Poll of the Day > 4 White Kids SUE their School for SUSPENDING them after LIKING a RACIST Pic!!!

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4 White Students in California are SUING their School District after they were Suspended for LIKING and COMMENTING a racist instagram picture of one of their peers and said it violates their students' free speech rights!!

They accused the Albany Unified School District for unjustly suspending them because the offensive posts they made were on a PRIVATE ACCOUNT that had no connection with any school activity or school account.

The posts were found on another suspended student's account that included NOOSES drawn around the necks of a black student AND their school coach.

Alan Beck, their attorney said "This to me is no different than having a private drawing book and making some offensive drawings at home and sharing them with a couple of friends. Does the school have the right to ruin my life over something i was doing at my house"

Legal experts said the Trump administration will be dragged into this as their lawsuit will present federal courts with another opportunity to decide how schools and regulate student free speech

It raises the question on whether "likes" on social media are treated as original osts as likes can be ambiguous which could be saying "This is funny, i agree with it. Or i don't agree with it but i want to stand up for your right to say it" said Eugene Volkh who teaches free speech.

That specific picture they were bumped out of school for was because it also included a picture of a black student at their school next to an Ape and jokes about their weight and looks.

Albany is an affluent community next to Berkeley which prides itself in liberalism and Political Correctness

Valerie Williams, the superintendent said they pride themselves in being an inclusive and respectful environment as they will take appropriate action

The original student who posted that image to his friends is also facing EXPULSION as his name is not being released.

Students said that account was targeting "only black people" as the suspended students were outed by peers and were "publicly shamed" where they were cursed and jeered at.

A protest quickly formed after the incident was revealed back in late march where students and the community were outraged over the posts

The 4 want unspecified damages and a court order to remove their suspensions as one of them said it was their RIGHT to say whatever he wanted out of school time..

Do you think these 4 brats were rightfully suspended?

Protest -

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/1/2017/05/05/09/wire-517127-1493972574-962_634x443.jpg
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suspension for instagram is fucking laughable.
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This is the dumbest shit I've ever heard
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Gotta side with the students on this one. Unless they sent the pic in order to bully or intimidate someone they did nothing wrong.
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mrduckbear posted...

Alan Beck, their attorney said "This to me is no different than having a private drawing book and making some offensive drawings at home and sharing them with a couple of friends. Does the school have the right to ruin my life over something i was doing at my house"

Nevermind about racism this is also how bullying starts.
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I can sort of see the school's position. If students had brought these pics to school and shown their friends they would be rightfully suspended for having and sharing hate material at school. Applying this to the digital age sharing racist stuff where other students could see could potentially be seen as the same situation. It also makes the school look bad as a student represents their school even outside of classes.

That said this is a digital age. bringing pictures to school is not the same as liking pictures online. It also appears to be a public school district which calls into question their freedom of speech. a private school has the right to expect students to represent their school even off campus, but should a public school have control over what you say and do outside of school?

I am leaning towards the side of the kids on this one, but I don't really fault the school for doing something either.
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That's stupid. Literally nothing good is bound to happen from this suspension. It has nothing to do with school, honestly. They may well punish kids who tell racist jokes at home. It's a shitty thing to do, but if it's not directed at the person, whatever.
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The fact that the picture depicts a student and a coach from their school makes the school right, imo

wwinterj25 posted...

mrduckbear posted...

Alan Beck, their attorney said "This to me is no different than having a private drawing book and making some offensive drawings at home and sharing them with a couple of friends. Does the school have the right to ruin my life over something i was doing at my house"

Nevermind about racism this is also how bullying starts.

Just because me and my friends meet in the forest and burn crosses doesn't mean we are doing anything wrong.

TheCyborgNinja posted...

That's stupid. Literally nothing good is bound to happen from this suspension. It has nothing to do with school, honestly. They may well punish kids who tell racist jokes at home. It's a shitty thing to do, but if it's not directed at the person, whatever.

Liking a pic of nooses around black students and a black coach and having it come to light is more than worthy of what they got.

Honestly, I don't get the students' "position".

Threatening staff and other students seems like a pretty obvious reason for a suspension, on or off school grounds. Schools suspend students for stuff like that all the time.

People pretending grade/high school students have any 'rights'.

Should have been expelled, little rats. Then when they whined they should have been charged with hate crimes.

green dragon posted...

The fact that the picture depicts a student and a coach from their school makes the school right, imo

P much this for me too
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wwinterj25 posted...

mrduckbear posted...

Alan Beck, their attorney said "This to me is no different than having a private drawing book and making some offensive drawings at home and sharing them with a couple of friends. Does the school have the right to ruin my life over something i was doing at my house"

Nevermind about racism this is also how bullying starts.

Wasn't this essentially the plot of the movie, Mean Girls?
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jamieyello3 posted...

Honestly, I don't get the students' "position".

Threatening staff and other students seems like a pretty obvious reason for a suspension, on or off school grounds. Schools suspend students for stuff like that all the time.

The problem with this is that the students in question did not create the art and they did not share the art. They only clicked the like button, which arguably doesn't even mean they liked and agreed with the message. They could have thought it was a joke, they could have have liked it accidentally and not noticed, they could be friends with the guy who posted it and just liked it to acknowledge they saw it, or they could have thought the art or editing of the picture was good despite the message.

I think a good compromise would have been a few sessions with the district therapist or the school counselor.
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wwinterj25 posted...

mrduckbear posted...

Alan Beck, their attorney said "This to me is no different than having a private drawing book and making some offensive drawings at home and sharing them with a couple of friends. Does the school have the right to ruin my life over something i was doing at my house"

Nevermind about racism this is also how bullying starts.

The problem here is that schools shouldn't have any jurisdiction over what you do when not at school. If it's something that happened at a school, they absolutely don't have any rights. However, the idea that a public school where you're involuntarily studying has absolute control over your life is absurd. Granted, if it was a university where you're opting into the system, there's more of an argument for a suspension but not for a fucking high school or middle school.

jamieyello3 posted...

Honestly, I don't get the students' "position".

Threatening staff and other students seems like a pretty obvious reason for a suspension, on or off school grounds. Schools suspend students for stuff like that all the time.

People pretending grade/high school students have any 'rights'.

Should have been expelled, little rats. Then when they whined they should have been charged with hate crimes.

For starters, they didn't threaten anybody. Secondly, if they had, that would be a matter for the police because they aren't on school property. School discipline doesn't preempt the law except on school property. Not sure why you don't know that.
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