School suspends 20 over MySpace posting

COSTA MESA, Calif. - 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.

Police are investigating the boy’s comments about his classmate at TeWinkle Middle School as a possible hate crime, and the district is trying to expel him.

According to three parents of the suspended students, the invitation to join the boy’s MySpace group gave no indication of the alleged threat. They said the MySpace social group name’s was “I hate (girl’s name)” and included an expletive and an anti-Semitic reference.

A later message to group members directed them to a nondescript folder, which included a posting that allegedly asked: “Who here in the (group name) wants to take a shotgun and blast her in the head over a thousand times?”

Because the creator of a posting can change its content at any time, it’s unclear how much the students saw.

“With what the students can get into using the technology we are all concerned about it,” Bob Metz, the district assistant superintendent of secondary education, said Wednesday.
Metz said the students’ suspensions in mid-February were appropriate because the incident involved student safety. Some parents however questioned whether the school overstepped its bounds by disciplining students for actions that occurred on personal computers, at home and after school hours.



Do you think the ones that viewed the post should also be suspended?

Re: School suspends 20 over MySpace posting

Not sure I agree with the viewers being suspended, but I am not sure this is the whole story either.

I am glad to see that the school is taking this sort of talk very seriously. I think even if they overstepped their bounds a bit, they are sending a very clear message to their students that this sort of cyberbullying will not be tolerated.

Re: School suspends 20 over MySpace posting

I don't think so. I would be nosy and probably view. If I wrote something then it would be a different story.

Re: School suspends 20 over MySpace posting

i don't think we are getting the whole story either.

I don't understand how they can suspend students for just reading the posts, either.

Re: School suspends 20 over MySpace posting

I'm searching MSNBC but this is the only link to the story.

MySpace Story

Re: School suspends 20 over MySpace posting

I think what you posted is the whole story that the media posted, but after working in schools, I think that perhaps other things were going on before this incident. I find it hard to believe that this is an isolated incident and this girl had never been targeted before this. I just get the feeling that there may have been problems before, with these kids or others, using myspace to threaten and bully other kids.

The media doesn't always get this information and the school district is going to be very careful about what they tell the press.

Re: School suspends 20 over MySpace posting

I think they took proper action with the kid that made the posting but perhaps went too far by suspending the people that looked at it. I don't really know anything about myspace with regards to how you view the blogs -- can anyone do that, do you have to be granted permission etc. If you need to request and be granted permission then I can kind of see it.

I applaud the school for taking an agressive step to ensure the safety of a student and sending the message that idle threats like this will be taken seriously and that there are repercussions.

Re: School suspends 20 over MySpace posting

Re: School suspends 20 over MySpace posting

Re: School suspends 20 over MySpace posting

I dont know if I agree...I have to think about it further. Maybe they are suspended because not only did they view it, but they didn't report it. Some teenagers are horrible.

Re: School suspends 20 over MySpace posting

It doesn't sound like the whole story to me either but I disagree with the viewers getting suspended, if that's all they did. I'm not too familiar with myspace but if they only VIEWED the comments, how in the world would the school know that unless MySpace somehow tracked every single person that viewed that page and then narrowed it down to those who go to this school??

Anyway, I also don't know if I agree with the school disciplining something that happened off school grounds and after school hours, in general. Unless it was somehow brought into the school they probably should have simply notified the parents. However, I assume that this probably carried over to school behavior or incidents one way or another, so they were probably justified.

Re: School suspends 20 over MySpace posting

Re: School suspends 20 over MySpace posting

I don't think under California ed code these student CAN be suspended simply for viewing. They would have to post threatening comments themselves to be suspended. I am sure if they got suspended this is what they did. Otherwise, how would they know what they read?

Also, if this was brought to the attention of a school offical in CA, they have to handle it since it falls under disruption of school business. I hope that clarifies. Even if students fight off campus, if I hear about it, and it causes disruption at my school, I can suspend for it.

Unfortunately I do this ALL day long. I had a recent chick fight where the student called another student a "babykiller" on myspace for having an abortion. I HATE MYSPACE! It has made my job TEN times harder.

Message edited 3/3/2006 11:42:37 PM.

Re: School suspends 20 over MySpace posting

I think the suspensions were a knee jerk reaction to protect their students...

I am sure that once thehave figured out everything and investigated everyones role in what was said.....things will be worked out

BUT i do have a feeling that iwouldn't be surprised if one of the "viewers" did more than just read

Re: School suspends 20 over MySpace posting