if you get caught and within 24 ho
Bizarre (Score:5, Interesting)
I'm guessing this is the consequence of some "traditional" political opinions, much like Sweden insisting on having a state monopoly on alcohol, despite it being quite clearly demonstrated that it does nothing to prevent minors from obtaining it ( which is pretty much the argument in favor ).
Re:Bizarre (Score:5, Insightful)
It's the root of our obesity, and almost every other problem that the rest of the world seems to not have.
Problem is , today you are called a nut for questioning the puritanical ideals.
The other problem is the whole point of the article shines light on a bigger problem.. Our children are incredibly stupid. They do things they know are wrong and will get them in trouble if their parents or officials find out about it, and then they publish it with incredible detail in a public forum and then SIGN IT!
The current crop of children here are incredibly stupid.... I blame the use of Corn syrup.
Re:Bizarre (Score:5, Interesting)
"... John D. Rockefeller was not concerned with family dynamics in the working classes. But he was influential in changing the goals of the movement from temperance to prohibition. As we know, his contribution to the outlawing of the production and sale of alcohol was successful. Of course, Rockefeller and the oil companies reaped tremendous profits as a result. Remember that the period covered by the 18th Amendment (1919-1933) coincided with the huge rise in the sale and operation of automobiles. America was on the move, and all of these cars were now operated solely on gasoline. By the time that the 21st Amendment was passed, ending the prohibition of alcohol, the standard was already set and worked completely in the favor of the Rockefeller family" (http://dgrim.blogspot.com/2007/06/great-scheme-alcohol-based-fuels-ford.html)
Rockefeller the leader of Standard Oil wanted to stop the public (mostly farmers at the time) from producing their own alcohol which was widely used as a fuel for cars and farm equipment. This is a pattern to manipulate public opinion and use the government as an enforcement tool to benefit the rich and powerful. See Randolf Hurst, DuPont and hemp prohibition.
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I believe this is real reason for prohibition,
"... John D. Rockefeller was not concerned with family dynamics in the working classes. But he was influential in changing the goals of the movement from temperance to prohibition. As we know, his contribution to the outlawing of the production and sale of alcohol was successful."
That is one of the more retarded reasons I've heard to explain prohibition. When you get down to the nuts and bolts of it, it is exquisitely simple and I'll give you the short version of events.
1913 - The Federal Income Tax was passed
[Tax revenues from the Federal Income Tax go up]
1920 - 18th Amendment goes into effect
[Great Depression = revenues from the Federal Income Tax go down]
1933 - Prohibition Repealed
The only reason Prohibition made it to the Federal level is because legislators didn't need the tax
Your rights do not apply at School (Score:5, Insightful)
Revenge of the nerds (Score:5, Insightful)
1) Take a buddy nerd and sneak into a party where your victim will be (since you're a nerd you obviously weren't invited)
2) Hand the jock a beer, have your friend snap a picture during that second he's holding it (but before you're being pounded with it)
3) Post picture to Facebook using a fake account
4) Wait for jock to be suspended
I'm still trying to figure out how to fit "Profit!" into there as well. Maybe blackmail?
All these "well you shouldn't have posted the picture" posts are forgetting the very common case where someone snaps pictures of a bunch of people and posts them all onto Facebook. It's amazing how fast the camera phones can go off if you do something stupid even for a second at a party.
Different symptom, same problem (Score:3, Insightful)
Not their job (Score:3, Insightful)
Student need a bill of rights (Score:5, Interesting)
- A fellow fourth grade student was caught possessing a beeper at school. FCPS believed the only reason anyone would possess a beeper would be to facilitate selling drugs. The student was expelled. His mother had given him the beeper the previous day so he would know when she was ready to pick him up from soccer practice. FCPS kept the ban on cell phones and beepers until 9/11, but not before threatening to suspend students who were trying to contact parents who worked in the Pentagon that day.
- A girl at my middle school was caught with a can of pepper spray. Her parents had given her the mace because she lived less than one mile from the school (FCPS does not provide transportation to students less than 1 mi from school) and had to walk through a rough neighborhood each day. She was suspended.
- My school once let out early and had a student fair on the soccer field. Attendance on the field was not mandatory, but students could not leave school grounds without a note from a parent. The administration was so concerned with our attendance that every student who left early had their car fully searched to make sure they weren't taking home other students.
Unfortunately, FCPS holds all bargaining chips before students even enroll. They force each student sign a "Student Responsibilities and Rights" document essentially stating you understand FCPS has the right to deal with you any way they please should you screw up. If you don't sign it, they won't give you a locker, a parking spot, nor allow you to participate in after school activities.If school administrators stumble upon pictures of a student doing something illegal, but not while at school, they should report it to the police, and the buck stops there. If a student's "extra-cirricular" activities don't interfere with school, then schools shouldn't interfere with them.
My Two Cents (Score:5, Interesting)
When I was a teenager, I had a friend who saw the school principal at the grocery store. After making eye contact, he gave him the middle finger. The principal was understandably irate and the following Monday suspended him.
When his parents found out, they called the principal and made it abundantly clear that he was far, far outside his bounds and pushed until the school rescinded the suspension. Don't think he didn't suffer consequences, they were just delivered by his parents whose duty it is to do so outside of school.
The duty of school officials is to discipline and teach students within the school environment. From 8-3 or on school grounds, that's it. Period. The minute the child leaves school grounds, he's under the purview of the law and his guardians. The second school officials leave the school grounds, they're just average folks. No legitimate power over and above any other schmo.
Re:My Two Cents (Score:5, Informative)
A lot of schools have athletic conduct codes (Score:3, Interesting)
Schools... (Score:3, Interesting)
In my sophomore year of high school I was suspended for telling somebody how to open the command prompt. Now, remember, that goes on my permanent record. Not only was I banned from using the computer (which is pretty tough when I'm in C++, Cisco, and Webmaster classes) but it also ruined my chances of getting into certain schools.
I may sound bitter, and what I'm talking about may be considered entirely unrelated but the point I'm trying to get across is that schools look for every opportunity they can to catch kids doing something "bad". Shouldn't they be trying to catch kids doing something good?
The security administrator at my school would ride around the parking lot in a golf cart and check to see if student's cars were unlocked. If they were, he had no problem in allowing himself to search their car. I just could never understand how people stood for this.
These students being suspended for Facebook photos (not smart of them, but the reaction is over-the-top) could very well affect their future. IMO, it's time for people (high school students in this case) to start standing up.
I'm from EP (Score:5, Informative)
"I'd just like to know what all those administrators are doing cruising Facebook pages looking at the students in their school."
Short answer: They weren't.
An anonymous person stopped by the high school and dropped off a CD containing the images saved off numerous Facebook sites.
Links as well, I believe, but am not sure. Of course speculation is that it was some kid who wasn't invited; I rather speculate it was a parent who was sick of the hypocrisy of the rules never being enforced, and dropped it off to confront the administration and FORCE them to act.
And for the Europeans who feel our 'policies on alcohol are bizarre': let's remember - to participate in student athletics in Minnesota, EVERY student must sign a pledge to entirely abstain from alcohol or tobacco as a student athlete, and (as I recall, it was 20 years ago I was in EPHS) even to avoid being PRESENT at such activities. Say what you want about the motivation behind the rule, the simple fact is that every one of them signed such a promise and are now blatantly proved to be breaking it. Busted.
My cynical view is that I would like to know WHEN this CD was dropped off. EP is a perennial powerhouse dominant in the local football league...coincidentally football season *just* ended 6 weeks ago. So no real penalties nor damage to the football team.
Re:I'm from EP (Score:4, Insightful)
My wife and I don't drink or smoke and never really have aside from the occasional toast at a wedding or a new year sparty. Still this is too draconian. What about communion at church? They can't even be present? They can see their uncle when he has a lit cigarette? I couldn't allow them to toast at new years?
Each new years my folks use to let me and my brothers have a sip of wine and made us eat sour kraut for luck. It was a tradition. (I haven't eaten kraut since. My luck has been fine.) My wife is Italian enough that we eat spaghetti with the secret family meatball recipe at Christmas. Her family makes all sort of other Italian dishes and also finds a glass of wine to be obligatory. The school would tell me my kids can't go to the Christmas dinner at Great Grandma's? That would be another impact that the school has no right to impose.
Perhaps I need to start having words with the school now, before my kids reach high school. And if they confirm this and are not flexible to my wishes for my children, then my lawyer will have to start having words with someone.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
the simple fact is that every one of them was co-erced into sig
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)