COSTA MESA, Calif. - A middle school student faces expulsion for allegedly posting graphic threats against a classmate on the popular MySpace.com Web site, and 20 of his classmates were suspended for viewing the posting, school officials said.
Police are investigating the boy’s comments about his classmate at TeWinkle Middle School as a possible hate crime, and the district is trying to expel him.
According to three parents of the suspended students, the invitation to join the boy’s MySpace group gave no indication of the alleged threat. They said the MySpace social group name’s was “I hate (girl’s name)” and included an expletive and an anti-Semitic reference.
A later message to group members directed them to a nondescript folder, which included a posting that allegedly asked: “Who here in the (group name) wants to take a shotgun and blast her in the head over a thousand times?”
Because the creator of a posting can change its content at any time, it’s unclear how much the students saw.
“With what the students can get into using the technology we are all concerned about it,” Bob Metz, the district assistant superintendent of secondary education, said Wednesday
Police are investigating the boy’s comments about his classmate at TeWinkle Middle School as a possible hate crime, and the district is trying to expel him.
According to three parents of the suspended students, the invitation to join the boy’s MySpace group gave no indication of the alleged threat. They said the MySpace social group name’s was “I hate (girl’s name)” and included an expletive and an anti-Semitic reference.
A later message to group members directed them to a nondescript folder, which included a posting that allegedly asked: “Who here in the (group name) wants to take a shotgun and blast her in the head over a thousand times?”
Because the creator of a posting can change its content at any time, it’s unclear how much the students saw.
“With what the students can get into using the technology we are all concerned about it,” Bob Metz, the district assistant superintendent of secondary education, said Wednesday
School suspends 20 students over MySpace posting
We all talk about how great internet communities are but there's the soft underbelly of it all. I'm sure the internet as been a haven for much more serious things then this. I guess it just goes to prove that no matter how one tries to make things friendly and good, there's still the hatred and stupidity in this world.
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