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"School sued over MySpace photo response" - 4/30/2007 8:12:45 AM   
Vendaval


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"School sued over MySpace photo response"

Sun Apr 29, 2:51 PM ET

MILLERSVILLE, Pa. - A woman denied a teaching degree on the eve of graduation because of a MySpace photo has sued the university.

Millersville University instead granted Stacy Snyder a degree in English last year after learning of her Web-published picture, which bore the caption "Drunken Pirate."

"I dreamed about being a teacher for a long time," said Snyder, 27, who now works as a nanny.

The photo, taken at a 2005 Halloween party, shows Snyder wearing a pirate hat while drinking from a plastic "Mr. Goodbar" cup. It was posted on her own MySpace site.

Although Snyder apologized, she learned the day before graduation that she would not be awarded an education degree or teaching certificate.

Jane S. Bray, dean of the School of Education, accused Snyder of promoting underage drinking, the suit states.

The federal lawsuit seeks at least $75,000 in damages. Millersville spokeswoman Janet Kacskos referred questions to a state System of Higher Education spokesman, who declined comment.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070429/ap_on_re_us/brf_myspace_photo_graduation;_ylt=AggTEmIWo7QPImy6_Y0Y20dH2ocA



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RE: "School sued over MySpace photo response" - 4/30/2007 8:31:23 AM   
slaveluci


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Joined: 3/2/2007
From: Little Rock, AR
Status: offline 		This is so ridiculous.  If every teacher who drank was denied an education degree, our schools would be empty.  At least, i know the ones i attended would have been......slave luci

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(in reply to Vendaval)
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RE: "School sued over MySpace photo response" - 4/30/2007 8:40:02 AM   
defiantbadgirl


Posts: 2988
Joined: 11/14/2005
Status: offline 		They can't do that. She wasn't promoting anything at the school. That would be like a teacher getting "caught" having one drink at a local bar and losing his/her job. Now with the whole thing being public, she might have difficulty getting a teaching job even after the school is forced to give her the degree she worked so hard for. I think the school should have to pay her a large salary until she finds a teaching job, no matter how long it takes.

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(in reply to Vendaval)
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RE: "School sued over MySpace photo response" - 4/30/2007 8:47:18 AM   
BBBTBW


Posts: 836
Joined: 5/21/2004
Status: offline 		She was 25 years old and having a drink at a Halloween Party.  How is that promoting underage drinking?  If it is because she was drinking out of a Mr. Goodbar cup my question is this.  Do adults not eat Mr. Goodbar?  Why on earth is she only suing for $75,000.00?  I am not a proponent of law suits but if all they can come up with is a picture of her drinking out of a Mr. Goodbar cup as grounds for denying her a teaching degree, then they wasted her time, effort and energy while she was in school.  She should sue them for defamation of character as well as the sum total  plus interest of her tuition and other expenses while she was spinning her wheels at that school.

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RE: "School sued over MySpace photo response" - 4/30/2007 9:03:11 AM   
popeye1250


Posts: 18104
Joined: 1/27/2006
From: New Hampshire
Status: offline 		Imagine if she got a teaching job replacing Mary Kay La Tournau?

"Homework!? Our other Teacher used to have sex with us!"

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RE: "School sued over MySpace photo response" - 4/30/2007 9:32:27 AM   
Casie


Posts: 450
Joined: 1/5/2006
Status: offline 		Thats, absurd. If teachers weren't allowed to get drunk my town would have no teachers left!!! I see old teachers at our local bar trashed!! Everytime I'm there

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RE: "School sued over MySpace photo response" - 4/30/2007 9:42:50 AM   
slaveluci


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From: Little Rock, AR
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quote:

ORIGINAL: popeye1250

Imagine if she got a teaching job replacing Mary Kay La Tournau?

"Homework!? Our other Teacher used to have sex with us!"

    

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RE: "School sued over MySpace photo response" - 4/30/2007 10:32:33 AM   
selfbnd411


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Joined: 7/23/2005
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quote:

ORIGINAL: BBBTBW

Why on earth is she only suing for $75,000.00?



I completely agree.  If this were me, you better believe it would be a multi-million dollar lawsuit.

Her lawyers must be the worst possible lawyers in the world.  It's a basic principle of negotiation that you ask for more than you want so there's give and take.  I would say a fair settlement in this case would be ~$4 million ($2 million in lost salary from a 30 year teaching career + $2 million to make it hurt).  So I would have sued for $12-$16 million, making a $4 million settlement seem "cheap."

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RE: "School sued over MySpace photo response" - 4/30/2007 11:21:51 AM   
popeye1250


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From: New Hampshire
Status: offline 		selfbnd411, are you related to Jack Benny?

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RE: "School sued over MySpace photo response" - 4/30/2007 11:45:13 AM   
b12345


Posts: 37
Joined: 3/27/2007
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: selfbnd411

quote:

ORIGINAL: BBBTBW

Why on earth is she only suing for $75,000.00?



I completely agree.  If this were me, you better believe it would be a multi-million dollar lawsuit.

Her lawyers must be the worst possible lawyers in the world.  It's a basic principle of negotiation that you ask for more than you want so there's give and take.  I would say a fair settlement in this case would be ~$4 million ($2 million in lost salary from a 30 year teaching career + $2 million to make it hurt).  So I would have sued for $12-$16 million, making a $4 million settlement seem "cheap."



Her lawyer is the worst lawyer ever because they passed the bar exam and have knowlege of the juristiction, the judges, the potential juries in the juristiction, and perhaps an idea of how not to be thrown out of court, and be taken seriously by the university...but by reading the ocastional news article that deals with the rare abusurd judgment that occurs in civil court, we know how to strike it big, just ask for a lot and the other side will assume $4MM is cheap.... That's not the way the game is played in most places.  Negotiation on any level is a lot more complicated than ask for a lot more than you expect and anything less will seem cheap to the opposition.

Most likly the cause of action is breech of contract.  The university proably didn't make public statements about why her degree was changed, we learned about those by the plantiff filling of suit.  So the tort of defimation of charactor is out. 
Now back to the breech of contract, proably somewhere in the student rule book, university policies for the education department, and/or as a mandate for a state teaching certificate, there is likly a clause that the recipient be deemed of good moral charactor, or some similar langauge, this would potentially give the university lee-way in awarding the degree and teaching certificate...thus not breeching the contract to provide a teaching certificate and degree in return for tuition and completion of work. 

That said the myspace picture is a god awful excuse not to give someone a degree, and as has been previously stated if this is how we are to judge teachers, we wouldn't have hardly any of them.  Also something to consider is that we only herd what was alleged in the suit, there could be a lot more to the story.


B

(in reply to selfbnd411)
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RE: "School sued over MySpace photo response" - 4/30/2007 11:58:02 AM   
KatyLied


Posts: 13029
Joined: 2/24/2005
From: Pennsylvania
Status: offline 		Evidently she screwed up on this:  CODE OF PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE AND CONDUCT FOR EDUCATORS
I don't know anything about the code or what it says.  I'm guessing it's something she signed prior to student teaching.



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RE: "School sued over MySpace photo response" - 4/30/2007 12:33:30 PM   
astarri


Posts: 265
Joined: 4/22/2007
Status: offline 		Teachers are held to a high standard and yes even getting drunk at the local bar can have consequences. Teaching staff are encouraged to go to a different town to engage in any kind of behaviour that may reflect poorly upon the educational institution. If one is going into a career where morality is grounds for dismissal, one must be very cautious with how they are representing the educational degree. That said .... it is a bunch of hogwash IMO. It is however a wake up call to anyone getting into these fields to be very careful with how they behave. 

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RE: "School sued over MySpace photo response" - 4/30/2007 12:44:46 PM   
selfbnd411


Posts: 598
Joined: 7/23/2005
Status: offline 		Just because you can be disciplined doesn't mean that such discipine will hold up in court.  At any rate, she's being accused of violating the PA Code of Professional Practice and Conduct for Educators, Title  22 Chapter 235.  There is no section dealing with the personal conduct of a teacher outside of the professional setting, aside from criminal activity.  Note the language in the relevant section dealing with personal conduct:
§ 235.5. Conduct.  Individual professional conduct reflects upon the practices, values, integrity and reputation of the profession. (italics mine)

http://www.pacode.com/secure/data/022/chapter235/chap235toc.html

Professional is the key word there.  It doesn't say "Individual conduct."  It makes clear that conduct in the classroom is what is being regulated.

I did a little googling and found a university with a morals clause in its educational policy terms and conditions.  They state that a student can be dismissed without reimbursement if that student is convicted of a criminal violation.  Personal conduct is not discussed, presumably because it does not apply.

Her lawsuit appears to have a firm legal foundation along the lines of breach of contract.

Edit to add:

Per her complaint, she was told that the photograph was a violation of 235.4b 7+8:

 (7)  Professional educators shall exhibit acceptable and professional language and communication skills. Their verbal and written communications with parents, students and staff shall reflect sensitivity to the fundamental human rights of dignity, privacy and respect.

  (8)  Professional educators shall be open-minded, knowledgeable and use appropriate judgment and communication skills when responding to an issue within the educational environment.

Furthermore, the evaluations provided by her supervisors before and after the incident were all superior to excellent.


< Message edited by selfbnd411 -- 4/30/2007 1:04:47 PM >

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RE: "School sued over MySpace photo response" - 4/30/2007 12:46:17 PM   
Sicarius


Posts: 180
Joined: 2/26/2007
From: New Orleans
Status: offline 		Wow.  I can only imagine what would happen if the schools in Louisiana enforced similar "standards" on instructors and students.  I've seen quite a few ... interesting ... things on the parade grounds and at the Mardi Gras balls for the largers Krewes.  Quite a few professors are involved.  :)

-Sicarius

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RE: "School sued over MySpace photo response" - 4/30/2007 1:21:37 PM   
goodlittlegirl28


Posts: 2108
Joined: 1/8/2007
Status: offline 		Not the greatest thing to put out there if you're planning on being an educator, but I really don't see how they have a case. It bears no relevance on her grades, nor is her personal myspace account affiliated with the college. I looked around on the school site, and they offer an English teaching degree, and a regular English degree. The school cannot deny her a teaching certificate- that is through the state. But by denying her a teaching degree, it will make her have to jump through some alternative hoops to get licensed. Getting hired, that's another story.
If you're in education, always make sure you either don't get caught, or there are lots of higher ups drinking heavily at the party with you. A principal bought the last $2 box to win a vibrator at the last sex toy party I was at. I'm pretty sure the rest of us are in the clear.

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