Facebook Bust at GRHS

That's life in the internet age, when they can run lab tests and determine the alcoholic contents of beverages from digital pictures.

"student athletes in the posession of alcohol."

But obviously not in possession of a dictionary.

aahhh, it's threads like this that make me long for the pre-registration days of Baristanet. We're not likely to get as many "U ALL SUK U dum parints! y dont u all mind ur own bususniss we rule and are educaton is good u hippocrists" posts as we used to.

/prove me wrong, kids, prove me wrong!

Score one for the authorities. I think this is fair game, assuming Rota (who's not id'd here but must be the AD?) didn't engage in foul play to see the pics. The student athletes will have to rethink the line between public and private acts.

Illegal behavior is illegal, whether it takes place on school property or not.

Is this, perhaps, what a "coordinator of substance abuse" does in the public schools?

Anyone know what "stance" Mr. Rota uses in the commode?

Ms. Marta,
I THINK THAT YOU ARE ILLEGAL!

I read these comments often,and it seems that the same group of dysfuntional misfits of barsitaville comment on everyone's lifestyle and habits.

Each of you distorted swines rely on unfortunate events to erect your diminished ego.
Tell us about your lives and all the lovely details of your upbringings. Open yourself up for a little analysis.
Sickening misfits..
BAN BARISTAVILLE

give the kids a break. drinking? its better than what those athletes in the 80s did that everyone was so quick to try and cover-up

You're all pathetic and act like you've never been kids before. So what they drank over the summer. I got wasted in the 90s when i was in high school. And oh my god what it did to me. I have a great job now and live in Glen Ridge while most of the kids i went to high school with pump my gas when i visit my parents.

Rock on kids...facebook is awesome, it's just a shame it's changed into what it is and your idiot of a principal betrays all your trust by snooping. He should be more concerned about the image he portrayed to the students (by betraying a few, he betrayed an entre school) rather than the fact you were drinking in pictures.

I will definitely drink a six-pack for you guys tonight. Cue liberal whining the next 50 threads, sorry GR kids. But you guys still rock. As long as you had a good time and memories to go along with 'em your facebook pictures are ok with me.

Since when can you get in trouble for pictures of doing something, rather than actually getting caught doing something. How do we know there wasn't apple juice in those beer bottles. Or that the bottles weren't empties from the parent's recycling bin.

I imagine that those of you who are in support of banning these kids from playing sports wouldn't be so happy if you lost your job because of someone found a picture of you drinking and partying during a weekend down at the shore. Since when did it become the school's responsibility to police the actions of the children while not on school grounds?

Considering this could affect scholarships and the like, I imagine that the school system is opening itself up to a possible lawsuit.

Isn't this issue something that is more of the parents problem rather than the school??? Like the handbook says, ON SCHOOL property... and if you are going to penalize kids over these types of pictures, what about other pictures they post? (half nekkid, sexual, and whatever else)...Serious - worry about kids like in OHIO, spend time looking through facebook for those types of profiles....

possible? No, probable!

Watch it guys, next Rota will be searching your rooms and running DNA tests on your hair. Keeep your hair short!

ESSEX GLEN RIDGE Glen Ridge H.S. ROTA KENNETH $134,796 High School Principal Doesn't need to be highly qualified

There have been lawsuits, and courts have found that school authorities may take punitive action against students who violate the law or certain school policies while off campus. Fighting is the most frequent violation, but drinking and drug use are not far behind.
Rota is the principal, not the AD, and I'll bet that he is on firm legal footing in this case. That's not to say that someone won't challenge it. It is America, and everyone is apparently expected to sue someone or something before dying.
I have read of cases where people lost jobs, or didn't get them in the first place, because of some picture or posting that they put out there. To my knowledge, those dismissals held up legally as well. If you don't want these kinds of consequences, it would seem that the obvious thing to do would be to avoid having your picture taken doing something illegal and then having it posted on the internet, for anyone to see. This isn't papparazzi peeking over hedges or using zoom lenses from helicopters, these kids put their own pix on there, or their friends did. Nice friends.
Perhaps the school should take no action (though the police beat them to it) against the 14 year old in Philly who had an arsenal ready to go -- after all, those weapons weren't in school.
Yet.

Liz makes me laugh.

And dim teenage jocks are always amusing when they get all righteous.
My favorite (aside from the bad punctuation and sentence fragments) is "private face book photos." Here's a hint for when you take the SAT's: If there's a question about how to keep your photos private, fill in the circle next to the words "don't post them on face book."
Here's how i got away with drinking and smoking weed during high school: I hid the evidence.

GRguy17, you might properly wish to realize that DESPITE your getting wasted during the 90's, you now have a good job and live in Glen Ridge. Not because you got wasted then.

And yet, here you sit posting on this very site, bragging about your plans to down a six-pack (where I come from, sonny, the ante alone for a night of wastreldom was usually 12 bottles). Plus ca change...., eh? And do your gas-pumping friends similarly brag about their own alcohol consumption?

Smile243, if you must post here, you should also try to bring more to the "table" than a view of others as "distorted swines." If only lest, the next time you down your own six-pack, you're somehow confused with GRguy17.

So, if you are against Rota's digging for the pure motive of getting us in trouble, wear a black shirt and jeans tomorrow in silent protest.

The one day in HS I would have worn khakis and a polo shirt...

I hope these kids learned a valuable lesson: There is no such thing as private on the internet. How many times have we heard about someone being denied a job at a law firm because her MySpace had pictures of her having a little too much fun on Spring Break?

While I don't necessarily think the principal had any grounds to punish the students for something they did over the summer, there may be extenuating circumstances. Were these photos taken during the summer, but after practice started? I remember HS football practice starting some time near the end of August with voluntary training starting in the end of July.

If that's the case, then the athletes would be subject to GRHS's student athlete code of conduct... In my home town, that meant instant suspension for going to parties where alcohol was served (unless you left immediately upon noticing the booze, of course), not just what you did on school property.

most of the kids i went to high school with pump my gas when i visit my parents.

What GRguy17 doesn't say is the gas they pump (apparently only while he visits his parents) is the hot air he's always blowing...

I also liked the plea to "wear a black shirt and pants." Oy, such a fashion statement! Himmler, Mussolini and Oswald Mosley would all be so proud of the little deluded high school fools on that one.

As to "what else" these hapless punks could also be doing, well, they really could be striving to learn something about discretion. Which almost always proves a valuable talent during adulthood.

Ah, this is hilarious. Those students are FOOLS! They should have thought about that. In fact anyone on facebook should think about how it's now possible for ANYONE to have a facebook account now. So take down your bong shots kids, and guess what, it was probably a fellow student with a grudge against the football players who told on you.

GR Guy-Excusing the behavior because you did it when you were a kid is just ignorant. I am shocked you graduated because based on your post you definitely have not matured.

I think one question that needs to be addressed is whether or not the kids in the pictures were wearing clothing that associates them with the school.

Separate from that question, the behavior is illegal and the school is taking a stance about enforcing and expecting its students to have certain values. What's wrong with that?

THE PARENTS of these children should be ashamed of themselves...have you heard about the college graduate who had wild party pictures in here FACEBOOK site and her new employer saw them and did offer her the JOB!!! These are children!!! Fine let them make the rules and live with the results...These children need to be told that this behavior is wrong. I am 50 years old and now TONS of adults who are raving alchoholics...where did it start?

I have my 20th HS reunion tomorrow. Our yearbook prominently displays alcahol consumption. I don't condone underage drinking, but it's a shame that it's come to this, largely due to our litigious nature, IMO.

Are these the same kids who were at the parent promoted drinking party in the last couple of weeks.

Way to GO!

I probably should not offer an opinion without knowing more of the facts, but there is something offensive about a school principal reviewing Facebook entries to catch his students in questionable activities.

Were only athletes at this party?

Spec-

You are assuming he was looking to catch kids doing something wrong. Perhaps we was searching for something to keep them out of trouble.

Since when did we stop trusting the judgement of those who have dedicated their lives to educating kids? Shouldn't we give the principal the benefit rather than the kids?

weed,

Probably not. But, the athletes are the only ones who can be punished by suspending them from a sports team.

I'm sure if there were code of conduct for the Glee Club and some of the people in the pictures were from that, those people could be suspended from their activity, too.

Do schools even have Glee Clubs anymore?

The real "glee" in most high schools these days, GNM, much more likely comes from the use of controlled substances and alcohol than from choral singing.

In our handbook in the Drug and Alcohol Policy on pg 20, "These policies are in effect when a student is on school property, including non-school events, or at a school function." Which these pictures were not.

I forgot to mention: if the kids' extract of the policy is complete and accurate (e.g., if there's not a separate athletics policy that they agree to in order to play) and the pictures were of activity not on school grounds, the kids' analysis is correct. If so, this punishment should not stand.

Tony,

I'd be really surprised to learn that athletes don't need to sign a separate "Code of Conduct" form that expressly forbids these sorts of "extracurricular" activities.

Right on Sleepyseek: if anyone thinks that what they post on the World Wide (hint! hint!) Web is private or privileged, they are dead wrong and should be whacked soundly updside the head with the stupid stick. But I diasgree that these students should be punished because of alleged alcohol use purportedly proven by undated public photographs -- that absolutely smacks of blackshirt-ism. By the way, did they open that new Irish Pub near the GR high school yet?

"I have my 20th HS reunion tomorrow. Our yearbook prominently displays alcahol consumption. I don't condone underage drinking, but it's a shame that it's come to this, largely due to our litigious nature, IMO"

Whwere did you go to school, Milwaukee? I graduated 3 years before you and there were no pics of people getting high and drink in my yearbook. WTF?

One important point is that Facebook pages (unlike MySpace pages) are private by default. They aren't just openly available on the Internet. That's what the kids meant by "Mr. Rota has found a way, or a parent spy, to get onto facebook and search our pictures. He has somehow got his hands on private facebook photos . . ." The pictures were posted in way that they were only accessible to those persons that the owners of the pages had given permission to.

So it sounds like a bit of a witch hunt if he's snooping around on private pages for evidence of "misconduct" that occured off school grounds over the summer. If what the players say is true, they are being used as scapegoats to scare the rest of the student body.

"...it was probably a fellow student with a grudge against the football players who told on you."

Or the captain of the opposing team... Let's check out their entries. Maybe they have some bong shots. Might avoid a default.

"Ms. Marta,
I THINK THAT YOU ARE ILLEGAL!

I read these comments often,and it seems that the same group of dysfuntional misfits of barsitaville comment on everyone's lifestyle and habits.

Each of you distorted swines rely on unfortunate events to erect your diminished ego.
Tell us about your lives and all the lovely details of your upbringings. Open yourself up for a little analysis.
Sickening misfits..
BAN BARISTAVILLE"

Posted by smile243 | October 12, 2007 10:35 AM

Take a good look everyone. If this is an example of one of the "best minds" of this generation, we are in deep doo-doo.

You would think that Baristanet would be smart enough not to believe everything they read from a teenager in Facebook. This article was posted before ANY of it was verified. The "no comment yet" didn't mean there wasn't a comment, only that Baristanet wasn't responisble enough to wait for one before printing. In normal fashion the article turns out to be totally wrong as no students have been suspended. Way to go Baristas! You got it mostly not right again...

Where are the parents? Perhaps the parents gave them permission to drink. Maybe the members of the administration at GRHS do not have kids, so they don't understand the need to satisfy that thirst for alcohol at a young age.

They should be glad they have a Bottle King in their hood!

Don't we have better things to focus on like lowering taxes, fighting crime that is growing out of control.

I'll drink to that!

"Cue liberal whining the next 50 threads, sorry GR kids"

OK... so when did conservatism and liberalism make the switch? Aren't the conservatives the ones that don't want anyone to be drinking at all? Hmm...

As for private pictures on Facebook, once you join a network you can see the photos of other members. I can't see the GRHS pics because I'm not in the network, but I can see the pics of my college alumni because I'm in the network. Obviously Rota is in the network. Rota's in my "5".

The kids aren't being tried in a court of law, Liz. They're athletes being held to a high standard of public behavior. Sounds good to me.

If this is true and the network is the culprit, then the students need to start using their profile privacy settings. While it's by default methinks that anyone in an network can see your photos without being your friend, you CAN turn that off. The fact that this wasn't done in this case is yet another example of people not utilizing things that are clearly available to them.

"...yet another example of people not utilizing things that are clearly available to them."

What we call 'bugs' Microsoft calls 'undocumented features.'

...yet another example of people not utilizing things that are clearly available to them.

Like the "Preview" button?

Ever since it came back, it seems the mistakes and typos are more rampant than ever.

Is there any chance of adding a "Spelling & Grammar" button, Tom? God knows a lot of posters here could use one (myself included).

you are all a bunch of bitches..NO ONE GOT SUSPENDED. You all need to find a constructive hobby instead of sitting at home, slowly getting fatter, and trying to ruin the lives of the young people who actually have a future. This site is based on rumors, gossip, and a whole lot of bullshit. It makes me sick that people actually get their news from a washed up old hag who only has this website because real journalists know how full of shit she is. Once again NOBODY GOT SUSPENDED. This is just another example of how people with too much time and not enough friends take things way too far.

Appletony wanted to hear from the youth so as a student from Glen Ridge High School I have somethings to say. One, if Baristanet wants to be taken a seriously as a public forum for information they should start checking their facts. If they had bothered to wait for Mr. Rota's reply they would know that no athletes have actually been suspended. Baristanet's failure to substantiate such a claim, and thus spread a false rumor, appalls me.

However I do have a few things to say to the students of Glen Ridge High School as well. Keep your illicit photos to yourselves. Though you may think these pictures can only be viewed by your allegeded facebook "friends" it is naive to think that no one else could get a hold of them, and it is even more naive to think they can't do anything about it. Secondly the drinking photo thing is lame anyway, is that how you want to viewed? As an underage, irresponsible kid who has nothing better to do than funnel beer on the weekends? Capping all of that off by joining a facebook event that rallies for your right to post such photos doesn't say much about your maturity. It says even less for the students who posted profane and imflammtory remarks about Mr. Rota on the wall of the group when it is obvious that he is somehow viewing facebook.

However I can not fully the blame the students. This is for the PARENTS. If you are so concerned that your kids or their friends are drinking; stop surfing the internet, stop complaining to the principal, and start talking to your own kid! Yes eventually kids will realize they are not invincible but until then, you are their guide. We would not have these facebook picture debacles if parents raised kids that knew better than to advertise their illicit acitivities on the internet for anyone to see. Many parents seem to be in denial and think that their kid is smarter than that, but the truth is many are not! Especially the younger kids that look up to seniors' facebooks to deem for themselves what is acceptable to post. It is up to you as a parent to explain how pictures like these can damage their future and reputation. It is NOT your job to turn the pictures into the high school and make the administration deal with this epidemic of incriminating photos. If that is your solution then you are failing your child.

The moral of this event is that everyone, students and parents alike, needs to start taking responsibility for their own actions.

...and "anonymous" becomes my favorite poster of the week.

Well said, sir/madame.

I was involved in today's so called "protest." I would hardly call it a protest, we were all simply wearing the same thing to show that as a whole we disagreed with what is going on. CBS News and the arrival of Baristanet's always nosey Debbie Galant was completely unnecessary. Yes, I do believe that students should not be posting these pictures on the internet. However, I do not think it's at all fair for parents, people from the Home&School, or the school administrators to look up such photos and use them as a basis to get people into trouble. This could seriously hurt people's futures.
As for those of you who constantly post on this wall to bash my school for underage drinking. It's not at all necessary. First of all, we are not doing anything that every other high school in this country isn't doing as well. We're not "the bad seeds" of this area. Every town has underage drinking. This seems to me to just be another chance for you to bash GR. Second, if all of you who are criticizing our actions as teenagers are so righteous and can honestly say you never drank before you turned 21, good for you, but I find that unlikely.

This subject clearly needs to be dropped. The threats of suspension are as far as I can tell dropped. Let's move on.

Does anyone know if GRHS ever sponsers any type of alcohol or drug awareness programs.

I think kids need to know what can happen to them if they start to use these substances, especially kids with self esteem and anger management problems.

Take a good look everyone. If this is an example of one of the "best minds" of this generation, we are in deep doo-doo.

Posted by Miss Martta | October 12, 2007 1:48 PM

No Martar, you represent the best.
Try cleaning out your own closet before pointing fingers at others..
Actually, you need this site, without it your useless..

i LOVE how Debbie finds these stories that the Glen Ridge HS kids riled up every now and then. Angry upper-middle-class white brats write the best unintentional self-parody ever.

I am truly disgusted at this website. The same couple of people keep posting over and over again with their etremely narrow minded opinions that no one gives a shit about. What would the teenage versions of yourselves think if they knew how you all turned out? they would think holy crap, i turned into a fat bitter old prune, and would probably be sickened by you. So stop being hippocrytical assholes and let kids be kids, because we all know that every single one of you drank yourselves stupid when you were there age.

anonymous,
I wasn't looking for a well-composed, balanced and thoughtful screed! I want blathered txt msgs and such about intrusive, unfair adults. I want tons of spelling and gramatical errors.

Count me as impressed, but deprived of the fun I had hoped for...

I'm guessing "student247", "smile243", et al didn't learn their lessons (in English class or life) and are drunk-posting.

Dear he who is Generically named Mike,
This isn't english class you douche. It's an internet forum. So tell me if this is grammatically correct... SUCK MY BALLS.

Aren't the conservatives the ones that don't want anyone to be drinking at all?

Uh, no. If a person is conservative in the "keep government out of my hair" sense of things, you would find that they aren't all that freaked out by intoxicants used in a way that does not harm others.

Sorry appletony but apparently us "Angry upper-middle-class white brats" need some better representaion.

appletony, who the fuck are you? you always post all this shit and never back yourself up. I remember your pseudonym from the porno hate train "incident" the drunk teenager incidents and the adult sponsored party. get a life and get out of that of high school kids. are you some kind of pedophile?

appletony, who the fuck are you? you always post all this shit and never back yourself up. I remember your pseudonym from the porno hate train "incident" the drunk teenager incidents and the adult sponsored party. get a life and get out of that of high school kids. are you some kind of pedophile?

appletony, who the fuck are you? you always post all this shit and never back yourself up. I remember your pseudonym from the porno hate train "incident" the drunk teenager incidents and the adult sponsored party. get a life and get out of that of high school kids. are you some kind of pedophile?

appletony, who the fuck are you? you always post all this shit and never back yourself up. I remember your pseudonym from the porno hate train "incident" the drunk teenager incidents and the adult sponsored party. get a life and get out of that of high school kids. are you some kind of pedophile?

appletony, who the fuck are you? you always post all this shit and never back yourself up. I remember your pseudonym from the porno hate train "incident" the drunk teenager incidents and the adult sponsored party. get a life and get out of that of high school kids. are you some kind of pedophile?

Closing this thread for utter lack of civility.