When I was teaching US Government this could have been one of the examples I would have used when discussing privacy rights had such things as Facebook and Twitter existed then. An Indiana school board expelled a high school senior for using the “F-bomb” on Twitter after school hours. At face value it seems to me they were clearly violating the student’s right to privacy. But, after reading the story maybe it’s not so clear-cut. Take a look and tell us what you think. Who’s right and who’s wrong?
Here’s another example of school’s invading the privacy of their students. This one involves a Philippine school and photos that were posted on Facebook. Further proof that in today’s world our privacy is just that much more subject to invasion and difficult to protect.
http://news.yahoo.com/school-punishes-filipino-boys-facebook-kissing-072603690.html
This is rediculas. It was after school hours. Shane it didn’t say he was on a school computer at the time of the tweet. What I got from the article was that he had logged into his account at school and obviously didn’t log out then logged in on home computer. It is possible to be logged in on two different devices. And if they aren’t allowed to be on twitter during school hours on a schools computer then it should be a blocked site. The boy should have logged out of his account on the schools computer but to expell him is too severe. The other thing I would like to know more about is the protest the students were not allowed to have. Was it peaceful? Don’t they have the right to a peaceful protest?
Expulsion is a tad bit harsh. It leaves me to wonder if this particular young man has “warnings” in his recent school history. Also, if he logged onto his account via a school computer previously, which I’m certain he knew was against school rules …he opened the door and rilled out the welcome mat (so to say) for the school to investigate.
Right now I’m on a government computer, so I have to follow certain rules, and if I break those rules then I can expect some sort of punishment. Several of my co-workers have government computers in their homes and have to follow the same rules.
According to journalgazette.net (www.journalgazette.net/article/20120325/LOCAL0201/303259931), “school officials said the tweets had the school’s IP address.” I’m not the most tech savy person out there, but this would lead me to believe the tweet was sent from a school-issued computer. If the school has rules regarding the type of language used on their computers then the school is well within their right to suspend the student.
The punishment doesn’t seem fitting for the “crime” in my opinion. Does the school routinely expel students who drop the F-bomb on school premises? As for who’s right or wrong — it happened off school property, after school hours, and wasn’t threatening to the school, then the school shouldn’t be concerned about it. With all of the issues schools have to deal with nowadays, this seems like a waste of resources to me.