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Page: Profile: Wren's Nest News Local
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Article: 16676
[Schools/Ed]
Date Posted:
11/27/2006
12:06:40 pm EST
Wvox Stats
Views: 8,145
RSS: 21,031
Comments: 11
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When Teddy Bears Attack, Students Get Expelled
Author: The Associated Press Source: First Amendment Center Online
Title: WHEN TEDDY BEARS ATTACK, STUDENTS GET EXPELLED
Two students are suing to return to school after they were expelled for making a movie in which evil teddy bears attack a teacher.
The teenagers were among four students expelled from Knightstown High School over the movie, titled "The Teddy Bear Master." Two of the boys are asking a federal judge in Indianapolis to order the students reinstated, arguing that school officials overreacted to a film parody and violated their First Amendment rights.
But Knightstown Principal Jim Diagostino and Superintendent David McGuire don't see the humor, and note that the teacher who is threatened in the movie has the same last name as a real teacher in the district.
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Community Thoughts: There are 11 comments posted | Reverse Sort |
| Rosey Posey | Nov 28th. at 7:44:05 pm EST
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Terry (Irvington, Virginia) - Email Me
Based not on the above story, but the more detailed one linked by Prydain, it's interesting to see what legal metaphors have been used by the school. However, if the students are seen as swinging fists, they're not swinging them beyond the noses of school officials. The same cannot be said about Clevenger and McGuire, in lashing out and striking the students for other than lawful reasons.
If only more students used educational resources like the relatively new ACLU Freedom Files program available on DVD or some cable and satellite channels, as well as net streams from www.ACLU.TV , more students would fight back against corrupt school officials. In a case like this, besides an injunction reversing the wrongful actions and protecting against future retributions, and money damages, it would be interesting to impose an additional unusual condition on school officials and their counsel. Noting that Dr. Seuss is on the case (seriously!) , what if every memo or other document written by McGuire, Clevenger, or Kelso from now until the graduation of the target students were required to be written as posey, under penalty of a night in jail and hundred dollar contempt of court fine per violation?
Whether his state Bar standards allow it or not, Kelso's actions ought to draw sanctions if an ethics or stronger complaint about knowing false statements were made against him.
If, as attributedf to McGuire, Clevenger 'felt threatened', the school Board might well require Clevenger to obtain counseling and psychiatric review before being allowed near students again.
Since the state found that these actions were not legal threats, and Kelso filed legal documents asserting otherwise after that determination, Kelso deserves to be held liable under whatever criminal, civil, or Bar process possible. There's an important distinction between a legal threat, and an individual's arbitrary emotional reaction, which it's every attorney's obligation to know and distinguish in all professional work. He might also be reminded that his mommy indoctrinating him as a rabid fundie bigot with poor tolerance of select words with are not "vulgar" or "offensive" other than relative to his own prejudices may have been child abuse of him as a kiddie, but falls within what he's obligated to distinguish as legally protected speech by the students. I could access the net from to feed or obtain content using an Imarsat phone pretty much anywhere on Earth, but that doesn't make private or public networks off campus the school's business. If only attorneys were more often and easily held liable for the damages inflicted in having to defend such specious assertions....
So, what to do about unethical counsel and petty tyrant school officials?
Can we turn them into carpet?
Can we dunk them in a tar pit?
Will some goose down stick like glue?
If I goose them you can too.
School Boards really need strict policies about when THEY or their administrators act in offensive and other than legal ways which disrupt the school educational environment.
Hmmm.... It takes enough work converting thoughts into posey, that were the school board, teacher, Principal, and Superintendent behind this case required to do all their writing and speech at meetings for the next 2-3 years in that form and no other, they'd likely long remember the lesson of a court order so compelling them. (Would an ACLU attorney named Suess be willing to file a serious court motion joking about her own name and Juris Doctor degree?)
Beyond that, this school deserves to fund both lessons to catch up on any missed school education at a level applicable to honors students, not just minimal graduation, as well as pay damages for the emotional distress and denial of irrecoverable social experiences resultant from these expulsions.
Besides the posey court order, would it be too much to also impose a school dress code?
Hopefully it wouldn't scare students too much if their Principal, Superintendent, one teacher, and the School Board members were subject to arrest (as trespassers or for contempt) if they showed up for work or public meetings in anything but teddy bear costumes. As we saw in the recent peace symbol case, a little national attention can do wonders when the home phone rings every few minutes from all over the country, as might happen after the story hit the late night comedy host routines, or other suitable national media.
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| No Leg To Stand On | Nov 28th. at 11:56:12 am EST
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Paradox Greymind (Lexington, California) - Email Me
The School technicly has no leg to stand on as it says in the article that the county prosecuter found nothing criminal in the video otherwise they would have pressed charges From what i can discern from the information previously provided information the film ultamately ended up being about a kids subconcious desires manifesting themselves in unexpected ways and then dealing with the consequences i wish myne humor and creativity where that profound when i was that age
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| Scared Of Teddy Bears?! | Nov 27th. at 10:18:02 pm EST
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Amtehuti (Queens, Florida) - Email Me
Using a person's name in a parody is a legally protected form of speech. They didn't even use the teacher's entire name! Other posts have said it before I have but, to repeat, if this teacher is terrified of teddy bear minions coming to kill him, perhaps he needs psychiatric evaluation. It wasn't exactly respectful, to be honest, and a film could have been made in better taste. At most, they deserved some form of probation. But these kids went out and made a film, they turned their anger and frustration and channeled it into a creative outlet. So the school punishes them?!
Better to have a bunch of disrespectful aristic expressions than a fight breaking out at school or, worse, a more violent incident. Next time, these students will just hold their anger inside. When it explodes, if it EVER explodes, someone will be insulted by much worse than teddy bears.
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| That Teacher | Nov 27th. at 9:22:27 pm EST
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Perriwinkle the Evil (Ozark, Alabama) - Email Me
...should not be teaching if he has such a thin skin and is so scared of his own shadow. No wonder the kids don't respect him.
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| Cleaver Cleaver | Nov 27th. at 2:27:09 pm EST
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Ahr-Ohn (Bridgeport, Connecticut) - Email Me
"In the movie, according to the lawsuits, students harass a teacher named Mr. Clevenger during class. Later, the teddy bear master orders stuffed animal minions to kill the teacher, citing earlier embarrassment caused by Mr. Clevenger.
But in the classroom, the students fight off the teddy bears."
I have to wonder at Daniel Clevenger's fear, that 7th Grade Students might defend him from a Fantasy Horror.
"At issue in the students' lawsuits is whether the district overstepped its bounds. Indiana law allows expulsion for activity unconnected with school if it's unlawful and interferes with school operations."
What was Unlawful? I think the district should be paying for about twelve years of Private School. It should be someplace competant, and therefore different from Public School. Saint Regis Academy sounds like a good place; where did I see them mentioned?
Arawn
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| Overreaction? | Nov 27th. at 1:18:19 pm EST
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Aleyinn (Dundalk, Maryland) - Email Me
Without seeing the movie or knowing much about it beyond this, okay, maybe they overdid it a bit. But isn't there a more compromising way to handle this than just dropping the hammer of expulsion?
Whatever happened to calm, measured reason in this society?
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| Guilty Before | Nov 27th. at 1:07:17 pm EST
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Meglyn (Anthony, Kansas) - Email Me
a crime is commited... this country really is going to hell in a handbasket.... as we lead ourselves to the slaughter....
Blessings
Meg
) O (
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| What! | Nov 27th. at 12:54:59 pm EST
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Prydain (Manhattan, Scotland) - Email Me
Okay, I could see an issue if the movie involved actual humans coming to school and attacking teachers but seriously: teddy bears?! True, I haven't seen the movie and the article isn't exaclty explicit about the method which the video was revealed but a similar article in the Indianapolis Star (see link) gives slightly more information regarding the content and suggests that the only way the movie was available at the school was through myspace. I don't have a myspace account so I don't know if the video is still available.
Having not seen it, I can't speak from a very informed position but it seems like this is a considerable amount of overreaction. How many of us have not done far worse at school (and this didn't even take place on school property) ?
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