Should Eden Prairie Students Be Punished for Facebook Photos?

According to the Star Tribune, thirteen Eden Prairie High School students in Minnesota were disciplined after school authorities found internet photos of the students drinking on Facebook. Was the school justified in punishing these students? My opinion is yes.

All of the students being punished for drinking had signed a contract, along with their parents, agreeing to abstain from alcohol and other drugs while participating in a league-sanctioned activity.

I'm sure the students signed this contract believing the school would never find out about their drinking. Obviously they had no intention of honoring their agreement, so they should have never signed the contract in the first place. They signed the contract, they broke that contract, so there should be consequences.

Also, in the State of Minnesota it is illegal for anyone under the age of twenty-one to drink alcohol. All of the students being punished are under the age of twenty-one. They are lucky that school officials were pulling them out of classes instead of police officers.

Punishment includes suspension from sports and other activities. Students at Eden Prairie High School report that students are receiving a two game punishment per incident. Any student who appears in multiple photos, with different outfits and surroundings, will have their punishment increased by two games per incident.

Some of the parents of these students are considering legal action against the school because they believe the school's punishment is too harsh. According to Chuck Samuelson, the Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota, a 2002 court case deemed that after school activities are considered privileges, not rights. Therefore it doesn't appear that the parents would have a case.

The fact that some parents are taking the side of their children, and not of the school, proves that these parents have forgotten that the role of a parent is to protect children from things such as underage drinking. These parents must stop being their child's best friend and start being a responsible parent.

The big concern of many parents is that their child will miss out on scholarship opportunities because of the suspension. But does a college really want to dish out thousands of dollars to someone who breaks contracts and the law? And then is cocky enough to brag about it by posting photos on Facebook? Call it a valuable lesson learned.

My only concern about punishing these students is the possibility that students could have been wrongly accused of drinking. Did the school administration investigate the photos thoroughly? Just because a student is holding a red cup doesn't mean there is alcohol in the cup. And how old are the photos? What if someone signed the contract after the photo was taken? Perhaps that's why school officials called forty-two students in to be questioned and only punished thirteen of them.

Here's a tip for all members of social networking sites: If you don't want your teachers, parents, boss, minister, college recruiter, or jealous teammates to see your personal information, stick to a good old-fashioned locked diary hidden under your bed. If you don't, be prepared to face the consequences.