School Takes a Stand Against Bullying

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

In light of our recent blog posts on cyber bullying, the following article depicts how some schools are really taking a stand against bullying…both on school grounds and via technology.

BURLEY - Students and staff at Cassia County schools who engage in any type
of bullying behavior could find themselves expelled from school or their
employment terminated.

The Cassia County School District unanimously approved an amended policy on
student harassment that includes new language against bullying someone over
sexual orientation. It also includes a new policy titled "Prohibition Against
Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying" that outlines the district's response to
issues such as spreading rumors, cyber bullying and "sexting," which have become
issues since the original policy was adopted in 2000.

"These reflect current things we experience in the community and other
parts of the state," said district Superintendent Gaylen Smyer.

The new policies put in place guidelines that define cyber bullying as the
use of any electronic communications device to convey a message in any format -
including audio, video, text, graphics, or photographs - that intimidates,
harasses or intends to harm another individual.

"Parental awareness will play a big role in this," Smyer said.
According to the policy, school administrators will report any conduct they
believe is in violation of the law to local law enforcement and no retaliation
will be taken by the district, employees or students for someone who reports
harassment or bullying.

The district will maintain a written record that is submitted to the
district with witness statements and investigative reports. Those records will
be kept in district administrative offices and will not be purged by district
personnel without board approval.

The prohibition extends not only to actions on school grounds but those
originating at a remote location and carried out via technology. The policy also
includes a section on district employees and staff members engaging in bullying
behavior. (This article was written last week by Laurie Welch.)

We commend this school for taking a stand to protect those who can’t always protect themselves. Kids and teens SHOULD be protected from bullies. It is my hope that parents are not only trying to protect their kids from bullying, but also trying to teach them to not BE bullies. This ultimately begins in the home. It makes me think about the type of parent I am. How am I with my friends? What kind of example am I setting? Am I being kind to the people in my life? Do I have bullying behavior?

As parents, we have to keep in mind that we are the prime example setters. What can we do in our lives every day to secure a positive foundation for our kids? McGruff Safeguard is here to help make you aware of what’s going on out there. Let us know if you have any questions!

Labels: bullying, Cassia County, internet laws, Laurie Welch

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posted by Lindsay Manfredi at 2:04 PM Link to this Article 1 Comments

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Who has rights to images YOU post online?

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

I have recently started spending more time on a few of the social media sites. Twitter can be the most addicting, yet it doesn't really give out as much information as some of the others, such as Facebook (at least not yet!)

If you haven't heard of Facebook, Twitter, or MySpace you are on another planet. These are just three of many. Most likely your child is on one if not MANY of these websites. They post anything on these pages from silly photos to quizzes about themselves, which may give intimate information to anyone on the web.

When I was growing up we didn't have this kind of way to reach out to others. You had to go outside or call your friends to do something or tell them anything. Nowadays, they can just get on Facebook and not only post what they are doing right now, but post photos and videos as well. They may think that only their "friends" can see these images and information, and when and if they decide to cancel their page they will just be deleted off the web entirely. This is not what happens.

On February 4th, Facebook made a change to their Terms of Service (TOS) that raised panic among its users. All content ever uploaded on Facebook could be used, modified or even sublicensed by Facebook in every possible way - even if you quit the service. Here is what the Terms of Service (TOS) for Facebook stated as of February 4th:

You hereby grant Facebook an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, fully paid, worldwide license (with the right to sublicense) to (a) use, copy, publish, stream, store, retain, publicly perform or display, transmit, scan, reformat, modify, edit, frame, translate, excerpt, adapt, create derivative works and distribute (through multiple tiers), any User Content you (i) Post on or in connection with the Facebook Service or the promotion thereof subject only to your privacy settings or (ii) enable a user to Post, including by offering a Share Link on your website and (b) to use your name, likeness and image for any purpose, including commercial or advertising, each of (a) and (b) on or in connection with the Facebook Service or the promotion thereof.

Basically they stated that any content, whether it be photos, videos, or posts could be used by them even after you terminated your page. This understandably caused some outrage among Facebook users. Some things could be protected depending on your privacy settings, but most likely your child wouldn't have know this.

Facebook has since reverted back to its original terms of service due to the overwhelming response of its users. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has posted a response on the Facebook blog stating: "Trust us, we're not doing this to profit from you, it's so we are legally protected as we enable you to share content with other users and services."

Even though Facebook has since reverted the changes in their TOS previously noted, the uproar that it caused has opened peoples' eyes to the very real possibility that when something is uploaded to the internet, it may be impossible to retract. We as parents need to be aware of what our children are posting to these different sites and protect kids from unknowingly damaging their futures. Millions of people are uploading information to huge online databases, and by doing so may be opening themselves up to irreversible defamation and harmful misuse of their seemingly innocent content.

It's a very scary thing to realize. This is why we need to let our children know that what they post should not be something they don't want anyone and everyone to see. Help protect your children by learning what they are doing online. Download McGruff SafeGuard for free today.

Labels: Facebook, internet laws, internet safety, McGruff Safeguard, photos, Terms of Service, TOS