Students Suspended From School Because Of Comments On A Message Board

[Sojourner]

You're making the assumption that these opinions were honest and factually based. I see no support for your assumption in any of the articles you have published.

And, with 8 years of experience as a journalist and 1 year as a law student, I also have an understanding of libel. In the U.S. libel is a false statement published in writing about a person. Slander is a false statement that is spoken but not published. It is a state, not federal, cause of action. Simply making a false statement is typically not enough to support either a libel or slander accusation -- there has to be intent to harm the person's reputation in the community. However, negligently publishing a false statement (i.e., not checking out the veracity of your source) can lead to liability (for a newspaper reporter, at least).

Truth matters ... it is not right to damage a person's reputation on the basis of an untrue rumor or malicious gossip, which is the wrong that libel and slander were created to address.

Since you are the one arguing that libel and slander are OK, which is against the status quo, you bear the burden of proof that such behavior is acceptable societally. This is not about schools silencing student opinions. This is about schools taking action to ensure that the educational atmosphere is safe both for students and administrators.

[jeffpugh]

Okay its hard to argue that one Terra. Point taken.

[HeavenlyCalling]

I dont think that this student should have been suspended. If they were not doing the posting in school ( I know in some schools things like message boards are not allowed on the school computers) or forming some sorto f lynching mob to go after the vice-principle, then there is no reason to suspend them. For the same reason I always found diciplen actions like detentions out of place at after school, volenteer activies. I think that maybe the parents of the child may need to talk with them about their problems with the Vice Principal, but I think it is out of his power...

[FullTruth]

[quote name='Terra Firma' post='1219017' date='Mar 24 2007, 11:17 PM']You're making the assumption that these opinions were honest and factually based. I see no support for your assumption in any of the articles you have published.

And, with 8 years of experience as a journalist and 1 year as a law student, I also have an understanding of libel. In the U.S. libel is a false statement published in writing about a person. Slander is a false statement that is spoken but not published. It is a state, not federal, cause of action. Simply making a false statement is typically not enough to support either a libel or slander accusation -- there has to be intent to harm the person's reputation in the community. However, negligently publishing a false statement (i.e., not checking out the veracity of your source) can lead to liability (for a newspaper reporter, at least).

Truth matters ... it is not right to damage a person's reputation on the basis of an untrue rumor or malicious gossip, which is the wrong that libel and slander were created to address.

[b]Since you are the one arguing that libel and slander are OK[/b], which is against the status quo, you bear the burden of proof that such behavior is acceptable societally. This is not about schools silencing student opinions. This is about schools taking action to ensure that the educational atmosphere is safe both for students and administrators.[/quote]
Terra, you just committed Libel.

I never said Libel was OK. I said the students hadn't committed it!

Your view of Libel is a little harsh. I know the exact definition of Libel myself.

Opinion is not Libel because of FREE COMMENT, a law term you have seemed to forgotten.

Public officials, including a vice-principal are under the jurisdiction of FREE COMMENT by students, because they are public officials.

[url="http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0026-2234(191912)18%3A2%3C161%3ALASQPC%3E2.0.CO%3B2-7"]Libel and Slander: Qualified Privileges: Comment on Public Acts of Public Officials[/url]

If the Vice Principal did an act that the students didn't like, they are under the privilage of Free Comment. They can say they don't like the Vice Principal. I haven't like some teachers in high school because they were arrogant people who down marked anybody who had a differing opinion. The funny thing is, when I didn't like a teacher, most of the other students in the class didn't like the teacher as well. The Hilarious thing is, if you butter them up, and get their inside information to start a project, these arrogant teachers will give you high marks - i. e. they are prideful of their own knowledge, and are definitely not qualified to be a teacher, IMHO.

Since the other students who were interviewed about the story thought the sentense was harsh and it was a denial of Freedom of Speech, my only conclusion is something wasn't right about what happened.

Edited March 25, 2007 by FullTruth

[Resurrexi]

Free speech is a condemned and proscribed error. I don't see why you are defending it.

[FullTruth]

[quote name='StThomasMore' post='1219081' date='Mar 25 2007, 12:22 AM']Free speech is a condemned and proscribed error. I don't see why you are defending it.[/quote]
No, really. I would never have believed you're a strict authoritarian. Afterall, if a Protestant ever gave you a bible, you would burn it!

St. Thomas, I defend people's [b]GOD GIVEN RIGHTS[/b], because as a Christian, I know God gives us free will, so who am I to say what somebody says. Everybody has a right to say whatever they want. Let God judge.

[Sojourner]

[quote name='FullTruth' post='1219059' date='Mar 24 2007, 09:35 PM']Terra, you just committed Libel.

I never said Libel was OK. I said the students hadn't committed it!

Your view of Libel is a little harsh. I know the exact definition of Libel myself.

Opinion is not Libel because of FREE COMMENT, a law term you have seemed to forgotten.

Public officials, including a vice-principal are under the jurisdiction of FREE COMMENT by students, because they are public officials.

[url="http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0026-2234(191912)18%3A2%3C161%3ALASQPC%3E2.0.CO%3B2-7"]Libel and Slander: Qualified Privileges: Comment on Public Acts of Public Officials[/url]

If the Vice Principal did an act that the students didn't like, they are under the privilage of Free Comment. They can say they don't like the Vice Principal. I haven't like some teachers in high school because they were arrogant people who down marked anybody who had a differing opinion. The funny thing is, when I didn't like a teacher, most of the other students in the class didn't like the teacher as well. The Hilarious thing is, if you butter them up, and get their inside information to start a project, these arrogant teachers will give you high marks - i. e. they are prideful of their own knowledge, and are definitely not qualified to be a teacher, IMHO.

Since the other students who were interviewed about the story thought the sentense was harsh and it was a denial of Freedom of Speech, my only conclusion is something wasn't right about what happened.[/quote]
You're assuming that school administrators are considered public officials, which is a faulty assumption. I didn't make that assumption, which is why I didn't bring up FREE COMMENT. Many jurisdiction have found that school principals are not public officials. A few have found that they are.

Even if they are, that still doesn't change the fact that the school could well be right in restricting its students' ability to lambaste school officials. It just means that the vice principal wouldn't have a legal cause of action against the students for libel.

[Proud2BCatholic139]

First off, I don't know why anyone would put that on the internet for EVERYONE to see!

Second, there are privacy settings. People are not aware that you can block faculty from looking at your facebook.

Ok, I have to laugh at some students here, I would say they are not thinking straight. If you are a nursing or elementary education major, or just a college student underage/doing other illegal things. Why post pictures of you drinking/other illegal things? That right there is not the administrations fault for suspending or even expelling you from school. The university wants bright young people, not ones who will not take their majors seriously.

There draws a line of voicing your opinion and verbally harassing.

It goes down to this the golden rule, "Do unto others as you want them to do unto you."

If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all, especially on the internet!