Student suspended for facebook slam against teacher

[UGAalum94]

I think schools are probably better off ignoring "Mr. So and So is an idiot" facebook comments or pages unless the comments made on them rise to the level of slander or libel or if it would meet an off-campus real world standard for threatening behavior.

Just as it would be counter productive to invest a lot of time monitoring lunch and hallway conversations or even the occasional in class comment for non-threatening negative comments about teachers, it doesn't make sense to schools to get into trying to monitor the web, even if the 1st amendment issues could be cleared up.

Sure, it hurts your feelings to have a hate group made about you, but you look like a bigger idiot when you get all wrapped up what's being said about you by 16 year-olds on facebook.

If, for some reason, the comment actually does create an on campus disruption, then deal with the disruption as a disruption, not the comments themselves.

And any school system that isn't blocking facebook on campus pretty effectively for at least the non-tech-geek students is probably missing the boat, if only to avoid having to deal with the bs that eighth grade girls are going to post about each other.