Dad Says Facebook Got Daughter Suspended

[proud2BlibKansan]

OAK GROVE, Mo. -- An Oak Grove man is outraged because he says the Oak Grove High School principal suspended his daughter for three days over comments she posted on Facebook.

James Wisemore says his daughter, Megan, used swear words to comment about a female classmate on Facebook. He maintains his daughter did not name the classmate, but the classmate responded online that she would be kicking Megan's "a--" the next day.

James said the next day the classmate jumped his daughter, who is a freshman, in a hallway at Oak Grove High School. He said his daughter was kicked in the head and other parts of her body and punched. He said she curled up in a ball and protected her head and did not fight back.

James said his daughter was taken by ambulance to a hospital where she was treated at the emergency room. He said she has recovered from her injuries.

James said his wife was told by the Oak Grove High School principal that Megan would be suspended for three days for the offensive comments on Facebook but not for fighting. James said the other girl was suspended for five days.

James said the comments, while offensive, were typical teen banter and did not justify suspension. He says he believes his daughter's First Amendment rights have been violated, particularly since she was not at school when she made the Internet posting and did not name the other student by name.

The principal chose not to make a comment.

But the Missouri School Board Association said the courts established as far back as the 1940's that districts have the authority to discipline for off campus behavior if there is a connection between that behavior and a disruption to the educational process.

Missouri lawmakers are considering adding cyber bullying to the state's bullying laws.

http://www.nbcactionnews.com/mostpopular/story/Dad-Says-Facebook-Got-Daughter-Suspended/fAoowEjzLUSsmb8KbON60Q.cspx

[brendan120678]

1. So basically the headline is mostly BS...

she was not suspended for getting beat up.
That is made very clear in the body of the story.

I hate copy editors. They mostly suck at their job.

[Zywiec]

3. The OP changed the original headline to make it more dramatic

Here's what it really was: Dad Says Facebook Got Daughter Suspended

[NM_hemilover]

6. The real headline should be.

"Girl cusses out classmate online, gets ass kicked following day".

-or- if it were in the mainstream media "teenage girls talk dirty to each other online, then get busy the following day".

[proud2BlibKansan]

8. How about 'girl gets ass kicked'

LOL

[NM_hemilover]

18. It's been longer than I want to admit since I've been in school,

but if my niece (11) and her friends are any example, kids and espically girls are still vicious ! I would expect a secondary pounding after the five day suspension.

You're a teacher right ? Are online "bullies" found out by word of mouth, or does the school monitor sites for trouble ?

[proud2BlibKansan]

20. My schools don't monitor sites for trouble

It's really a pretty new problem. But what has happened the few times we have had to deal with this is just like in the article, there is a fight at school and we find out it started online. With our kids it's usually text messages. We had a big dust up over kids sending porn pics to each other (not of them but porn pics one of them had downloaded to her phone from the internet).

So far we have only had to react due to the fight - just like in the article. Seriously though, we don't have time to monitor sites for trouble. Too busy teaching :)

It's really not new. Kids bring problems to school all the time and hash them out. It used to be squabbles that started in the neighborhood and escalated into fights at school. Now it's trash talk online that escalates into fights at school.

[proud2BlibKansan]

7. I changed the headline

Should have used the one from the story in the first place.

[left coaster]

2. So she really wasn't suspended for getting beat up..

It was for the posted threats, correct? Both girls got suspended which seems reasonable to me.

[Dr. Strange]

4. This girl got 3 days, and the other got 5.

I think I agree with the school here.

[left coaster]

10. Yes, I know, I read that too!

I was just noting that the headline was kind of misleading... and as I already posted, it sounds like the principal did the right thing.

[proud2BlibKansan]

9. Yes it does seem reasonable

Watch the video. Her parents don't think she did anything wrong.

[ThomThom]

32. The the violent student should be expelled,

make the parents send her to private school or home school. Violence should not be tolerated. What happens outside of school, if it is criminal should be a police matter. Suspension of first facebook poster was wrong. If the rules do allow for there be punishment and the violent student responded online then why was there not more suspension time added for posting threats. Or was 3 days of the 5 for bullying online then the other 2 days would be for fighting. Bullying outside of school gets you more time off then fighting in school, something wrong with that.

[proud2BlibKansan]

34. The girl who posted the threat got 3 days. The girl who beat her up got 5 days.

[ThomThom]

102. The way I read the article they both posted on Facebook

I still believe the one that attacked the mans daughter should be expelled and 2 days for fighting is not enough. (that is 3 days for posting + 2 days for kicking Megan's ass)

[JBoy]

5. Sounds like a reasonable decision by the principal

I'm assuming by the girl's quick recovery that the beat down wasn't too horrific.

She learned that if you talk shit about someone you might get your ass kicked. Sometimes people have to learn the hard way.



I know you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but this photo makes me think she'd make a "Most likely to talk shit about someone on Facebook" list:

[proud2BlibKansan]

11. Yes I thought that picture spoke volumes

[BlueGirlRedState]

12. I agree with the suspension

And I hope it sends a message to the rest of the kids in that school. I have a daughter in middle school who was bullied by other classmates by texting. In another incident, one of her classmates started a FB page, "I hate Mrs. Barnes" about a teacher at the school. This gets out of hand so quickly.

BTW, I left a message on the bullier's phone about the illegalities of cyber bullying and that put an end to it. And I emailed the school counselor about the FB page and those who signed on to be fans quickly removed themselves.

I think as parents we need to be viligant and no tolerance for bullying.

[proud2BlibKansan]

14. It's very frustrating when this crap starts outside of school and then becomes a distraction

Good for you for handling your situation as well as you did!

[Juneboarder]

13. Every action has a reaction...

I guess the girl and her father both are learning that its sometimes better to keep your comments to yourself. Imagine that!?!

[proud2BlibKansan]

16. Her mom was on another channel complaining that her grades were being docked

She was going to miss a band concert that was half her grade. Mom was livid.

Mom and Dad just don't get it. Sad.

[Tailormyst]

24. Perhaps they should use this to teach their daughter a lesson

Instead of coming to the defense of their precious petunia. If my son got his ass kicked for talking shit I would have said "What did you expect to happen? Next time watch what you put out there for the whole world to see".

[Juneboarder]

35. We are in a society that is all about

me! me! me! me! me!

It shows up in almost every facet of life now.

[Echo In Light]

15. I disagree w/her suspension. Learning that words can have consequences is a real lesson, though

Just b/c she didn't name anyone doesn't mean that girls who live and breath that social/cyber shit can't figure out who the gossip is aimed at. Was the girl who acted violently also suspended?

[proud2BlibKansan]

17. Yes the girl who beat her up was also suspended

Why do you disagree with the suspension?

[Echo In Light]

19. B/c it happened off school. If they'd been busted hazing, the school would turn the tables...

... and say the school isn't reliable since it didn't happen on their property/watch. I'm sure the decision was also about creating a chilling effect on cyber bullying.

[proud2BlibKansan]

21. Did you see this in the OP:

"But the Missouri School Board Association said the courts established as far back as the 1940's that districts have the authority to discipline for off campus behavior if there is a connection between that behavior and a disruption to the educational process."

[Echo In Light]

23. Yes. Of course they dug that up to justify it. Had it been something else, they might not have

See where I'm going w/that? It's selective. I'm sure the school officials are well aware of plenty of things happening off campus that they of course choose to turn a blind eye to. But this incident gained attention, and so they rolled out the justifier. Again, I suspect this was to instill a chilling effect on cyber gossip/bullying.

[proud2BlibKansan]

30. It's not about what happened off campus

If they hadn't fought at school, no one would have been suspended.

[proud2BlibKansan]

22. If they had been hazing and that resulted in a fight at school, they would have been suspended

[Echo In Light]

25. lol...okay. There's a disconnect between the points we're making, so I'll agree to disagree

[proud2BlibKansan]

29. I agree that what kids do outside of school shouldn't be penalized by the school

But this FB nonsense resulted in a fight at school. That's why this girl was suspended.

[Echo In Light]

31. And the school's admin handed down that punishment as a chilling effect for other students

[proud2BlibKansan]

36. I would think the other students have learned that if you fight at school you get suspended

and if you threaten someone and that results in a fight you get suspended.

[ohheckyeah]

26. I have a real problem with the school having the right to

suspend someone for something they wrote on Facebook. Facebook doesn't belong to the school and if the student didn't make the post at school I don't think the school was right in suspending the girl.

What the hell ever happened to freedom of speech? Or is that only for adults? If Megan was bullying someone on Facebook that was a matter to be taken up with the parents of the girl involved.

[Echo In Light]

28. +1

[ohheckyeah]

45. Sorry...responding to the wrong person.

deleted

[proud2BlibKansan]

33. She was suspended because of the fight

And if she hadn't posted a threat on FB there would not have been a fight. At school.

[ohheckyeah]

44. According to the article she WASN'T

suspended for the fight: James said his wife was told by the Oak Grove High School principal that Megan would be suspended for three days for the offensive comments on Facebook but not for fighting.

The other girl started the fight because of what Megan wrote on Facebook. Megan should have been disciplined by her parents or kicked off Facebook but she should be disciplined by the school for something she wrote on Facebook away from school.

[proud2BlibKansan]

55. What she wrote on FB started a fight

Kids get suspended all the time for starting fights. It doesn't matter where they started it. If the fight is at school they get suspended.

[Raineyb]

70. No whoever threw the punch started the fight. Talking smack is NOT the same as throwing a punch.

[ohheckyeah]

79. thank you.

When did schools get the right to determine what someone can and can't say on Facebook? They didn't.

[joeybee12]

81. Schools have a right to expect and enforce certain behavior from students...

and the courts will back them up with this...her behavior led to consequences at school..perfectly justified in the suspension...unless you're ok with kids growing up to be brats.

[Lyric]

101. Like hell. The school does not have a right to enforce behavior OUT of school.

If the other girl couldn't control herself on school property, that's HER problem. We talked smack in the neighborhood all the time, but we weren't stupid enough to carry it over to school. What you're saying is that ANY behavior that might cause a bully to "go off" on school property should be reprimanded, and I disagree with that completely. If I call someone a mean, nasty bitch and she decides to start a fight about it on government property (a fight in which I refuse to participate), then SHE is the one who should deal with the authorities. Not me.

Words are not illegal, but punches sure as hell are. Punish the girl who couldn't be bothered to control herself on school property, not the one who DID control herself there. Otherwise, what's next? Suspending kids because trash-talking at a Lakers game pisses off a bully who carries it into school?

[ohheckyeah]

74. Oh, come on, that's really stretching it. n/t

[proud2BlibKansan]

86. So kids should be able to fight at school?

Should we let them use the gym at lunchtime? The playground in nice weather?

Maybe we could sell tickets.

[ohheckyeah]

88. The girl who wrote what she did on Facebook didn't start the fight

and wasn't expelled for the fight. She was expelled for what she wrote on Facebook which is clearly not the responsibility or the right of the school to censor and control.

[proud2BlibKansan]

90. I disagree but the parents are free to challenge the suspension

Let's see if they do.

[ohheckyeah]

92. Facebook doesn't equal school.

I would challenge it but the girl would also have her computer privileges taken away if she were my child.

Let me say that I think bullying of any kind is wrong. I think writing smack on her Facebook account was wrong and the parents should punish her for it. But I also believe in the constitutional right of free speech and I don't think the school has been given the authority by the government to determine what can and can't be written on Facebook. Facebook has it's own rules and there are laws. IMO, the school WAY overstepped it's bounds if indeed they suspended her for what she wrote on Facebook.

[Raineyb]

68. But she didn't actually fight. From the story it says she curled up to protect her head

That's not engaging in the fight and what she may have done to cause the other girls to want to fight her happened off campus and while not something you want to praise is not something for which the school had any business punishing her. Last I heard one is punished for what one does not for talking smack.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

27. Her comments on Facebook are fully supported by the 1st

and the school had no business suspending her over it.

However, the only reason we have to assume that's the reason she got suspended is because of the father's claims. And they're not worth the key strokes they're typed with.

[proud2BlibKansan]

37. Threatening someone is protected by the 1st amendment?

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

38. "Megan" only called the other person rude names.

The girl who beat her up, and got justly punished, is the one that replied with the threats.

[proud2BlibKansan]

39. Yes you are right

[Echo In Light]

40. Damn...first time we've ever agreed on anything. Strange days, indeed.

[joeybee12]

51. Her comments directly led to an incident ON school property...

...like yelling fire in a crowded theater, the SCOTUS has never ruled free speech is completely without limits...suspension definitely justified.

[Name removed]

52. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Ignis]

60. Ugh, this is just not true.

If I call you a malodorous, toffee-nosed pervert, that does NOT mean that I've started a fight, nor that I've given you permission to hit me, nor that I've caused a menace to public safety.

An insult is not the same as yelling "fire" in a crowded theatre. At all. :banghead:

[Name removed]

77. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

91. Nobody's arguing that free speech isn't limitless.

Threats, slander, and shouting fire in a crowded theater are all examples.

What this student did isn't any of those, but is an example of protected speech.

Schools do have codes for behaviour, but that does not extend outside of school or school-related functions, and the courts have upheld the rights for students to post inflammatory comments on message boards entirely unrelated to school.

You're just dead wrong. And it's pretty funny.

[Ignis]

93. I didn't have a chance to read your deleted reply, but ...

I'm happy to read your response if you can avoid whatever behavior got the first one deleted. :D

[Blue-Jay]

41. Lesson: Don't let your mouth write a check that your ass can't cash.

In every school system that I've ever been associated with, BOTH participants in a fight get suspended. Not just the one who does the ass-kicking.

[beevul]

98. When one curls into a ball and covers up, are they "participating"?

[MadHound]

42. Sounds like the right reaction by the school

Kid talks shit, finds out it has consequences. Some folks don't figure that lesson out until much later, she should count her blessings.

[ohheckyeah]

46. So, you think the school has the right to deny her

freedom of speech OUTSIDE of school? Really?

[MadHound]

48. When her speech causes disruption at the school, sure

Sorry, but the girl brought this on herself. The school has the right to take those measures it sees fit to prevent violence from breaking out in their school.

[Raineyb]

71. But it was the RESPONSE of the other student that caused the disruption at school.

And pulling out "well so and so said something about me on Facebook" as an excuse for causing a disruption wouldn't get the other student into trouble yet when the same student decides instead to throw a punch it does? That's bullshit. If chickie can't read something she doesn't like and refrain from throwing punches that's the problem of the person who throws the punch, not of the person who wrote whatever set off the punch thrower.

[ohheckyeah]

80. Since when did schools get to decide what a person can write on Facebook

at home? It's none of their business. The girl who brought it into the school and started the fist fight is at fault. The girl who wrote whatever she wrote on Facebook could have been reported to Facebook or her parents. It's not the school's business.

[beevul]

99. The other persons CHOICE of how to respond, caused the disruption.

[seabeyond]

53. school isnt denying her the right of freedom of speech. she can say whatever she wants

and because she has freedom of speech, she gets to suffer the repercussion or reward of that freedom

like all of us

there are consequences to what we say and do

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

63. That's called blaming the victrim.

Getting beaten over name calling and dismissing it as "repercussion" or "reward" is the moral and intellectual equivalent of claiming a woman deserved to be rape if she dressed in scantily clad clothes.

[seabeyond]

69. oh bullshit. that is downright stupid. nt

[ohheckyeah]

75. She wrote it on Facebook which is really

none of the school's business. The other girl brought the fight into the school.

[seabeyond]

78. she was the instigator. try it with your boss and see how long you last at a job

people want whatever goes on internet with a magic protection. not gonna happen. what you post is out for all to see and create reaction.

there have been all kinds of cases kids outside of class doing all kinds of ugly things to fellow students on internet. end results have been suicides, or us labeling it as bullying thru cyberworld

now we stand up for this girl being a bully and further, protect her right to be a bully

[ohheckyeah]

82. Bullshit. I'm not standing up for her bullying.

She could have been reported to her parents or Facebook. It's not the duty or the right of the school to tell a kid what they can and can't write on Facebook away from school.

Free speech rights are a bitch, aren't they?

[seabeyond]

94. she free speeched it and got her ass kicked.... so for her, ya... a bitch. nt

[proud2BlibKansan]

59. Her free speech resulted in a fight at school

It's called consequences.

[Raineyb]

72. No the fight is a result of someone git who can't control their temper and keep their hands to

themselves. THAT is the person who has to face consequences. At least as far as the school is concerned anyway.

[ohheckyeah]

83. EXACTLY. n/t

[beevul]

100. Well said.

[ohheckyeah]

76. bullshit

what if you wrote on Democratic Underground that someone you know is a dickhead. Said dickhead beats you up and YOU get sent to jail.
that's just bullshit.

[Ignis]

61. "Consequences" like battery?

How exactly would you structure the law, then?

Call someone a "dummy" = face-slap in return OK
Call someone a "retard" = single punch to the face OK
Call someone an "asshole" = one punch, one kick OK

:dunce:

[seabeyond]

43. sounds like she called girl out, and girl followed thru. maybe the parent should shift blame

to daughter and let her own her part in the to do instead of making excuses and justifying her behavior.

[Echo In Light]

47. The red flag here isn't that the girl was forced to deal w/her gossip, but that the school can cite

... her use of language off school. True, whenever I was in a fight in highschool, everyone would be booted out for a day or two...but I think the school's decision in this case reflects their want of imposing a chill effect on cyber gossip/bullying.

[seabeyond]

50. a handful of reasons i am ok with this. most kids fight on campus, he said she said stuff. not

this. it is right there on facebook the girl calling her out. now they are sure about her part. otherwise would have been all on the other girl and this girl could say.... i didnt do nuthin. it is hers

second, our kids better learn here and now, what is on net is there for all. think twice what is posted

third, kids dont have rights. my 12 yr old son knows. he did research the other day on the puter. was reading these massive so and so vs so and so, bah hahahah

fourth, today cyberbullying is part of the school. mean and ugly on the net is an extention. kids are killing themselves. we yell why the schools did nothing on the extreme cases. go after the bullies. and then they do, and we yell about our rights

i would back up school

i would give the kid these four lessons.

[joeybee12]

54. that led to a confrontation ON school....

if the girl beat her up somewhere off campus, the argument would be different.

[ohheckyeah]

85. That was the choice of the girl who decided to beat the

other one up.

[SoCalDem]

57. When will people learn that stuff they post online can come back & bite them on the ass?

Everyone can google , and nothing you post with your own name (and sometimes even with a made up persona) can be tracked back to you.. Bosses google, schools google, acquaintances google & tattle.

If it's pictured / written, and attributed to you, you will "own" it..

[Echo In Light]

64. That fact isn't in question, so far as I'm concerned.

It's the school, and if they've suspended over what the student espoused online - while away from school. Slippery slope.

[SoCalDem]

65. Schools are in a tough spot.. Imagine that the internet had been more "vital" before Columbine

you KNOW those two would have been "tweeting, facebooking, etc".. what if the school had learned of their rantings & plans... and did nothing?

If the school finds out about something,m they almost HAVE to be pro-active, or risk being sued if something really bad happens

[Echo In Light]

66. I've stated repeatedly that the decision, in part, had to be aimed at a chilling effect

Make an example for the others as a warning over the array of potential troubles kids using the internet to socialize/gossip/bully, etc

[SoCalDem]

67. I bet there were a lot of conversations at home afterward:) n/t

[proud2BlibKansan]

89. I doubt it

Did you see the video? The parents are convinced she is innocent.

[ohheckyeah]

87. And it's unconstitutional.

Nobody gave the school the right to censor what a student can write on Facebook on their own time.

[Echo In Light]

95. +1

[4lbs]

49. I think both suspensions were warranted. Parents need to tell their kids that they are responsible

and accountable for everything they post online.

This is no different than if I worked for a corporation and created a blog or Facebook account blasting people at the corporation, then get fired because my boss(es) found out.

When I say "blasting", I don't mean being a whistleblower on potentially illegal company practices either. That is protected.

What I mean is saying that a co-worker is a bastard/bitch, or is ugly, or likes to sleep around and possibly has a potential STD. Things that are personally targeted.

[Moosepoop]

56. Sounds like the school is blaming the victim.

The girl should not have been suspended.

The comment posted on Facebook amounted to something like "You're a ____ and I ____ing hate you!" The person she hates wasn't named. This name calling (without even using the other person's name) is not what I would call bullying -- it's what I'd call typical teenage bluster.

The posted comment DID NOT lead to the attack at school.
It was the other girl's decision to react to a prior insult with physical violence on school grounds. That was HER OWN decision. It wasn't self defense, it wasn't justified in any way. If she really, really felt that the proper way to address the Facebook comment was with a beatdown, she could have chosen to administer it outside school property. But she didn't, and the choice to engage in physical violence -- at school, no less -- was hers alone.

The swearing and insult in the posted comment was for the parents to deal with.

The school's only concern should have been that a student engaged in a physical attack on another student AT SCHOOL. That's it, period. I think the school may have placed some "responsibility" on the victim in order to have something to use in case the victim sued the school for failing to protect her or something.

From the sounds of it, this girl may have had reason to consider the other girl an obscene name and to "hate" her. The girl who finds it reasonable to physically attack those who don't like her while at school sounds like a real peach. Just sayin'.

[cbdo2007]

58. Good - She is learning a very valuable lesson that she'll never learn in school.

Which is that you only have freedom of speech if you have the money to back it up in court.

[dugaresa]

62. this is why i restrict my facebook activity to posting pictures

and that is it. i use it to share photos of fun things with my family and friends.

otherwise any correspondence of any kind is private and via email.

[Name removed]

73. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[seabeyond]

84. my sons says there are hands down, by far, more girl fights than boy fights in his high school. and

no

he doesnt think it is cute, waiting to see clothes rip off yelling cat fight. thinks it is trashy

[Name removed]

97. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[TwilightGardener]

96. I can't believe schools can suspend based on out-of-school words and behavior.

This is akin to the "laptop-camera" spying case in PA. Just because a principal or teacher or secretary can pull up someone's Facebook page an on-campus computer doesn't mean it's a school violation. Jesus, that is ridiculous. I don't feel too bad for the girl who got beaten, words and actions have consequences--but the school should only have suspended the attacker, because that was the only at-school violation. What was said between these girls outside of school property and school hours is not the school's business.