Three Girls Arrested In Burnbook10 Case
SEXUALLY EXPLICIT TWEETS BEGAN IN OCTOBER
Posted: January 27, 2012 at 5:55 a.m.
Three teenage girls were arrested Thursday in connection with the Twitter account Burnbook10. Two 16-year-olds and a 17-year-old were arrested on a charge of harassing communications, a Class A misdemeanor, said Capt. Justin Thompson with the Bentonville Police Department. The girls were given citations and will appear in juvenile court at a later date.
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So....if they said the same things in person would it be a crime??
Posted by: Wayfost
January 27, 2012 at 6:56 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Uhhh.... harassment?
Posted by: nwlocal
January 27, 2012 at 7:34 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Just 1 more reason my granddaughters will never be in public schools! These hateful little witches, should be kicked out of school.
Posted by: antlawn
January 27, 2012 at 10:03 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Just one more reason kids don't need cell phones.
Posted by: GeneralJackTRipper
January 27, 2012 at 10:40 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
The unacceptable behavior of these kids should not be an indictment of public schools. This behavior was not propulgated by anything to do with a school. The source of the problem should go back to the home and a lack spiritual direction and focus on God.
Posted by: whitehead8
January 27, 2012 at 10:57 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
antlawn and whitehead8--
Private schools-- even those operated by churches-- are no refuge from bullying; indeed, non-Catholic religious private schools appear to have more bullying than the public schools. See Table 2.2 (Page 9 of 52) for percentages bullied at school by type of school: http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2011/2011316.pdf
Although the study does not provide statistics for cyber-bullying in the private school sector (Table 3.2, Page 27 of 52), I think it would be surprising if cyber-bullying statistics were not somewhat parallel to bullying statistics.
GJTR--
You'll get no argument from me. Let them read books.
Posted by: AlphaCat
January 27, 2012 at 12:40 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
This is not an indication of the public school system – this is an indication of human nature. Hence one person’s reaction was to call the girls witches. Were these 3 truly the “mean girls” of school or were they retaliating as a result of something that happened to them. Whichever the reason, they just felt it was safer because of anonymity. If they had done this in person their safety would have been due to strength in numbers.
There is a saying that goes “You are only as strong as the weakest link.” This applies to friends. Even the nicest people can get sucked into bad behavior under the right social pressure. As parents we need to be aware of who our kids’ friends are and reiterate to treat others the way you want to be treated both in person and on-line. They need to learn to put themselves in the shoes of others to try to understand how actions, lack of actions, and words CAN hurt people.
I do not know neither the facts of the situation nor the families of these girls but feel for them. I would be mortified if my child was one of them but this gave me the opportunity to sit down with mine and discuss the consequence of actions.
Posted by: Rascal01
January 27, 2012 at 12:42 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
When my son was in High School (not that long ago) in Arkansas there was a law that kids couldn't have cell phones on school property. I know all the kids have these now, has the law changed, or is just not being enforced?
Posted by: suek
January 27, 2012 at 3:10 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
I just pulled this from a 2007 article. Parents and kids need to remember, Arkansas state law does not allow students to have cell phones in school. Many parents are having mixed emotions over the state-wide cell phone ban in school. The law has actually been in effect for several years. It prohibits kids from having pagers, beepers, or electronic communication devices on a school campus, except when they are required for health reasons.
This is my question, is this enforced in NWA schools?
Posted by: suek
January 27, 2012 at 3:18 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
@suek I pulled a couple of stories out of the archives that relate to cell phone use in schools. I hope that's some help.
-Caleb Fort, online editor
http://www.nwaonline.com/news/2011/ma...
http://www.nwaonline.com/news/2010/no...
http://www.nwaonline.com/news/2009/de...
Posted by: cfort
January 27, 2012 at 3:28 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
thanks Caleb, I guess this is the part that really bothers me. It's STATE law, to me that means the schools aren't at liberty to ignore or make another policy. I realize there is way too much to enforce but teaching kids to ignore some state laws yet expect them to totally adhere to others is part of the problem. There is zero tolerance for some school policies and then state laws are ignored by students, parents and school officials.
Posted by: suek
January 27, 2012 at 10:52 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
This is not an indication of a problem with public schools or bad parenting. Banning electronic communication devices in public schools? I guess they have stopped smoking in the restrooms, too! (Plus, many assume this all cyber bulling happens at school). This is a societal problem. When it is more important to be number 1 at any cost (like one high school instead of two, thank the lord they are figuring that out), there are a lot of malcontents underneath. Do they take all their anger out on "Number 1"? No, they mainly look for someone weaker to pick on. It's a "dog eat dog" world out there, and most of us are wearing "Milk Bone" underwear.
Posted by: LostInLowell
January 28, 2012 at 8:10 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
On the other hand (and without invalidating my position that children have neither the need of electronic connectivity nor the wisdom to use it):
"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but your texts will never hurt me" is what the little crumb-snatchers should be taught. If they wanna act like adults, they oughta learn that that it's a mean ol' world out here, a people are not really very nice.
Adults intervening with governmental action in situations like this only perpetuates the victim class and enables the bullies. Mild school-yard violence is the solution for these little idiots; the grownups have more pressing concerns.
Posted by: GeneralJackTRipper
January 28, 2012 at 9:27 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
.
I'm glad you're not running any schools Jack.
.
Please explain why school officials intervening in this matter "enables the bullies."
.
Posted by: cdawg
January 29, 2012 at 3:50 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
When I was about 12 another girl named Greta kept seeking me out in the scholyard to taunt me for instance about my clothes, saying things like my winter coat "makes your rear end stick out like a shelf."
Funny I should remember this 70 years later. I'm sure others have suffered much worse bullying. But bullying wasn't so common when and where I grew up as it seems to be now. (And public discourse was also much more civil. Could there be a connection?)
***
I don't even understand what Jack is suggesting. "Mild school yard violence is the solution"? Violence by whom?
Posted by: Coralie
January 29, 2012 at 4:07 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
If the school would have enforced its own policy regarding cell phones, this could not have happened. Adults in charge of kids are responsible for what kids do when the adults allow it to happen. The school administration is just as guilty of this as the girls who did it. The girls were wrong, but they have constitutional freedom of speech. Laws are in place to remedy those who are libeled or slandered by those who abuse freedom of speech. The girls who were slandered or libeled should bring a suit against the school for allowing it to happen on their watch. That assumes that some of it did happen during school hours and on school property. It would not apply otherwise. It is stupid to shut the barn door after the horses are out.
The school would be exonerated if it had stuck by its guns and enforced the policy of no electronics brought on school property for private use of students. Foreseeable circumstances in some instances are obvious and when preventative measures are not taken and damages result, the entity responsible for the prevention of ensuing damage is liable in tort law. The school needs to put the horses back in the barn and then put a lock on the door.
Posted by: MrD
January 30, 2012 at 12:15 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Yes, let's fill the jails with kids who have cell phones at school. Then, expel them from school. Then no one would ever be mean again, right? Blaming the school doesn't make much sense to me. Most of these types of "bullying" happens elsewhere. I can't believe society want to arrest kids for being mean. We yell at the kids to behave as we run someone off the freeway because they are only going 5 miles above the speed limit and then blame them when they imitate us. If we want the kids to "grow up"'then we should show them how first.
Posted by: BCGuy
January 30, 2012 at 4:40 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Mild school yard violence applied by the victim class upon the bullies is to what I refer. Or, take all their phones away.
Despite popular belief, violence does solve some problems. Unfortunately, you've raised a generation of children who possess neither the wisdom to use violence, or cell phones, appropriately.
Posted by: GeneralJackTRipper
January 31, 2012 at 7:08 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
(Oops - shoulda been: "who possess the wisdom to use neither violence, nor cell phones, appropriately." - Just wanted to self-edit before the grammar Nazis got after me. Thanks!)
Posted by: GeneralJackTRipper
January 31, 2012 at 7:15 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
"Yes, let's fill the jails with kids who have cell phones at school" Nothing was said about putting kids in jail and neither could it be inferred from what I said, BC. How much are kids learning while tweeting and texting in class? It is a waste of time and tax money to graduate a kid who cannot read and write. Teachers cannot discipline or teach because of all the stupid "political correctness" rules and regulations heaped upon us by the ambulance chasing ACLU atheist lawyers that have destroyed the American way of life. Kids have to be managed, not the other way around. Cell phones should be made into the shape pistols. That would help keep them out of school! I say that in reference to cases where little kids have been punished for even drawing something that looks like a gun or pointing a finger at someone. Kids can be kids without cell phones in school.
Posted by: MrD
February 1, 2012 at 11:08 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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