California Suspends 20 Middle Schoolers for Viewing Myspace

It's hilarious how the media is so damn paranoid of MySpace.
 
It is, has been getting some bad press lately too :s
 
Ok, this isn't a "myspace" thing.
A middle school student faces expulsion for allegedly posting graphic threats against a classmate on the popular MySpace.com Web site, and 20 of his classmates were suspended for viewing the posting, school officials said.
It's for no doubt sharing this w/ others instead of reporting it. If this had indeed been real ...
 
Well I realize that the news item was about the guy posting a "graphic threat", but my comment was on the general paranoia that is in the media about MySpace. Also, I think the school is out of line for suspending the 20 who just viewed the image. That's bull****.
 
Grandmaster said:
Well I realize that the news item was about the guy posting a "graphic threat", but my comment was on the general paranoia that is in the media about MySpace. Also, I think the school is out of line for suspending the 20 who just viewed the image. That's bull****.
I would think it's because myspace generally makes it past most generic content filters, as it's a trusted site?
 
Grandmaster said:
Well I realize that the news item was about the guy posting a "graphic threat", but my comment was on the general paranoia that is in the media about MySpace. Also, I think the school is out of line for suspending the 20 who just viewed the image. That's bull****.
Said some posted AND commented.

As for the "myspace" thing, it's just the latest buzz word. Someone caught there kid doing something on it (because they paid attention for once) and now it's "evil". In a few weeks it'll be another site, or a game, or some other non-sense.
 
Was this done from home? If so what power does the school have? I could see if it was done at school.
 
Xie said:
Said some posted AND commented.

As for the "myspace" thing, it's just the latest buzz word. Someone caught there kid doing something on it (because they paid attention for once) and now it's "evil". In a few weeks it'll be another site, or a game, or some other non-sense.

I don't see where it says that they commented on the posting. Even they did comment on it, big deal?
 
Grandmaster said:
I don't see where it says that they commented on the posting. Even they did comment on it, big deal?
That's it, you posted on OSNN about commenting on Myspace.com, you are grounded young man!

:p
 
Its rediulous what the schools think they have the right to do. So glad I am not stuck in the ****ing public school system anymore... :dead:



Uh oh! I am in trouble!
 
I think the school officials were more so responding to the perceived security liability the threat generated than to the fact these kids could have possibly viewed the threat as they had no way of knowing whether these kids were part of a bigger group gunning for the named child, whether the kids took the threat seriously, or whether the kids even saw the threat. The only information the school seems to have had is that the graphic threat (which appears to have been taken seriously by the school officials) was made by a certain student and these other students had access to the group where the threat was made at some point.
 
You have to remember that Columbine was a threat at first. Ever since then, schools would rather err on the side of caution. Although, I think the punishment was excessive where was parent culpability in online threats? These kids went on a site where threats are made, and no parent steps up to the plate? I am sorry, but the school cannot be responsible for what these parents teach or fail to? So now we get all bent when school enacts punishment (forced to by California law to take all threats seriously) when it is plain to see that the kids just needs a parental butt whupping, but fail to get it.


These are your children people take responsibility for them.


/end rant
 
falconguard said:
You have to remember that Columbine was a threat at first. Ever since then, schools would rather err on the side of caution. Although, I think the punishment was excessive where was parent culpability in online threats? These kids went on a site where threats are made, and no parent steps up to the plate? I am sorry, but the school cannot be responsible for what these parents teach or fail to? So now we get all bent when school enacts punishment (forced to by California law to take all threats seriously) when it is plain to see that the kids just needs a parental butt whupping, but fail to get it.


These are your children people take responsibility for them.


/end rant

NO, NO and uhhh NO.....

While I agree they needed to take steps against the student making the threats.. they had NO RIGHT to suspend people for looking at his post... and about your comments about the parents not turning the student making the threats in? How many times did you do something that was "questionable" and your parents NOT know about it?

what next?
suspend a child for reading a book?
Example: anarchists cookbook?
Why?
Show me what law allows them to violate the students privacy?

THere is NO such law... they have to take "threats" seriously, however, violating peoples privacy by finding out who went and looked at the site nad not reporting them...

So are we as adults supposed to report every single addult who runs a red light??

Come on people, comon sense is the better part of valor...
 
You live and you learn. Being that MySpace and similar sites have been in the news so much of late (even Law & Order did an episode about this last season) you think the schools and businesses would take the necessary steps to prevent access to these sites (I did).
 
I was mentioned in the paper about myspace. First paragraph on the front page.

Over my pictures. Of course it was a teacher at my school that mentioned it to the paper or did something.

Schools have no say in what we do outside school. I mentioned before somewhere on here but thats like saying school is gonna do something to the people that look at porn on the internet at home if they are under 18.

I understand that I was underage drinking but really they can't know 100% if I was. I could of just been saying I was drunk.

They even mentioned in the paper that school officals can't really believe everything they see on myspace.

The girl with the 7-up can got suspended from sport or whatever because it looked like a can of beer but later found out it was 7-up.

Or the kid that had a qoute from Anchorman about having some scotch and reading a book or something like that. Kid got kicked out for that because they thought thats what he did yet his whole myspace consisted of movie quotes.

In my opinion and just about every kid at school I talked to about it thinks its getting way out of control.
 
Hmmm, I see two very valid points here.

One, Falconguard has a pretty good rant there about parents shirking responsibility for their children. All too often I see parents totally uninvolved in their childrens lives due to being immersed in their own self gratification, yet, when a situation arises involving the child, they take the 'not my kid' attitude to new levels. If mommy and daddy don't discipline the kids, somebody has to, and that falls right on the schools by default. Be involved, or somebody else will.

But...mlakrid's points are quite applicable. The schools regularly, from what I see, overstep their authority. I'm pretty sure this comes from having to be the only authority in many cases, and sadly, I don't see it getting any better until parenting gets better. That discussion alone would be a different thread pertaining to the causes that lead up to parents being less involved in child rearing like the need to work more hours, the desire to be socaially active...etc. This is a lot deeper than just MySpace.
 
Last edited:
Nobody here has acknowledge the victim of this hate, even if it was out of school, out of school hours, that person still goes to the same school with the same people who were invoking hate towards them!

Its in the schools interest for the safety of their enrolled pupils to take the actions that they have taken. Even those people who viewed could still perpretrate bullying towards that individual during or not during school hours, if they havent before, might do later on because of what they saw.

Things like this can make a pupil's life hell at school, people that they have never had anything to do with people, might see that and start to become involved with that pupil in very negative ways! And this will affect the pupil academically. This could also potentially lead to a lot worse. May seem unlikely but just look at the number of high school shootings in the USA? and in the UK, how many violent attacks has there been? This is nothing like reading a book which is deemed offensive as that is not harming anyone. Inciting hate towards another person is. This isnt just a myspace page, this was a page that discriminated against a person at school. Would you say a piece of paper with the same content, was just a bit of paper? or a malicious phone call, was just a phonecall?

Its another form of bullying and has everything to do with the school as everyone involved is from that school, regardless of the time and location. If this was reported in the news and the school was doing nothing, then the school has failed and failed for the pupil and the system has failed and failed for the pupil!!!

Schools suspending pupils for matters which seem trivial are important for the integrity for the school! they have to maintain rules and regulations and a reputation. Remember, a school is a collective of teachers and anything bad will be seen as a reflection on them.
 
Why are kids such pussies these days ? I got razzed in school with the rest of them. It builds character and filters out the weak.

Pussies, all because of a few pussy admins and their paranoid parents. Don't bug Jimmy !! He's sensitive!


:eek:
 

Members online

No members online now.

Latest profile posts

Also Hi EP and people. I found this place again while looking through a oooollllllldddd backup. I have filled over 10TB and was looking at my collection of antiques. Any bids on the 500Mhz Win 95 fix?
Any of the SP crew still out there?
Xie wrote on Electronic Punk's profile.
Impressed you have kept this alive this long EP! So many sites have come and gone. :(

Just did some crude math and I apparently joined almost 18yrs ago, how is that possible???
hello peeps... is been some time since i last came here.
Electronic Punk wrote on Sazar's profile.
Rest in peace my friend, been trying to find you and finally did in the worst way imaginable.

Forum statistics

Threads
62,015
Messages
673,494
Members
5,621
Latest member
naeemsafi
Back