Student, Denied Degree For MySpace Photo, Sues

gwoodrow writes "We've all heard the 'fired because of MySpace' stories, where a simple blog or picture gets someone canned. But now one of the targets is fighting back. (The offending picture in this case was a snap from Halloween 2005 of the student in a pirate outfit drinking from a cup.)" From the article: "Teacher in training Stacy Snyder was denied her education degree on the eve of graduation when Millersville University apparently found pictures on her MySpace page 'promoting underage drinking.' As a result, the 27-year-old mother of two had her teaching certificate withheld and was granted an English degree instead. In response, Snyder has filed a Federal lawsuit against the Pennsylvania university asking for her education diploma and certificate along with $75,000 in damages."

Comments

Re:umm

[mikael]

This is the picture that is actually in dispute, described in this news article

Apparently, Conestoga Valley School District were threatening to not recruit any more teachers from her university, unless she was punished in some way.

Regardless of the picture, the School District or college have no right to amend her graduation qualifications, based on a single party photograph.

Re:She was not denied her degree

[swissfondue]

To read about more than meets the eye: Check out this link to blogher.

Excerpt: "However, school district solicitor Howard L. Kelin said Tuesday that criticism of the teachers contained in the lawsuit is unfair.

Kelin disputes the allegations the teachers, Deann Buffington and Nicole Reinking, influenced the college to withhold the degree.

Snyder was given a poor evaluation based on her performance while teaching at the high school and was warned not to direct students to her MySpace page, which contained the questionable photographs, Kelin said.

Despite being warned to maintain a professional relationship with her students Kelin said, Snyder continued to direct students to her Web page.

Re:She was not denied her degree

[bkr1_2k]

Actually someone else posted this elsewhere in the thread, but there is definitely more to it.

http://bbsnews.net/article.php/20070502234811315

Seems she'd been reprimanded as a student teacher several times and she knew she was in the wrong. It doesn't seem to be as cut and dried as the original article would have us believe. Also, the picture posted in the original article is different than the one in the above article. Two very different images that give completely different impressions of a "teacher" if seen by students.

Re:umm

[Saxerman]

I'm guessing that other pictures show underage drinkers at the party.

That's what I though too, and since I figured at least one of us needed to actually RTFA I did. Strangely, that archive doesn't mention any other pictures:

So what, you're probably asking yourself, could have been in this picture that was so abhorrent as to make Stacy Snyder unworthy of teaching children? Was she force-feeding a 6-year-old bourbon from a bottle or spiking a middle school dance's punch? Not even close. The picture in question turned out to be of her at a Halloween party in 2005 dressed as a pirate and drinking an indeterminate liquid "from a plastic 'Mr. Goodbar' cup." But underneath was a caption which read "Drunken Pirate" and that caption apparently lead faculty to assume she was too "unprofessional" to educate young minds. Word was sent to the Millersville administration, and Snyder's "lifelong dream" of being a teacher ended less than a day before being achieved.

Re:umm

[Xiaran]

I was raised a Catholic and from what I recall(its been a while) the opposition to contraception is based on the position that man doesn't have the right to judge weather someone can live or die. Only God has that right. Hence the church opposes capital punishment, abortion and birth control. The birth control argument is that man is interfering with the natural course of God plan... or whatever. I don't agree with their stance n birth control or abortion but I can have some sympathy for the capital punishment one.

Also I think most Catholics, at least in the west, pretty much ignore the whole no condom/no pill business. I know most of my (pretty Irish catholic) extended family do.