Girls’ dodgy MySpace pics upset school principal
p2pnet news view Freedom | P2P:- Two girls who posted what they thought were funny pictures on their MySpace pages and upset their school principal are now suing through the the American Civil Liberties Union.
“The girls, identified only by initials, were part of a sleepover last summer attended by other students from Churubusco High School,” says the Whitley County Top News Examiner, going on:
“At the event, they took pictures of themselves ‘pretending to kiss or lick a large multi-colored novelty phallus-shaped lollipop.’ In other photos they were dressed in lingerie with dollar bills tucked into their clothing. They posted the photos on their MySpace pages, which can be accessed only by the friends they select.”
Someone told school principal, Austin Couch (right), and, “Citing a student handbook provision that gives him authority to bar student-athletes from participation if their conduct ‘in or out of school reflects discredit upon Churubusco High School … or creates a disruptive influence on the discipline, good order, moral or educational environment’,” he suspended the girls from “all athletic and extracurricular activities for the year,” says the story, going on:
“When their parents appealed the decision, he gave the students the option to reduce their punishment by 25 percent if they would submit to three counseling sessions and apologize individually to the Athletic Board, made up of coaches for the varsity teams, all of whom are men. The girls submitted to the counseling sessions, and the reports were turned over to the principal.
“The forced counseling was humiliating to the plaintiffs, and being forced to appear before the coaches to apologize for their intended humorous photographs .. was profoundly embarrassing,” according to the Fort Wayne Gazette which adds the ACLU wants the Smith-Green schools prohibited from “continuing to punish the two students and from interpreting the conduct policy to allow such punishment, as well as expunging all references to the matter from their records, according to court documents”.
Whitley County Top News Examiner – ACLU lawsuit over teens’ racy pics on MySpace shakes up sleepy town, October 31, 2009
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