A federal judge in Indiana has ruled that students who posted photos of themselves with penis-shaped lollipops on social networks should not have been punished by their school.
“Not much good takes place at slumber parties for high school kids, and this case proves the point,” begins the opinion by the Fort Wayne division of the U.S. District Court, which ultimately ruled that the photos were protected by the first amendment.
It was at several sleepovers where the students, two 10th-grade girls, took photos of themselves with the lollipops and in other fully clothed suggestive positions. They then posted those photos on Facebook, Myspace and Photobucket. When the principal of the high school was alerted to the photos by parents, he suspended both girls from the Volleyball team for violating the school’s extracurricular code of conduct.
The judge ruled on Thursday that the code, which broadly bans “bring[ing] discredit or dishonor upon yourself or your school,” is unconstitutionally vague and that the school violated the girls’ first amendment rights by suspending them.
“Ridiculousness and inappropriateness are often the very foundation of humor,” the opinion states. “The provocative context of these young girls horsing around with objects representing sex organs was intended to contribute to the humorous effect in the minds of the intended teenage audience.”
That court also addressed the somewhat trivial and silly nature of the incident.
“The case poses timely questions about the limits school officials can place on out of school speech by students in the information age where Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, texts, and the like rule the day,” it wrote. “…one could reasonably question the wisdom of making a federal case out of a 6-game suspension from a high school volleyball schedule. But for better or worse, that’s what this case is about and it is now ripe for disposition.”
Image courtesy of Flickr, Thomas Roche
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Posted on Fri, 12 Aug 2011 15:14:26 +0000 at http://feeds.mashable.com/~r/Mashable/~3/C4jM3INt4-E/
Comments: http://mashable.com/2011/08/12/students-facebook-photos-protected-first-amendment/#comments
“Not much good takes place at slumber parties for high school kids, and this case proves the point,” begins the opinion by the Fort Wayne division of the U.S. District Court, which ultimately ruled that the photos were protected by the first amendment.
It was at several sleepovers where the students, two 10th-grade girls, took photos of themselves with the lollipops and in other fully clothed suggestive positions. They then posted those photos on Facebook, Myspace and Photobucket. When the principal of the high school was alerted to the photos by parents, he suspended both girls from the Volleyball team for violating the school’s extracurricular code of conduct.
The judge ruled on Thursday that the code, which broadly bans “bring[ing] discredit or dishonor upon yourself or your school,” is unconstitutionally vague and that the school violated the girls’ first amendment rights by suspending them.
“Ridiculousness and inappropriateness are often the very foundation of humor,” the opinion states. “The provocative context of these young girls horsing around with objects representing sex organs was intended to contribute to the humorous effect in the minds of the intended teenage audience.”
That court also addressed the somewhat trivial and silly nature of the incident.
“The case poses timely questions about the limits school officials can place on out of school speech by students in the information age where Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, texts, and the like rule the day,” it wrote. “…one could reasonably question the wisdom of making a federal case out of a 6-game suspension from a high school volleyball schedule. But for better or worse, that’s what this case is about and it is now ripe for disposition.”
Image courtesy of Flickr, Thomas Roche
More About: education, facebookFor more Social Media coverage:Follow Mashable Social Media on TwitterBecome a Fan on FacebookSubscribe to the Social Media channelDownload our free apps for Android, Mac, iPhone and iPad
Posted on Fri, 12 Aug 2011 15:14:26 +0000 at http://feeds.mashable.com/~r/Mashable/~3/C4jM3INt4-E/
Comments: http://mashable.com/2011/08/12/students-facebook-photos-protected-first-amendment/#comments