my school had a walk out

[amazizing333]

A lot of students in my school had a walkout ( is that what they are really called? ) today, Jan 10. They had it to protest the suspensions of 13 people in our school, they thought it was an unfair punishment. Aparently, ( I've heard most of this stuff from rumors, but i'm 85% sure these are true ) some mom found her underage daughter drunk one day, and decided to check her FaceBook profile, where she saw over 200 pics of kids drinking alcholic beverages. She put them on a disk and sent it to our dean.

 

 

 

He announced that they didn't have anybody at all checking MySpace or FaceBook for things like this, but if something gets sent to them, they have to investigate.

 

 

 

About 40 kids were called down to be asked questions about the pictures. The rumor said that over 200 people were suspended, but only 13 did.

 

 

 

Throught texting and any sort of communication, the message was spread that there was going to be a walk out on Thursday, after first hour.

 

 

 

On Thusday, after first hour, there was a crowd of about 100 people by the south doors. They were all going to walk out, but then the teachers and guards came out and most of them dissolved. The principle came out and started yelling at us ( bystanders, there were more of us then there were protesters ). After all of this, about 20 people left, most of them seniours, went to the parking lot, and I think they drove off.

 

 

 

IMHO, the walk out was dumb. It didn't do anything, just caused a huge commotion. And the suspension wasn't that big either, out of the 42 people investigated, only 13 got suspended, the others just had to tell thier parents. No biggie, here are some links from our local news:

 

 

 

http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article ... yid=492261

 

http://www.startribune.com/local/west/13549646.html

 

( lol, these probably explained the whole thing better than I did )

 

 

 

Did you think the walkout was dumb?

[malo2]

I think the suspensions were justified, assuming you live in a country where most high school students are too young to drink. It may not be his business what the kids drink, but it is his business who goes to his school.

[Nadril]

It sounds pretty stupid. I mean, if you're stupid enough to post yourself doing illegal activities on a site anyone can easily access you deserve what you get.

 

 

 

 

 

I'm not saying underage drinking is wrong or even talking about that, but a walk out to protest 13 suspensions is just silly.

[amazizing333]

I think the suspensions were justified, assuming you live in a country where most high school students are too young to drink.

 

 

 

I live in America...

[malo2]

I think the suspensions were justified, assuming you live in a country where most high school students are too young to drink.

 

 

 

I live in America...

I imagined so, so I basically agree that the walk out was stupid.

 

 

 

One thing that I liked though was that the kids actually got together and did something about things they thought were unjustified. They may have protested against a stupid thing, but at least they did something, unlike alot of other people.

[Bloodredsword]

It it had been a walk out for alot more students, it would've been better.

 

 

 

But 13...ehh.

[Lenin64]

When I was in 8th grade my school was supposedly going ti have a walk out over some immigration issues. Nobody did :-w But walk outs are really just, for lack of a better word, stupid. It never gets anything done, and whoever leaves will just get punished themselves.

[justin_m23]

I don't think the walk out was wrong, but it was probably pointless. I think its wrong of the school to get involved in things of that nature though, its none of their business.

[malo2]

It it had been a walk out for alot more students, it would've been better.

 

 

 

But 13...ehh.

13 is a lot of people, and a lot more people had them as friends. The main reason people protest is because of outrage, not just to get a person out of trouble. The protested because they thought the principal was wrong.

 

 

 

If someone is going to say something stupid like "Should people protest if he gets a math problem wrong too?" don't be an idiot and compare that to 13 suspensions.

[venomai]

It sounds pretty stupid. I mean, if you're stupid enough to post yourself doing illegal activities on a site anyone can easily access you deserve what you get.

 

I wouldn't call that stupid. Most of those pictures get put up without the other person's consent.

 

 

 

I drink and smoke marijuana illegally and I suspect there are Facebook pictures of me doing both (pictures I did not put up and that I have no power to remove).

 

 

 

If that happened here, I would have joined the protest. Everyone should be entitled to their own opinions, granted it's done in a peaceful manner. I see a real cause for concern when the school begins to investigate into our private lives.

 

 

 

Thankfully, my school is pretty calm about all this. :)

[tripsis]

I'm actually kind of surprised. If the pictures weren't of people drinking on campus, I didn't know the school could do anything about it. At least in all the high schools I've heard of (including my own), the school is only allowed to take action if the student is found to be drinking/doing drugs on campus. That policy makes a lot more sense in my opinion (than being allowed to suspend a student who got drunk, but not on campus).

 

 

 

But still.. I think they got what they deserved. I agree with Nadril that if you're stupid enough to post that on a site where anyone can see it, it's really entirely your fault and you deserve whatever punishment comes your way. I have no sympathy for those people.

 

 

 

EDIT:

I wouldn't call that stupid. Most of those pictures get put up without the other person's consent.

 

 

 

But the pictures had to have been taken with the person's consent (unless for some reason the person was tied down and unwillingly had their picture taken, which I doubt). And if someone takes your picture, I think it's pretty obvious that the pictures are going to be uploaded onto a computer (which anyone can really have access to, whether it's a parent or sibling) and posted somewhere. That's what high school students do.

[venomai]

But still.. I think they got what they deserved. I agree with Nadril that if you're stupid enough to post that on a site where anyone can see it, it's really entirely your fault and you deserve whatever punishment comes your way. I have no sympathy for those people.

 

See my reply above.

 

 

 

Also, Facebook isn't exactly a site that "anyone" can access. Most people tend to restrict their profiles to friends only. I think the truly "stupid" people are those that give their passwords to parents knowing that their parents are against alcohol/drug use (although I'm sure many parents force it out of their kids or get in without them knowing).

[Nadril]

It sounds pretty stupid. I mean, if you're stupid enough to post yourself doing illegal activities on a site anyone can easily access you deserve what you get.

 

I wouldn't call that stupid. Most of those pictures get put up without the other person's consent.

 

 

 

I drink and smoke marijuana illegally and I suspect there are Facebook pictures of me doing both (pictures I did not put up and that I have no power to remove).

 

 

 

If that happened here, I would have joined the protest. Everyone should be entitled to their own opinions, granted it's done in a peaceful manner. I see a real cause for concern when the school begins to investigate into our private lives.

 

 

 

Thankfully, my school is pretty calm about all this. :)

 

 

 

Well at that point it depends really and its kind of a gray matter to be honest.

[tripsis]

But still.. I think they got what they deserved. I agree with Nadril that if you're stupid enough to post that on a site where anyone can see it, it's really entirely your fault and you deserve whatever punishment comes your way. I have no sympathy for those people.

 

See my reply above.

 

 

 

Also, Facebook isn't exactly a site that "anyone" can access. Most people tend to restrict their profiles to friends only. I think the truly "stupid" people are those that give their passwords to parents knowing that their parents are against alcohol/drug use (although I'm sure many parents force it out of their kids or get in without them knowing).

 

 

 

I already replied ;)

 

 

 

As you suggested, I doubt that most people willingly give their parents their password. I know some parents who demand that they have their child's password, and then there are other people who just leave FaceBook open on their computer and their parents access it without "permission."

[Jmclark911]

I wish "Concerned Parents", like the one who sent in the disk with the photos would just relax. They are such suck-ups to authority. Wow, teens are drinking, give me a break. Look at MySpace, and Facebook, and how many people on that site are underage drinkers. Those concerned parents just had to go on that kid's Facebook and look at her friend's profiles, and just had to tell the school.

 

 

 

Now that mother has ruined a ton of futures, all because she couldn't give it a rest.

 

 

 

Also, since when can the school suspend people for drinking off-school? I mean, they made an agreement they wouldn't for sports, but suspended from school? =/

 

 

 

(Reason #1 why you don't tell your parents your passwords :-$ )

[spikerkid]

What a [bleep] mom... Who would risk their kids popularity because you found pictures of kids drinking. It's nothing new and it's nothing you can stop.

[tripsis]

I wish "Concerned Parents", like the one who sent in the disk with the photos would just relax. They are such suck-ups to authority. Wow, teens are drinking, give me a break. Look at MySpace, and Facebook, and how many people on that site are underage drinkers. Those concerned parents just had to go on that kid's Facebook and look at her friend's profiles, and just had to tell the school.

 

 

 

I don't think there's anything wrong with parents being concerned. Most parents don't want their underage children drinking, and I don't blame them. I'm not a parent or even a legal adult and I don't think that underage people should drink. Just because "everyone does it" doesn't mean they shouldn't be concerned.

 

 

 

I'll bet that the only reason the parent told the school is so that the parents of the teens in question would be notified. I doubt that she was feeling evil and wanted to get them suspended or "mess up their future" or whatever. She probably just felt that the parents of those students had a right to know (and would want to know). The parent couldn't single-handedly find out who each student was and contact their parents, but the school could at least make an attempt to do so. I think parents have a right to know when their kids are drinking.

 

 

 

erkid"]What a [bleep] mom... Who would risk their kids popularity because you found pictures of kids drinking. It's nothing new and it's nothing you can stop.

 

 

 

Quite frankly, I wouldn't want to be friends with anyone who blamed me for something my Mom did anyway.

[Lemeja]

I bet half those kids just wanted to get out of school :roll:

[venomai]

I wouldn't call that stupid. Most of those pictures get put up without the other person's consent.

 

 

 

But the pictures had to have been taken with the person's consent (unless for some reason the person was tied down and unwillingly had their picture taken, which I doubt). And if someone takes your picture, I think it's pretty obvious that the pictures are going to be uploaded onto a computer (which anyone can really have access to, whether it's a parent or sibling) and posted somewhere. That's what high school students do.

 

Two scenarios:

 

 

 

1. You are at a big party and you happen to be in pictures that you weren't aware people were taking. This happens a lot.

 

2. A close friend of yours takes a picture to capture the moment. There's a good chance that they will put it on their personal profile. There's obviously a risk of unwanted sources seeing it, but it's not much different from having it in a hardcopy album that my friends (and perhaps others) can easily access.

 

 

 

In either case, it's difficult to request that every picture of yourself doing illegal activities be taken down on Facebook. For one, you will end up looking like a jerk after hassling people weekly to remove pictures, and also, it won't do much. Since you have no control over the pictures, and since some of them are seen the moment they are uploaded, it's a pretty futile attempt.

 

 

 

I don't see how the above makes me or any other student "stupid".

 

 

 

I would love to have an honest discussion about underage use of drugs and alcohol with teachers and parents. I think most of the problem is parents -- schools tend to do what the parents want most. If the parents want all underage drinkers to be suspended (even if it means their own children) then they will, because in their twisted minds they believe it will somehow prevent horrible things like death and addiction (although it often shows to only make matters worse).

 

 

 

 

 

I think parents have a right to know when their kids are drinking.

 

To what extent do parents need to know? To what extent should parents be allowed to interrupt their children's private lives?

 

 

 

What about other drugs? If a child drinks caffeine weekly, would you go out of your way to notify the parents?

 

What about sex? If a child has sex with their girlfriend on Tuesday, should the parents be notified? Is it any of their business?

 

 

 

I think it's great that parents are concerned, but there is a fine line between being concerned and over-reacting. When their child has a cup of coffee -- note that caffeine is a very ADDICTING and potentially harmful MIND ALTERING DRUG -- the parents do not need to freak out. When their child has a few beers or has safe sex with their partners there is no need to interrupt them enjoying their lives.

 

 

 

When a habit becomes an issue, one that gets in the way of health, jobs, school or social life, then the parents should definitely become involved. But a few beers and a bit of marijuana is none of their business.

[Powman3]

I don't drink. I don't like to. Plus I don't like drugs either, cigarettes make me sick, just the smoke makes me cough. Maybe I'll like it when I'm older.

 

 

 

Anyway, that walkout proved nothing. They shouldn't have been posting pictures of themselves drinking on public message boards. Their fault.

[Adam007]

I think the suspensions were justified, assuming you live in a country where most high school students are too young to drink. It may not be his business what the kids drink, but it is his business who goes to his school.

 

But it happened outside of school and has no bearing on what goes on in school. That should be outside of the school's jurisdiction.

[Jmclark911]

I think the suspensions were justified, assuming you live in a country where most high school students are too young to drink. It may not be his business what the kids drink, but it is his business who goes to his school.

 

But it happened outside of school and has no bearing on what goes on in school. That should be outside of the school's jurisdiction.

 

 

 

Exactly what I was thinking. But, I didn't say that because the kids that play sports signed an agreement saying they wouldn't drink alcohol (well most schools make them do so). But the school has no business punishing kids for their Facebook pictures. If my school were to punish kids on AIM profiles, MySpaces, and blogs, then everyone would be in trouble.

[malo2]

I bet half those kids just wanted to get out of school :roll:

looking at your sig, I have realized i look too much like Light Yagami.

 

I think the suspensions were justified, assuming you live in a country where most high school students are too young to drink. It may not be his business what the kids drink, but it is his business who goes to his school.

 

But it happened outside of school and has no bearing on what goes on in school. That should be outside of the school's jurisdiction.

i don't agree. First off, what if a kid decides to go to school drunk? and maybe hits another kid on the way, or just acts like a jack [wagon] there. Unlikely but possible.

 

 

 

Also, if someone got a hold of alcohols at such a young age, what else can he get a hold of?

 

 

 

Thirdly, if a person can so easily break one law, how many more laws can he break without his own concern?

[Giordano]

Since when do the schools have the bloody power to do this? It's not school-related nor in the campus, so its not the school's problem its the governments. Why the mother told the school instead of the police is beyond me, if the kids got fined/jailed due to underage drinking then yeah its alright. But suspending from school? Wrong punishment-giver.

[crimsonking]

If they were drinking on school property I would understand that, but the school should not have any control over what people do in their free time, whether it be illegal or not, that is the parent's job(And possibly the police depending on what happened).

 

 

 

Truth is its very rare that a person doesn't drink at least once before he/she is legal, its so rare that back when I was in school the students were fairly open about it and the teachers didn't mind at all, I wouldn't be suprised if they did it when they were kids as well.