Lyla Marx

Hey everyone, I’m Lyla Marx, the senior class president this year at Grand Heights. I am present in many of the social scenes at Grand Heights. The activities that were recently uncovered did not come as a surprise to me. What shocked me was the behavior on the part of both students and administration. I have to say that this whole incident is a big mess and I’m not quite sure how I feel about all of it. I want to say that I am ashamed of the way many of the students have acted. It’s moronic to believe that no consequences will come to those who publicly post themselves braking laws. The internet is a public place and students who post illegal pictures and materials are as good as incriminating themselves. I’ve heard cries of outrage and a call for the right to privacy, but it’s a two way street; if students want their privacy, they have to keep their private matters out of the public eye. The public can’t be expected to turn a blind eye to what ever students choose to do with their time.I’d like to point out that there is no such thing as ‘a right to privacy’. The constitution doesn’t specifically state that there is a guarantee of such a right. In light of this point, all people should be aware of exactly what information computers are sending out. The internet is a useful tool for those wishing to gain information about individuals.
I do side with many of the angered parents and students. It is not the job of the school system to dig into the lives of the students. They are not in charge of keeping the law their job is to educate and that’s it. It is not up to the administration to track down the private lives of the students. There is some grey area in this issue however. I’m not sure what to do about the students who have signed contracts to stay drug free for sports. I think it is the school’s right to kick students off teams if they are found engaging in these activities. However, I think the school doesn’t have the authority to punish contract breaking students in any way not related to the sports team. For example, giving detentions, suspending and so forth isn’t in the school’s domain. I also don’t think that the school should be able to punish any student who has not signed a contract. Graduated students should also be free from punishment. Administration should learn their places and keep their long noses out of other people’s jobs. It is the job of the law enforcement to keep people from breaking laws.
The Punk Rocky magazine should not even be in this argument. It was a magazine created outside school walls and had nothing to do with the school. The police can take care of law breakers. The magazine had nothing to do with the school and the school has no right to track down drug dealers and former students for misdemeanors that were not preformed ion conjunction with the school. I think the question is not whether people should get in trouble for the things they post on the internet. In my opinion, people who display pictures of themselves doing illegal things automatically forfeit their right to privacy. The answer to that question is yes. The real question is whether school administrations should have the right to punish students based on the things they post. For the most part, I think the answer to that question is no.