We, the students of St. Michael’s University School, feel that our privacy has been violated and request a change in school policy. There was a recent incident where a studentA posted a joke about studentB. Someone told teacherA and studentA got suspended. studentB was completely compliant and undisturbed by the joke. studentB mentioned to teacherA that studentA should not be suspended and that the joke was harmless. TeacherA then told studentB that is was "not his decision". We, the students of St. Michael’s school believe this was unjust. The whole reason for studentA being suspended was for cyber bullying but the target of the joke was completely undisturbed. This is the reason for action. There have been other similar incidents in the past and we would like to put a stop to them. The point of this is not just about the previous incident. We feel that our private lives are our business and not the school's. The school has no right to dig into our private lives and punish us for what we do on our own time. What if we tell a friend at our house that another student "sucks"? Do we get in trouble for that, even if the words were never uttered in the presence of the target of the insult? There is a line to what the school can manage.

We, the students of St. Michael’s University School would like the following:

Terms:

1. 

A policy change for the punishment regarding student activity. The change requested is that punishment can only be given on school terms. This involves school grounds, school outdoor education trips, school field trips, class time, and extracurricular school activities. This however does not include student activities on their own time such as social networking, web browsing, conversations, and hobbies. The only exception is for web browsing, in which if the student is using a school computer; the student must use it appropriately and is subject to punishment. This exception does not apply for boarders outside of prep. If a boarding student is on their own time and using a private computer, the above exception is not applicable to the boarding student. For example, if someone is looking up offensive content in a common room computer, they are subject to punishment. But if they post they look up the same offensive material on their own, or another student’s computer, they are on their own terms. If they look up the same offensive content on their own, or another student’s computer during prep time, they are subject to punishment.

2.

There should be a new policy to handle the situation if the victim seeks help from the school. If there is an instance where inappropriate content affects another student and that student comes to the school for help, it is not the school’s responsibility to punish the student responsible providing he is on his own time using a non-school computer. The school may however offer suggestions to the victim or send the student responsible and the victim to student counseling for a maximum of 3 sessions. This is because the bully and the victim were on their own time and it is their responsibility to deal with it. All the school can do is help resolve the problem. If someone outside of smus were to come on to school ground and make fun of another student, it's not the school's responsibility to punish the other kid. Same applies for a smus student on their own time. They are no longer using the school facility and are on their own terms.

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