I perceive it as an inappropriate response to a potential veiled threat. The students demonstrated poor judgement in a poll that could be misconstrued as a mafioso warning - they deserve no congratulations whatsoever. Both sides should be disciplined.
article exerpt: There wasn't much to SouthHighSucks.com when it debuted on Friday, March 15--a couple of brief broadsides critical of some school policies, a visitor counter, and a poll that invited respondents to weigh in on the multiple-choice topic of whether a certain assistant principal at the school most closely resembles a witch, Big Bird, or a dead body. Regards, Jason Stone | Hale --- Chris Johnson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I congratulate the students who run the web site for their desire to > improve their educations and the educational system, despite illegal > suspensions and threats of same. > > From the City Pages article: > > ' The Student Press Law Center's Mark Goodman puts it this way: "As a > parent I find it troubling that a school would say, 'We have the > authority to police what a kid says or reads on their own time.' It > seems the logical conclusion of that train of thought is very > problematic: that a school can make its own determination of what is > appropriate, and can randomly punish students for things that are done > outside of school. Do we want a world where schools have more authority > than parents do to dictate what students do on their own time? Because > schools, with the best of intentions, are moving closer to that kind of > authority every day." ' > > It certainly sounds like the administration at South High is riddled > with idiots. Mpls. Public Schools attorney Margaret Westin sounds > equally idiotic. If she believes the speech is unconstitutional > threatening or obscene speech, they should have pursued criminal charges > -- but they did not. Instead, they resorted to illegal intimidation > simply because they knew they'd be thrown out of court. Numerous > lawsuits around the country involving students who publish from home > have ruled in favor of those students. > > I'm astonished that South High was able to suspend any students for work > on this web site. Had I been a parent of one of them, I'd have hired a > pair of good lawyers, one well-versed in constitutional law, and sued > them until their mea maxima culpa's were well-known by all students and > citizens, city-wide. What kind of chutzpah does it take to punish a > student for what he or she does in his or her own time outside of > school, especially when those acts are protected by the Constitution? > > Stop wasting my taxpayer dollars, South High and Minneapolis Public > Schools, and do your jobs. > > Chris Johnson > Fulton > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > www.southhighsucks.com > > > > An unofficial student web site owned by a former South High student, > > Christopher David, who also worked on the official school newspaper at South High. > > > > The 4 students who founded the web site were given three day suspensions, and > > threatened with further disciplinary action if they didn't shut down the web > > site. Three of the students agree to quit the group that launched the web site. > > David, a South High Senior was suspended again, then given an administrative > > transfer for refusing to shut down the site. There was a story about it in > > City pages, see: > > > > http://www.citypages.com/databank/23/1113/article10285.asp > > > TEMPORARY REMINDER: > 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. > 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject > (Mpls-specific, of course.) > > ________________________________ > > Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy > Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Calendar - Free online calendar with sync to Outlook(TM). http://calendar.yahoo.com TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
