May 25, 2009
Judge Tom
0

Does YouTube post merit expulsion?

Sometimes yes.  Other times, no.  Obviously, it depends on the content of the video.  In this case, it’s questionable.

Weeks before her 8th-grade graduation, 14-year-old Arieal Lancaster was expelled from Beardsley Junior High in California. It seems that during a lunch period in February, 2009, she took some pictures of her friends. They were sitting down when another girl came over, tapped one of them on the foot and ran away. Just for fun, Arieal posted it on YouTube, with no malicious intent.

arieallancaster2

Arieal Lancaster

In May, 2009, she was accused of cyberbullying and was expelled. No other students were disciplined.  Schools across the nation are exercising  “zero tolerance” for cyber or any other type of bullying on and off-campus.

For more about Internet activities and consequences handed out for allegedly inappropriate or offensive posts, see:  http://askthejudge.info/can-i-be-prosecuted-for-comments-on-the-internet/145/

Judge Tom

The Author Judge Tom

Judge Tom is the founder and moderator of AsktheJudge.info. He is a retired juvenile judge and spent 23 years on the bench. He has written several books for lawyers and judges as well as teens and parents including 'Teen Cyberbullying Investigated' (Free Spirit Publishing) and 'Every Vote Matters: the Power of Your Voice, from Student Elections to the Supreme Court' (Free Spirit Publishing). In 2020, the American Bar Association published "Cyberbullying Law," the nation's first case-law book written for lawyers, judges and law students. When he's not answering teens' questions, Judge Tom volunteers with the American Red Cross and can be found hiking, traveling and reading.

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