PERSUASIVE ESSAY – LANGUAGE ARTS
Social Networking Sites
December, 2011
Mrs. Barone
Thursday, March 2, 2006
Boy faces expulsion over Web threat
TeWinkle Middle School student may also be criminally charged in February
incident.
Last month, the parents of 20 students at TeWinkle Middle School in Costa Mesa
were called to come pick up their children following what administrators called a
"disciplinary issue." When they arrived, they were shown the disturbing post on
MySpace.com, with graphic death threats directed at a female student. The parents
were told their children were suspended for two days because of their involvement in
the group. According to three parents of the TeWinkle students, the boy who posted
the threat created a group on Jan. 3 and invited friends to join by sending them a
colorful psychedelic picture. If they accepted it, they were added to his group, called
"I hate ... (girl's name)." The group name also included an expletive and racial
reference. The student was identified only by her first name. Some parents said their
children do not know the girl.
Five days later, the boy sent a second message to members of his group, asking
them to click on a nondescript folder. Once they did, a post appeared with the words,
"Who here in the 'I hate (girl's name with an expletive and racial reference)' wants to
take a shotgun and blast her in the head over a thousand times?" and asked for
replies. No one replied.
TeWinkle English teacher Elizabeth Copeland saw the post when she was browsing
MySpace and alerted school administrators, according to a Costa Mesa police
report. Working with school resource officer Jess Gillman, school officials identified
20 TeWinkle students from the 28 pictures and icons associated with the site.
The students were summoned to the principal's office Feb. 15 and handed a two-day
suspension. Police went to the school and are investigating the threat.
Now that the school investigation has been completed, the district is moving forward
with disciplinary proceedings against the boy who posted the threat. The suspension
angered some TeWinkle parents who thought the school overstepped its bounds by
suspending students for doing nothing more than looking at a Web site in the privacy
of their home after school hours
Technology brings bullying home
Cyber-bullying follows victims everywhere
Monday, November 29, 2010
LOWER POTTSGROVE — Say the word "bullying" and the image that likely springs to
mind is an oversized bruiser who delights in knocking down the books carried by a 98pound weakling, or extorting lunch money.
While that still happens, no doubt, in the hallways of the region's schools, there is a new
kind of bully stalking vulnerable children and this new bully is not limited by school
schedules or time or space.
Called "cyber-bullying," this new menace stalks victims on their cell phones and on their
computers. Its audience is not limited to who sees an altercation in the hall, or at the bus
stop. With much of it playing out on the World Wide Web, this bully's audience is literally
nation-wide.
By comparison, the Nov. 23, the audience for a talk on the subject by William James —
a Lower Pottsgrove Police officer and the school resource officer for the Pottsgrove
School District — was comparatively small. But the threats he outlined and the steps
necessary to combat them, loomed large in the minds of the handful of parents who
showed up to learn more about protecting their children.
"Cyber-bullying is faceless and emotionless," at least in terms of its delivery, said James.
The bully does not see the feedback of their victim, and as a result, they also do not see
the harm as it is being caused.
Before bullying over the Internet became prevalent — and it has become so quickly — "a
kid could go home and it was a safe haven," James said. "He could process what had
happened during school, maybe talk to a parent, and figure out how to deal with it."
Now, he said, there is often no respite.
Before he killed himself in 2005 at the age of 12, San Diego bully victim Matthew Gilman
wrote the following poem:
"It was a dark and cool night
At night I am in my bedroom
No one goes to school at night"
"School is supposed to be a safe place for our children," James said.
The abuse can come in a number of cruelly inventive ways, not just as direct text
messages in the middle of the night, which is not uncommon.But like many things, its not
the tool but how you use it that matters and texting can have a positive impact as well.
Pottsgrove has a "Falcon Assist" line established in which students who become aware
of bullying — of any kind — can alert adults by texting "Falcons" to 78247.
"The cafeteria is a text zone, so its very common to see students there texting," said
Krista Rundell, a Pottsgrove teacher and one of the district's technology integration
coaches.
"Our students have been using it and using it very effectively," she said.
Many students may not realize that using electronic devices to bully creates an
electronic record that can be used against them if they're caught, James said.He noted
that charges of harassment, harassment by communications device and stalking are all
criminal charges that can be brought against cyber-bullies.But often, the temptation is
too great for a generation raised on instant messaging.That's because many electronic
devices are perfect for a bullying mentality, James said.
Bullies "are good at hiding their behavior, when adults are around, they're good as gold,
and they get excited by conflict with others," both of which are well-served by a wider,
anonymous audience.
Some cyber-bullying is more subtle or indirect and occurs through the establishment of
"rating" websites, in which students can be rated by their peers on popularity, looks,
hygiene and other sensitive subjects.Cyber-bullying can also happen in chat rooms,
where gossip trades like gold.Victims cannot even find solace in on-line games, where
bullies also find them and harass their characters.
"I have some nephews who play Call of Duty and I've watched them play and some of
the stuff that gets said there, it gets down and it gets dirty," said James.
In fact, there is even a video game that glorifies bullying.Like "Grand Theft Auto," the
appropriately named "Bully" game desensitizes children to cruel and illegal behavior and
rewards abuse, said James.
"It literally teaches you how to be a bully," he said.
Rundell said another threat to watch out for is the takeover of a Facebook or Myspace
page, wherein the victim shares a password and the password is subsequently changed
and the originator is locked out.
"They post updates, lies and photos under that person's name," Rundell said.
She also said the rating sites can be particularly cruel.
"Students are so used to posting their opinions that they often don't hesitate to post their
opinions about each other as well," she said.
During the presentation, James and Rundell offered some vivid examples.One website
featured a photo of a club originally taken for a middle school year book but appropriated
for a website named "punch the geeks" and "the next day these kids are walking down
the hall and they are getting wailed on by students and they don't know why."
According to information James presented, 40 percent of all teens with access to the
Internet, reported being bullied in 2008.And before you tell yourself that it never
happened to your child, know that the statistics James presented indicated only 10
percent of those kids told their parents about the cyber-bullying.
James said 91 percent of children between the ages of 12 to 15 use the Internet
regularly and that 90 percent of parents surveyed think they know what their children are
doing on-line.But national statistics show that only 62 percent of teens in that age group
tell their parents what they are seeing and doing on-line.
Ryan Patrick Halligan did not tell his parents about the instant messages he had traded
with a girl he thought liked him, but was instead deceiving him and sharing those
messages with half the school.In 2003, the Vermont 13-year-old, who had once been a
special education student and had already suffered through more conventional bullying,
took his own life.His parents established ryanpatrickgalligan.org, a website and
organization dedicated to combating bullying.
On the website, Patrick's father wrote the following:
"It's one thing to be bullied and humiliated in front of a few kids. It's one thing to feel
rejection and have your heart crushed by a girl. But it has to be a totally different
experience then a generation ago when these hurts and humiliation are now witnessed
by a far larger, online adolescent audience. I believe my son would have survived these
incidents of bullying and humiliation if they took place before computers and the internet.
But I believe there are few of us that would have had the resiliency and stamina to
sustain such a nuclear level attack on our feelings and reputation as a young teen in the
midst of rapid physical and emotional changes and raging hormones. I believe bullying
through technology has the effect of accelerating and amplifying the hurt to levels that
will probably result in a rise in teen suicide rates. Recent statistics indicate that indeed
teen suicide is on the rise again after many years of declining rates."
Part of that increase may be due to some of the worst sites of all — the so-called suicide
sites, which not only offer handy "how-to" guides, but often have regular visitors who
urge tormented teens to end their lives.James showed postings of real teens, who were
threatening suicide, and others on the site who told them to go ahead with it.
"You'll read about it in the paper tomorrow," wrote one student who ultimately committed
suicide.
Student bawdy
Girls sue HS over Web-pix penalty
By CHARLES WILSON Last Updated: 5:27 AM, October 31, 2009
INDIANAPOLIS -- Two sophomore girls have sued their school district after they
were punished for posting sexually suggestive photos on MySpace during their
summer vacation.
The American Civil Liberties Union, in a federal lawsuit filed last week on
behalf of the girls, argues that Churubusco HS violated the girls' free-speech rights
when it banned them from extracurricular activities for a joke that didn't involve the
school. They say the district humiliated the girls by requiring them to apologize to an
all-male coaches board and undergo counseling.
The US Supreme Court has ruled that students can be disciplined for
activities that happen outside of school, so long as the school can prove that the
activities were disruptive or posed a danger and that it was foreseeable the activities
would find their way to campus. But some legal experts say that in this digital era,
schools must accept that students will engage in some questionable behavior in
cyberspace and during off hours.
"From the standpoint of young people, there's no real distinction between
online life and offline life," said John Palfrey, a Harvard University law professor and
co-director of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society. "It's just life."
The suit, filed in US District Court in Fort Wayne, names the school, its principal,
Austin Couch, and the district as defendants and seeks unspecified damages.
Erik Weber, an attorney for the Smith-Green district, said Couch was
enforcing the school's athletic code, which allows the principal to bar from activities
any student athlete whose behavior in or out of school "creates a disruptive influence
on the discipline, good order, moral or educational environment at Churubusco High
School."
ACLU legal director Ken Falk insists the Churubusco case doesn't warrant the
punishment.
"We all did things when we were sophomores in high school that can be
construed as immature or problematic or whatever, but that is not the issue here," he
said. "The issue is what possible impact this could have on the school environment,
and the answer is none."
The girls, identified only by their initials in the suit, took the photos before
school started this summer and posted them on their MySpace pages, setting the
privacy controls so only those designated as friends could view them. None of the
photos made any reference to the school.
Weber declined to say how the photos reached Couch, but the suit contends
that someone copied the pictures and shared them with school officials. Couch
initially suspended both girls from all extracurricular activities for the year but
reduced the penalty to 25 percent of fall-semester activities after the girls completed
three counseling sessions and apologized.
**************************************************************************
Taken from:
http://www.infopackets.com/news/humor/2008/20080310_facing_the_consequences_of_
facebook.htm
Who's watching Facebook? A Toronto university student recently found out
the hard way that the way you network in the virtual world can have very real
consequences in the physical.
Chris Avenir, 18, is facing severe punishment -- perhaps even expulsion -- for
creating a Facebook group designed to help students at Ryerson University
exchange answers for how to fool an online testing system. Called
"Dungeons/Mastering Chemistry Solutions", the group racked up about 147
members, most from the school's first year chemistry and science fields.
It didn't take the school long to catch on to the scheme, and Ryerson has
since shut down the group. As a result, Avenir now faces a charge for every
other member of the Facebook collective he created He had earned a B in the
class, but after the professor discovered the Facebook group over the holidays,
the mark was changed to an F. The professor reported the incident to the
school's student conduct officer and recommended expulsion.
Surprisingly, many are criticizing Ryerson, and not Avenir, in the wake of the
group's shutdown. Toronto-based tech expert Jesse Hirsh commented, "The
online culture is outpacing the curriculum and education system...These students
are being smart and using the Internet the way that it should be used. This is the
future of education."
Although the school remains largely mum, for now, it appears the
administration will indeed move for expulsion. In response, Hirsh says, "This is a
very heavy-handed move...It's a culture clash of the status quo not being
comfortable with what's happening online
Is it the school's obligation to predict that these technological leaps will
outpace rather dated testing systems, or should students demonstrate the kind of
morality expected of youths working towards a place in the professional world?
Finally, should the university be able to expel a student based solely on content
on a social networking site?
Facebook photos land Eden Prairie kids in trouble
More than 100 were suspended from activities or reprimanded after being
shown drinking at parties.
By MARY LYNN SMITH and COURTNEY BLANCHARD, Star Tribune
Last update: January 9, 2008 - 5:46 PM
Eden Prairie High School administrators have reprimanded more than 100
students and suspended some from sports and other extracurricular activities
after obtaining Facebook photos of students partying, several students said
Tuesday.
School administrators and the district's spokeswoman didn't return phone calls,
but students called in by their deans over the past two days said they were being
reprimanded for the Facebook party photos, which administrators had printed
out. It's likely, they said, that other students among the 3,300 who attend Eden
Prairie will be questioned throughout the week.
Danny O'Leary, a senior who plays lacrosse, said his dean displayed four
Facebook photos of O'Leary holding drinks and told him he was in "a bit of
trouble." One photo shows him holding a can of Coors beer, another a shot of
rum, he said. In yet another, O'Leary is pictured holding his friend's 40-ounce
container of beer.
"I wasn't drinking that night," O'Leary said. But that apparently doesn't matter. "I
was told each picture was equal to a two-game suspension,'' he said.
O'Leary said he intends to meet with the director of student activities today to
discuss the suspensions. He said he will point out that two of the photos were
taken two years ago, before he joined the lacrosse team and signed a pledge not
to drink.
"I'm personally pretty upset and wondering why someone would collect these
photos and turn them in," O'Leary said. "A lot of kids' lives are going to be ruined
as far as scholarships and sports are concerned."
O'Leary said the school's actions are likely to put a dent in underage drinking
among students but not stop it. Kids will just be smarter about not posting party
and drinking photos, he said.
"It's dumb to have these pictures up on the Internet," he said, pointing out he has
since deleted his Facebook page.
Natalie Friedman, a senior who is not part of any sports programs, said she was
called in by her dean and scolded about Facebook photos of her behind a bar at
a friend's house with drinks visible. She declined to say whether she was
drinking, saying that no one can prove there was alcohol in the beverages.
"I didn't get into any trouble,'' she said. "But I'm only in intramural sports and
some clubs." She said a friend who is captain of a girls' team was stripped of her
leadership role because she was shown in party photos.
Friedman said some of the photos obtained by school officials show students
holding drinks at weddings and family vacations.
After her meeting with her dean, Friedman said, "I see his perspective. They
can't look at these pictures and not do anything about it.
"But it's not going to stop kids from drinking," she said. "We're just going to reevaluate what we put out in public. We're going to be more cautious."
Eden Prairie senior Rachael Kalaidis said she wouldn't be surprised if she's
called to the dean's office this week because she is probably pictured in some
Facebook party photos posted on her friends' pages. At least 20 of her friends
already have had to report to their deans regarding such photos.
"I don't really put bad stuff on my page,'' she said. "I'm not dumb."
Students throughout the school are talking about getting stung by the Facebook
photos, but the administration has not made any public announcements about it
or sent out any information, Kalaidis said.
"Everyone thinks it's pretty weird,'' she said. "I think it's a huge invasion of
privacy."
The Minnesota State High School League requires student athletes to sign a
pledge that they will not drink alcoholic beverages.
############################################################################
Social networking - sites that give teens a chance to
communicate with millions of other people –
The past few years have seen the growth of popular social networking websites for
students: Some prominent examples are Facebook, Tumbler, formspring.me, and
Twitter, to name a few. Unfortunately, however, such sites and blogs - despite all the
good they've done for some students -- have also created serious problems for other
students, educators and even law enforcement. Along with the freedom of speech and
individuality these sites offer, comes the risks of blogging without caution. Internet
communication has been stifled in many school districts because these sites offer
venues on the Internet where teenagers can reveal potentially compromising
information. Some middle school teens have written damaging paragraphs about
teachers, administrators and fellow classmates, some students have posted pictures of
drinking and doing drugs, some have created sites where students can get answers to
test questions, and still others have posed more serious problems by making threats and
bullying. When some schools have been notified about these types of individual sites,
they have reacted by threatening suspension or expulsion for these writers. Other middle
schools have required all students to dismantle their sites, whether or not there is any
incriminating “cyber talk”.
Some students say that schools have no right to read what they have written, claiming
that Facebook, for instance, is a private site meant for their friends only. On the other
hand, some schools claim that since the sites belong to the cyber community, anyone
and everyone has legal access to what is written.
However, the real argument isn’t if schools have the right to read entries on social
networking sites, but if they have the right to pursue academic or legal action
based on the content of the site. What about instances when student postings on
networking sites aren't illegal, nor do they evidence or enable a crime - but,
nevertheless, the postings upset middle school administrators or faculty? Even if
postings don't violate the law, they may still break middle school rules, or show evidence
that these rules have been broken. Moreover, even if rules are not broken, the postings
may be severe enough to trigger administrators to want to take punitive action such as
suspension, expulsion, or putting a note on the student's record that may harm his or her
chances of private high school admission, college admission, or in the job market.
********************************************************
For this assignment, you will formulate an opinion on the topic and then --STEP ONE: write a five paragraph persuasive essay that is either in favor / not in
favor of schools having the right to punish for content on social networking sites
(not if schools, teachers, or administrators have the right to read the sites) Think of these
questions while you format your response and support one side of the issue:
a) Do students facing such actions have a First Amendment defense?
b) What should happen when postings themselves violate the law – when someone
is making criminal threats, or their postings constitute harassment?
c) What should the punishment be for damaging remarks about a teacher or
administrator?
d) In some instances, students engage in cyber-bullying – making critical remarks
about students or teachers. If these postings are factual, false, and damaging,
they may count as defamation. The sites cannot be sued – under a key provision
of the Communications Decency Act, web intermediaries – those who merely
allow others to post their own comments and photos – are not liable for
defamation. But the authors (you and your friends) can be. Is this fair?
e) Should schools monitor sites for the safety of their students?
f) Should students be punished for pictures involving drinking or drugs off school
premises and not on school time?
STEP TWO: Additionally, each student will need to interview one fellow student and
one adult over eighteen (adult family member, adult friend, or teacher) to supply
and support data for your paper. Interview questions are attached and your answers
need to be incorporated into your paper, as well as handed in on a separate form. Mrs.
Barone will not participate in the adult interviewing process.
STEP THREE: In order to support your argument, you will need facts and examples and
you will be required to research this topic. You will then use this actual research in your
paper. You will hand in a research sheet with two sources. One or both sources may be
from the Internet; however, all articles used as sources must also be printed out and
handed in and a web address must be supplied for each article. If no article or
address is supplied, you will not receive credit for this portion of the paper requirement.
You will need to fill out the attached research form and hand it in with necessary
articles when the final draft is due.
** Please note – attached you will find rules for plagiarism. Any instances of direct
copying, or similarities between your paper and a published work, will be treated
as plagiarism, and will result in an automatic zero for your paper, according to
East Hanover Middle School policy. The final decision will remain with the teacher.
STEP FOUR: The following is a schedule of due dates for each phase of this
persuasive writing unit.
Read this handout by
Outline of Essay
Beginning of essay
Body of essay
All research / interviews
Conclusion of essay
Complete First Draft
Self-Editing
Second Draft
Peer-Editing
Final Draft**
December 2
December 6
December 7
December 8
December 8
December 9
December 12
December 12
December 15
December 15
December 19 (TEST GRADE)
** Include with final draft of paper (Must be in pocket folder when handed in)
a) Facebook survey
b) Outline
c) Source sheet along with actual articles
d) Names and dates of interviews/plus full interview data
e) First full draft
f) 2nd full draft
g) Self-editing
h) Peer editing
i) Final draft – typed, double spaced, Times New Roman 12 Font, black ink, 5 (five)
paragraphs
j) Supplied rubric