Facebook Posts Can Get You Expelled: Not From BYU, Middle School
The dismissal of BYU basketballer Brandon Davies received a lot of press over the past few days, including blaming the Internet for creating the environment where Davies had to confess his sexual activity before others did. But it was three Chapel Hill middle school students who found their Facebook comments had caused their suspension and in one case expulsion.
Stories are always being written warning future job seekers not to post incriminating information on their social media, in particular Facebook. Now the problems have reached back as far as 7th grade.
“Douglas County School officials said the three students violated the disciplinary code but that they could not comment because the parents plan to fight the disciplinary charges in a school tribunal on March 10, 2011. The students could face even harsher penalties, including expulsion and banishment to a school for children with behavior problems,” ZDNet reported.
Who can have access to your social media accounts has been a point of contention in a few cases recently. The “American Civil Liberties Union has taken up the cause of a Maryland man who was forced to cough up his Facebook password during a job interview with the Department of Corrections in that state,” the Atlantic reported.
In the case of Brandon Davies, former Superbowl MVP quarterback Jim McMahon who also attended BYU, said “”Well I wouldn’t imagine it’s any different. Like you said with all the things going on nowadays the IPhones, tweets, and all this kind of crap, I mean I don’t see the campus any differently. I mean they’re college kids, man they’re going to do things. You know sometimes people will tell on you and sometimes they won’t.”
Privacy issues seem to be a major discussion point with major web destinations and now they have reached Middle school.