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STUDENTS SUSPENDED


Students Suspended For MySpace Postings

Students Say School Is Cramping First Amendment Rights

POSTED: 4:41 pm MST February 16, 2006
UPDATED: 8:22 pm MST February 16, 2006

Some Littleton High School students are planning a protest after two students were suspended for postings on the popular Web site MySpace.com, a site where teens create personal pages to keep in touch and make friends.

Each teen can have their own page, with photos and blogs and musings -- basically whatever they want. But two students from Littleton High School typed postings that the school administration found out about and didn't like, and now there's a question of whether the school is imposing on the student's first amendment rights to free expression.

The ACLU has also been contacted and is investigating the matter.

"A kid named Brian wrote a bulletin that said, 'You know you go to LHS when ...'" said senior Auburn Kisselman.

The posting then went on with vulgarities. Some say the posting was offensive and racist, but others thought it was just fun.

"'You know you go to LHS when ... the girls at your school are not hot... the ones that are wear two pounds of makeup, which makes them fake' ... just very general types of things," said Kisselman.

Kisselman said she was suspended for one day for responding to the boy's posting. She said he was suspended for 15 days.

The school district said, "When any other student behavior disrupts the educational process, it is the school's responsibility to respond accordingly."

But students feel that what's posted on MySpace is none of the school's business, especially if it's not threatening.

"Because MySpace is locked from school computers, there is no way to even access the site from any school facility, so there is no way they can govern what we can or can't say on it," said Littleton High School student Christian Kutauskas.

So some students are wearing green ribbons in support of their First Amendment rights.

Students said the the school has called several parents in response to photos and postings on MySpace. A spokewoman for the district said the students are misinformed.

The student protest is planned for Friday at 2:30 p.m.

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