In Cyberjournalism: Or … How I stopped worrying and learned to love the Web

Cyberbullying:  Online bullying, called Cyberbullying, happens when teens use the Internet, cell phones, or other devices to send or post text or images intended to hurt or embarrass another person. Cyberbullying is a problem that affects almost half of all American teens. (National Crime Prevention Council

Cyberbullying 2  is when a child, preteen or teen is tormented, threatened, harassed, humiliated, embarrassed or otherwise targeted by another child, preteen or teen using the Internet, interactive and digital technologies or mobile phones. It has to have a minor on both sides, or at least have been instigated by a minor against another minor. Once adults become involved, it is plain and simple cyber-harassment or cyberstalking. Adult cyber-harassment or cyberstalking is NEVER called cyberbullying. (stopcyberbullying.org) orghttp://stopcyberbullying. org

Cyberbullying 3  But Cyberbullying as schools are trying to apply it is covered by other means to legal recourse: libel, invasion of privacy and other lawsuits.  As it affects scholastic and collegiate media, it is really a matter of control and jumping on the bandwagon.  However, the issue is not going away and could have a devastating impact on scholastic and collegiate media and on the further erosion of the Tinker standard.  Why?

Layshock v Hermitage Schl Dist. The school district in this case argued that the times have changed and - specifically because of the pervasiveness of online speech - they now need the authority to cross what has traditionally been a clear line between their ability to control or punish students for their on-campus speech and the authority to control student speech that occurs off-campus and outside of school, territory generally reserved for a student's parents and the laws governing all speakers (e.g., libel, obscenity).

Layshock 2: Not only that, the school district asked that its authority to control off-campus speech include the ability to punish students for "lewd," "vulgar," "indecent" or "plainly offensive" speech, terms so vague and expansive that it would leave all sides guessing what is permissible speech. &edition=46

What can those in scholastic media do ?  Create educational materials usable for social media and/or blogs that will reach these students outside media programs, through groups or fan sites dedicated to understanding the issues  Create social media campaigns through that media’s advertising  Create educational outreach and courses through virtual environments  Create podcasts/You Tube messages designed to change attitudes and explain historical rationale on the issue  Develop regular media ads/posters/methods of reaching teens

How to complete the outreach  Emphasize Tinker and legal history of schools’ inability to intervene in speech off school property  Emphasize students’ educational and civic responsibility for their actions  Develop teaching units for social studies classes and other classes that deal with social media and civic responsibility  Hold focus groups to determine how students most often would receive info such as text messages

If we don’t?  Dangers of Layshock and others:  School (government) could reach outside the school for nebulous and undefined reasons  Would almost surely eliminate the provisions of Tinker across the board and negate forum protection already in place in schools The biggest issue will be to find the right ways to reach teens the most effectively who are not in media programs

For further information: First Amendment Lesson Plans 07/01/1_voice/lessons.html ADL: How to handle cyberbullying (for educators, family and students) p#educators Web publishing: the legal issues edition=46 edition=46 SPLC Layshock article 47&year=2008

For more information: National Coalition Against Censorship s-principals-and-fake-myspace-profiles/ Free for a fee (intellectual Media law) Citizen media law project  school-district-v-layshock school-district-v-layshock  niehoff niehoff

For more information: NASB rendition of Layshock decision arch/AllCosaDocuments/LayshockvHermitag eSchDistNo06116July aspx