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Student Suspended For Posting On YouTube

Posted by Soulskill on from the don't-bring-none-of-that-innernet-'round-these-parts dept.

An anonymous reader writes "A Canadian student has been suspended from school and had the police called on him due to satirical animations that he posted to YouTube. Jack Christie, a 12th-grade student at the Donald A. Wilson Secondary School in Whitby, Ontario, Canada, created the videos in his own time, off-campus."

12 of 375 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Not funny by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Considering he's not 18 yet, he isn't out of place if he's acting as juvenile.. as he is by definition of his age.

    You're getting your panties in a twist in the same way as the board is.

  2. Happens every time by Rijnzael · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Schools in North America at least--if not everywhere in the West--seem to think that their disciplinary powers extend to any actions committed by students anywhere during their years of attendance.

    In my opinion, the only time a school should have the ability to initiate disciplinary action for an act committed off school premises should be after trial and conviction of a crime. Free speech protections often don't apply in schools (don't get me started on that), but a school has absolutely no right to restrict a student's speech off school grounds, and this would be aptly enforced by requiring disciplinary sanctions for off ground behavior be the result of a conviction in a court of law. This school would get laughed at if they even mentioned prosecution of this student for this behavior to a DA, so there's no reason they should be allowed to do this.

  3. Fuck everything about this by Mabbo · · Score: 5, Insightful
    "Gavin Russell, prime minister of the student government, gathered scores of signatures on a petition supporting Mr. Christie before two staff members warned him that, if he continued, he could also face punishment."

    I am ashamed of my country when I can read that, and it isn't followed by "The staff members were promptly fired". Believe it or not, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms applies even to high school kids, and no, your petty little school rules do not trump those Rights.

  4. Right... by Haedrian · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The summery says: "Created the videos in his own time, off-campus."

    The video says: "This was done up back in November of 2010, for an economics course project."

    So I don't think its as independent from school as this summary wants to make you believe.

    1. Re:Right... by Maestro4k · · Score: 5, Informative

      The summery says: "Created the videos in his own time, off-campus."

      The video says: "This was done up back in November of 2010, for an economics course project."

      So I don't think its as independent from school as this summary wants to make you believe.

      That doesn't mean the school owns them however, so they have no right to threaten him with calling the police over the videos if he didn't take them down, which the same article tells you they did (emphasis added):

      He said his teachers had no problem with the content – one even lent his voice to an animation – and he didn’t get in trouble until he uploaded the videos to YouTube. He was swiftly given a one-day suspension. A few days later, his principal laid out an ultimatum: Take the videos down or the police would be called. He refused to budge.

      And since they didn't have an issue with them when he did them for the class project (and a teacher even participated in them), they're going to have serious trouble trying to get anyone to believe they only felt like they were a threat to the school's moral values after they were put on YouTube. If they were truly a threat they should have done something when he made them for the class project.

      So that has no bearing on the case. All the signs are that something in one (or more) of the videos made fun of the school principal and he's got a burr up his ass over it and is punishing the kid for refusing to bow to his perceived authority. (And given all the circumstances, I seriously doubt the school's going to win here. Their not doing anything when he presented them for the class project is going to damage any case they might have had irreparably. The fact that a teacher participated actively in one video will destroy any remaining chance they might have had.)

  5. I hate this summary by drolli · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The question should not be if he did it in his free time, off campus, but if it was related to the school.

    I can imagine a lot of things which one can do "during my free time" and "off campus" which should get you fired from school, even if there is no crime which can be persecuted.

    For example: contacting or ridiculing teachers in an inappropriate way (yes, these are employees and they have rights), the same for students (nobody should be forced to sit besides somebody bullying him at facebook, and if school is the primary contact for this person suspension is the right thing to do).

    All the news messages like "xzy got ... for doing ... on facebook" withou specifying what the content of ... was are as stupid as saying "he got in jail for swinging a piece of wood through the air", which may be technically correct, but could also be a baseball bat hitting the face of somebody after swinging through the air.

    Please dear media: separate means, motivations, tools, and fact of crime more carefully. It really does not matter today if you write somebody an insulting letter which you put up 1000 times in you town to lampposts or post an insulting video.

  6. A comics early work usually sucks by TechBCEternity · · Score: 4, Funny

    Andy Sanberg said on the nerdist podcast. Film school is where you get out all your bad ideas. so we shouldn't care whether its funny, the only reason we're even watching his stuff is the principal hasn't heard of the Streisand effect

  7. His mature and level headed reply by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    He sounds very mature and level headed in his reply to the school via this youtube video, where he says "Jack Christie Addresses the Board"
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnW2_i0Q_i4

    He also shows talent in writing and his style is something like South Park. The guy could have a career in the animation industry if he carries on with this kind of work. Isn't that what schools should be encouraging?! ... WTF is his tyrannical school for, if its not preparing him for a career!

    1. Re:His mature and level headed reply by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

      WTF is his tyrannical school for, if its not preparing him for a career!

      Forcing conformity and creating social pressure groups, while quietly feeding the students nationalist propaganda?

    2. Re:His mature and level headed reply by mcgrew · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I don't know about Canada, but down here in the US the schools' primary purpose seems to be removal of all traces of curiosity and creativity. Ever notice that when budgets get cut, the first things to go are art and music, but never sports?

      --
      Free Martian Whores!
  8. It's super effective! by Jesus_666 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Who needs Transformers when you have a school that can turn into Barbara Streisand?

    --
    USE HOT GRITS WITH STATUE OF NATALIE PORTMAN (NAKED AND PETRIFIED)
  9. Oh, come on. by Jesus_666 · · Score: 5, Informative

    Everyone knows that satire means you're dangerous. Let me explain:

    Satire means you have no respect for authority.
    Having no respect for authority means you have no respect for the police.
    Having no respect for the police means you have no respect for their guns.
    Having no respect for guns means you place no value on your own life.
    If you place no value on your own life, why place a value on other people's lifes?
    And since you value neither your own life nor that of anyone else you're practically guaranteed to commit at least a murder-suicide.

    Satirists should be shot and then carpet-bombed for the safety of us all.

    --
    USE HOT GRITS WITH STATUE OF NATALIE PORTMAN (NAKED AND PETRIFIED)