Thou Shalt Not Blog: Catholic High School Forbids Blogging

CrimsonTide4 · #1 10-26-2005, 12:13 PM

Just on VH1.com and came across this. At first I thought he meant they could not do it at school, but it sounds like he is banning it period.

Students can be suspended for a lot of odd reasons these days — wearing "objectionable" T-shirts, cross-dressing for prom, planning elaborate senior pranks — but a principal at a Catholic high school in Sparta, New Jersey, has added another offense to the list: having a blog.

The Reverend Kieran McHugh stunned the 900 students of the private Pope John XXIII Regional High School at a recent assembly when he told them that, effective immediately, they would have to dismantle their personal pages on sites such as MySpace.com and Xanga.com and any other blogs, or face suspension.

McHugh said he was taking the unusual measure to protect students from online sexual predators who may be lurking in cyberspace looking for personal information on children, including their pictures, diaries and gossip, according to a report in New Jersey's The Daily Record newspaper.

Many of the students were reportedly outraged at the school's attempt to regulate their home lives. According to the Record, a majority of them protested the new rule, arguing that it violated their free-speech rights and that the school should have no say on what they do at home.

Read the rest here

AlphaFrog · #2 10-26-2005, 01:39 PM

Ok, I know how Catholic schools are...I went to one...but this is just ridculous. I think if they tried to do this at my high school, the whole school would have them just to piss the admin. off. How can they regulate it??? Are they going to go through every blog site every week or so to find out if anyone is using them?

RACooper · #3 10-26-2005, 05:40 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by AlphaFrog
Ok, I know how Catholic schools are...I went to one...but this is just ridculous. I think if they tried to do this at my high school, the whole school would have them just to piss the admin. off. How can they regulate it??? Are they going to go through every blog site every week or so to find out if anyone is using them?

I went to a Catholic school too... and all I can say if this had been announced at my school, I can guarentee that everyone would have their own MySpace.com site up that very night (if not sooner).

NOWorNEVER · #4 10-26-2005, 06:19 PM

That's just stupid. Blogging is theraputic. I don't what I'd do without my Xanga.

Maroon Hawk · #5 10-26-2005, 11:58 PM

Unfortunately, you can search people by school and like proximity to area code on myspace.com. In addition to stalkers and sexual predators, them students have to add administrative predators too. Smh...what next? No messenger services either?

Tickled Pink 2 · #6 10-27-2005, 12:12 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by RACooper
and all I can say if this had been announced at my school, I can guarentee that everyone would have their own MySpace.com site up that very night (if not sooner).

That's probably EXACTLY what will happen.

Boom_Quack13 · #7 10-27-2005, 10:08 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by AlphaFrog
Ok, I know how Catholic schools are...I went to one...but this is just ridculous. I think if they tried to do this at my high school, the whole school would have them just to piss the admin. off. How can they regulate it??? Are they going to go through every blog site every week or so to find out if anyone is using them?

Kids will rat each other out. That's the number one way people get caught.

I agree that this is over the top. I don't think that the school will enforce it this term, though. They'll probably enforce it if it is included in the next term's contract. They know better. It's just an idle threat right now.

DC_Zeta1920 · #8 10-27-2005, 04:50 PM

I went to a Catholic High School myself and this is definitely over the top. Everyone needs a outlet to vent and that is what blogging does. I don't understand why they are trying to regulate their lives outside of school. I mean, it is the parent's responsibility after the school day has concluded.

This is slightly off topic but the school that I went to, lets say you were involved in a fight that was off of school grounds and 20 miles away from school. If the school finds out about it, they would kick you out.