Parents Should Have Solely Disciplined Children Instead of Suing School

Churubusco High School in Fort Wayne, Indiana, is back in the news after a federal judge recently ruled that it violated the First Amendment Right of two students. The case was first introduced to the media back in October 2009, when the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Indiana filed a lawsuit for the students.

CASE BACKGROUND

The case began when two girls, ages 15 and 16, posted sexual photos on the social media web site MySpace. The photos involved the two girls wearing nothing but lingerie and pretending to lick a penis-shaped lollipop, as well as posing in a sexually suggestive manner with other props. The privacy setting on the two girls’ pages were set to “Friends Only” which makes it so those not friends with the girls could see their web page. (Huffington Post)

Somehow, a parent received possession of the photos and brought them to the attention of the school’s superintendent complaining. The principal of the school then suspended the two girls from volleyball, show choir, and cheerleading. He made the girls take counseling sessions and apologize to a coaches’ board. (Huffington Post)

The parents were upset about this punishment, and the ACLU filed suit for the two girls, claiming the school’s actions were a violation of rights, humiliating for the girls, and uninvolved with the school. (Huffington Post)

A federal judge sided with the ACLU, and now the girls may receive award damages. (Huffington Post)

WHERE THE PROBLEM LIES

Several things are wrong with this situation. I don’t have issue with the ruling in itself. The pictures were posted over a summer break, and though I agree with the school taking some action (since not all parents do, someone has to), in the eyes of the law, it was excessive.

What I have an issue with is the lesson the parents are teaching their children. Instead of focusing their attention on holding the girls accountable, they chose instead to go after the school district. Now the girls may even receive award damages for what they did. Do the parents even feel like their girls did anything wrong? I could not find this information anywhere, but it seems like they don’t. There is an issue when your underage girls are posting sexual photos. It’s parents who are okay with actions like these who then don’t understand why their teenagers get pregnant. No, I’m not saying posing sexually will always lead to getting pregnant, but it certainly shows the mindset of the girls.

The ACLU argued that the school humiliated the girls. The girls shouldn’t feel humiliated by the school; they should be humiliated by themselves. Do the girls feel so unconfident with themselves that they think the only positive attention they can get is from posing sexually? Sure, the media emphasizes sexuality, but parenting should come into action at some point. While I’m sure the parents weren’t home at the time the photos were taken, it’s obvious their parenting style comes into play. The parents of these girls need to be asking the girls why they think that making these photos is okay.

The ACLU also said the school violated the girls rights because the photos were not intended for public view. The Internet is never private. I don’t care how secure you think you have made your privacy settings, the Internet is VERY public. As you can see, the parent who turned the photos in must obviously wasn’t on the girls’ friend list, and obviously she saw the photos. All it takes is for one “friend” to share the photo elsewhere, and the photo becomes a media frenzy. Young adults are completely oblivious to how public the Internet really is. With that argument, it goes without saying that posting these photos is dangerous. Pedophiles abound on the Internet. You would think this fact alone would prompt the parents to be concerned and to punish the girls.

The judge said he believed the girls intended the photos to be funny to their friends. I fail to see what is funny about objectifying yourself and putting it up for the world to see.

Am I going to claim complete innocence? No. I have done stupid things when I was younger, and I’m not saying I’m any better than the girls or that the girls are stupid. Simply, the girls did something stupid, and I think their parents should treat them accordingly instead of going after the school district and essentially awarding the girls for their bad behavior. I fail to see what kind of girl can come out of the lesson the parents are teaching their children.

SOURCES

Churubusco, Indiana High School, Violated Rights By Punishing Students Over MySpace Photos, Judge Says, Huffington Post.


People also view

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *