Middle-schoolers suspended for viewing MySpace posting

[Michael]

Twenty middle-schoolers were suspended for two days after viewing a boy's posting on the MySpace.com Web site that contained an alleged threat, school officials said.

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


Full story...

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/nation/20060302-1140-myspace-suspensions.html

[WonderRandy]

While I doubt that they would get suspended right away for viewing myspace, the students at the school I work at are not allowed to visit that site (along with several other blog/chat/message board sites that have been identified by the DOE. the site is blocked on school computers, and to access the site, they have to bypass the filters. THAT's what they would get busted for. If I see the students on an unauthorized site (and I tend to be pretty lax in that supervision, except when it's obvious that they bypassed the filters to get there), I just make them log off. Or, I will simply counsel them that it's against the rules, and ask them to work on a school-related project. The school provides computers for the student to work on their schoolwork, not to play games and chat.

[Absolut]

Hate crime seems a little harsh.
Considering they're what.. how old is middle school.. young anyway.


Ah right just read the article.
Suspending them for reading it kinda.. yeah dumb.
But if the kid who made/posted that about shooting her.. goes to that school.. damnnnn someone better talk to him hard and fast.


And still I'm still not too certain about calling it a hate crime.
Bullying for sure.. but come on they're kids... Can they really commit HATE CRIMES?

[Rotting]

Did that mention they checked out site after school and/or at home?

[Blue Plastic Straw]

Did that mention they checked out site after school and/or at home?

The article suggests that the students were accessing the site from home and were suspended for being members of a group where the hateful stuff was posted.

[froggythefrog]

The article left out so many details that it was hardly worth publishing. As BPS stated, the article merely suggested the students were viewing the post at home, and on top of that, was everybody who viewed the post suspended? Was everyone who answered the post suspended? Did the school believe it was taking protective action for the student being spoken of? Where are the adequate details? I can't read this article and say "Well I think...:dunce:"