Bella+Pacheco



What kind of limits should there be on what can be said on the internet?

-First amendment -Self expression || -Harassment -Cyber bullying -Threatening || "Beussink vs. Woodland R-IV School District." //Scholar.google.com.// N.p., 28 Dec. 1998. Web. 28 Nov. 2012. A high school junior created his own website on his home computer, on which he used foul language and attacked the school's administration. Another student showed the site to a teacher, who took it to the principal. When the student recieved a ten day suspension, he sued, claiming a violation of his First Amendment rights. Judge Rodney W. Sippel decided that school officials cannot punish a student for a personal website, unless it causes a significant disruption at school.
 * Pro free speech on internet || Anti free speech on internet ||
 * -Given rights

"United States v. Drew." //Home// N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2012. 13-year-old Megan Meier committed suicide due to the cyberbullying of her former friend's mother, Lori Drew. Drew registered as 16-year-old Josh Evans on MySpace in order to start a relationship with Meier only to abruptly end it, which was the reason for Meier's suicide. Drew pleaded not guilty, but she was charged with conspiracy and three counts of violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.

"New Jersey vs. Dharun Ravi." On September 19, Clementi requested privacy in their shared room so that he could have a male guest over. Ravi obliged, but spied on Clementi’s intimate encounter through his webcam that he intentionally left on. Clementi blew it off the first time, but then discovered that just two days later on the 21st, Ravi and Wei spied on him for a second time, this time along with others they had invited to join them. Ravi even advertised it by tweeting about it and texting some of his friends. Feeling that his privacy had been invaded, Clementi immediately requested a room change. He wrote a blog about it on “Just Us Boys” and at 8:42 P.M on September 22, stated on Facebook, “Jumping off the gw bridge sorry.” His body was found on September 29th in the Hudson River. Ravi faced up to 10 years in prison and even possible deportation back to his native country of India. However, his time was largely reduced to 30 days in jail, of which he only spent 20. He was found guilty for 15 different charges; four counts of bias intimidation as a hate crime, two counts of invasion of privacy, two counts of attempted invasion of privacy, and seven counts of witness tampering and hindering apprehension.

What I Think I believe that if more people were truly informed about cyberbullying, it would be taken much more seriously and the country might finally realize the gravity of it. America cannot continue to be passive about such a weighty problem that is steadily sweeping the country. I find it incredible and utterly unacceptable that the government stands by and watches as adolescents bully one another to the point where some feel like their only solution is to end their lives.

Works Cited DeMarco, Megan. "Live Coverage: Dharun Ravi Found Guilty on Most Counts in Webcam Spying Trial Verdict." The Star-Ledger. N.p., 16 Mar. 2012. Web. 11 Dec. 2012. "Dharun Ravi." - The New York Times. N.p., 21 June 2012. Web. 27 Nov. 2012. Dvorak, John C. "Megan Had It Coming: I’m Lori Drew - TheStory Behind the Story or Bogus Site? Â« Dvorak News Blog." //Dvorak News Blog RSS//. N.p., 5 Dec. 2007. Web. 12 Dec. 2012. "First Amendment Schools: The Five Freedoms - Court Case." First Amendment Schools: The Five Freedoms - Court Case. First Amendment Center, 11 Dec. 2012. Web. 12 Dec. 2012. Hill, Kashmir. "Quote of the Day: Dharun Ravi Finally Speaks." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 22 Mar. 2012. Web. 12 Dec. 2012. McCARTHY, TOM, and SCOTT MICHELS. "Lori Drew MySpace Suicide Hoax Conviction Thrown Out." ABC News. ABC News Network, 02 July 2009. Web. 11 Dec. 2012.  “United States v. Drew." Citizen Media Law Project. Berkman Center for Internet and Society, n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2012. Wolf, Naomi. "Amanda Todd's Suicide and Social Media's Sexualisation of Youth Culture." //The Guardian//. Guardian News and Media, 26 Oct. 2012. Web. 11 Dec. 2012.