Canadian school suspends student for not removing YouTube videos, threatens schoolmates - Polidicks

[quote=http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/toronto/student-cites-freedom-of-speech-after-suspension-for-online-videos/article2043954/]Jack Christie’s videos are the kind of thing you see every day on the Internet. Crudely animated stick figures swear and fire automatic rifles. There are off-colour jokes about everything from race to pedophilia to cocaine. Absurd incidents – such as the assassination of an evil talking mango – seem to happen at random. But administrators at the Grade 12 student’s Whitby high school were so offended when they found the animations on YouTube last month, they sent him home and called the police. He is being kept out of school during the investigation. Now, fellow students at Donald A. Wilson Secondary School are demanding the 18-year-old be reinstated, arguing the school overstepped its bounds by meting out punishment for something that happened off campus. Mr. Christie says the administration is stomping on his right to freedom of speech. “They’ve unfairly judged me and judged my character based on something I made for entertainment,” he said on Wednesday. “I have the right to post videos on the Internet on my own time.” A spokeswoman for the Durham District School Board refused to discuss the case, citing confidentiality laws, but obliquely explained the school’s actions: “If something is considered detrimental to the positive moral tone of the school, it doesn’t necessarily have to happen inside the school [for us to get involved],” said Andrea Pidwerbecki. Neither Mr. Christie’s principal nor the superintendent for the area responded to requests from The Globe and Mail for comment. Mr. Christie created the videos on his laptop for presentations in economics and politics classes over the course of the last school year. Titled Jack Christie Talks to Children, they feature an animated representation of himself leading a pair of kids on adventures and purporting to explain various subjects, such as politics and corporate whistle-blowing. He said his teachers had no problem with the content – one even lent his voice to an animation – and he didn’t get in trouble until he uploaded the videos to YouTube. He was swiftly given a one-day suspension. A few days later, his principal laid out an ultimatum: Take the videos down or the police would be called. He refused to budge. Mr. Christie hasn’t been allowed to return to class for a week and is unsure whether he can attend his prom on Friday. He says the school board has not given him the opportunity to defend himself. Durham Regional Police confirmed the force received a complaint from the principal and his superior. An officer is investigating but has not reached any conclusions. Donald A. Wilson Secondary School, meanwhile, is abuzz. “I know that lots of students are talking about it and they’re kind of annoyed,” said Grade 12 student Matt Primeau. “It seems there’s no real reason why Jack’s missed so much school.” Gavin Russell, prime minister of the student government, gathered scores of signatures on a petition supporting Mr. Christie before two staff members warned him that, if he continued, he could also face punishment. Mr. Russell said he understands administrators’ concern about the videos being shown in class, but suggests they over-reacted by trying to stop them being put online. “I don’t think they did the right thing in giving him an indefinite suspension based on videos he made at home that weren’t under their jurisdiction,” he said. Richard Rosenberg, a civil-liberties advocate and professor emeritus in the University of British Columbia’s Department of Computer Science, said there is no clearly-defined line on how far a school can regulate student activity off-campus. “You might tell a student that it is offensive, but I don’t think I would go so far as to suspend or to demand students apologize or take it down,” he said. Mr. Christie, meanwhile, has protested against the situation with another video. In it, he speaks directly to school officials through his cartoon avatar. “We live in a nation where freedom of expression and media is considered a staple of our constitution,” he says. “I have the right to say and advertise whatever … I want, and I hope that today’s bunch of 17- and 18-year-olds are smart enough to understand that it’s all comedy and nothing more.”[/quote] Response video mentioned above: [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnW2_i0Q_i4[/media] Think what you will of his humor, but... :argh:

3 words Sue, the, School.

Hopefully with this case boundaries will be set up. Mind you Canadian laws are just right fucked.

Glorious Canada in motion.

Everyone send emails to his school. I personally sent one. [editline]7th June 2011[/editline] [email]DonaldAWilson_SS@durham.edu.on.ca[/email]

That kid is a badass. He's all like come at me bro and doesn't afraid of anything.

Exactly what grounds are they able to get the police involved on?

So it looks to me as though youth in Canada aren't off any better than they are in the United States in terms of treatment as people with constitutional rights.

off topic but the two avatars above me [editline]7th June 2011[/editline] fuck you bio

[QUOTE=Biotoxsin;30312920]So it looks to me as though youth in Canada aren't off any better than they are in the United States in terms of treatment as people with constitutional rights.[/QUOTE] By most of the US laws, Children under the age of 17 are more of property than they are people. I also got suspended for writing an essay about pie, they said my P's looked like D's. Mixing up nouns with verbs, they weren't too intelligent. Its a violation of my freedom of expression. And this kid is getting the same crap as I did. What a shame.

[QUOTE=Ninja Duck;30312190]Glorious Canada in motion.[/QUOTE] Because america is completely different you hypocrite.

[QUOTE=Glaber;30311703]3 words Sue, the, School.[/QUOTE] A wild Glaber appears, after a long absence... :colbert:

[QUOTE]Gavin Russell, prime minister of the student government, gathered scores of signatures on a petition supporting Mr. Christie before two staff members warned him that, if he continued, he could also face punishment. [/QUOTE] wow really

[quote]“If something is considered detrimental to the positive moral tone of the school, it doesn’t necessarily have to happen inside the school [for us to get involved],” said Andrea Pidwerbecki.[/quote] Yeah it does Enjoy your lawsuit for violating someone's Charter rights

Disapproving of it, fine, but you DON'T pull shit like this!

ok my p.e teacher played my [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoOeJNiNK-4]shitty youtube videos[/url] infront of my class no complaints there

I agree with what he's saying, but his humor is absolutely horrendous.

[QUOTE=Zeke129;30315062]Yeah it does Enjoy your lawsuit for violating someone's Charter rights[/QUOTE] Fucking idiots made my fucking head hurt hnggggggg fuck off retarded schools

[QUOTE=Ed Miliband;30312239]Everyone send emails to his school. I personally sent one. [editline]7th June 2011[/editline] [email]DonaldAWilson_SS@durham.edu.on.ca[/email][/QUOTE] I'll send a friendly reminder about section 2 of the canadian charter of rights and freedoms

This is downright stupid on the school's behalf. The kid sounds like an average facepunch user.

seriously? they stopped a petition? fucking fascists.

Heard about this on the news last week, the Peel Region police dropped any charges and the board was holding a meeting to discuss the issue.

the school is obviously in the wrong but in Canada we don't have [I]true[/I] freedom of speech. We aren't allowed to say "hate speech" and the people who decide what that is is the majority. Freedom of speech should [I]mean[/I] freedom of speech, not you can say what you like until it offends me. This isn't really relevant in this case just saying to all the other Canadians on FP who seem to think we have freedom of speech, we don't. I envy most of the U.S.'s rights.

[QUOTE=Aman VII;30315548]the school is obviously in the wrong but in Canada we don't have [I]true[/I] freedom of speech. We aren't allowed to say "hate speech" and the people who decide what that is is the majority. Freedom of speech should [I]mean[/I] freedom of speech, not you can say what you like until it offends me. This isn't really relevant in this case just saying to all the other Canadians on FP who seem to think we have freedom of speech, we don't. I envy most of the U.S.'s rights.[/QUOTE] You don't seem to be familiar with how or when hate speech laws are applied. They don't apply in this case, they weren't, and they can't be. Hate speech has nothing to do with "offending someone" as you seem to think. Go read up. [editline]7th June 2011[/editline] Of all the charges brought against people for hate speech, only a small handful are controversial enough to be noteworthy. You need to be saying some pretty nasty shit (like on WBC-level) to get charged.

[QUOTE=Zeke129;30315824]You don't seem to be familiar with how or when hate speech laws are applied. They don't apply in this case, they weren't, and they can't be. Hate speech has nothing to do with "offending someone" as you seem to think. Go read up. [editline]7th June 2011[/editline] Of all the charges brought against people for hate speech, only a small handful are controversial enough to be noteworthy. You need to be saying some pretty nasty shit (like on WBC-level) to get charged.[/QUOTE] Note how I said IT ISN'T RELEVANT IN THIS CASE. And I believe people should be able to say whatever they want, WBC and all. [quote]Section 2 of the of the Charter grants to everyone, among other things, freedom of conscience and religion, and freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media. Section 1 restricts the granted freedoms by making them subject "only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society."[/quote] Funny how it contradicts itself

This case is the tip of the ice burg when it comes to Canadian schools and their bullshit. During 5th grade I accidentally broke a window, I was given a -two month- "in school suspension" which basically comprised of having to go to school (otherwise they would have called the police and had my parents arrested for child endangerment) and sit in a small room being denied an education. I wasn't allowed out at recess or lunch and had to go directly to the principle if I wanted to so much as go to the bathroom. This was never out in the public, all the schools administrators knew and did nothing. Three weeks after that ended I was raped after gym class by an older student. Canadian schools are fucked, on every level.

[QUOTE=Ataxia;30316048]This case is the tip of the ice burg when it comes to Canadian schools and their bullshit. During 5th grade I accidentally broke a window, I was given a -two month- "in school suspension" which basically comprised of having to go to school (otherwise they would have called the police and had my parents arrested for child endangerment) and sit in a small room being denied an education. I wasn't allowed out at recess or lunch and had to go directly to the principle if I wanted to so much as go to the bathroom. This was never out in the public, all the schools administrators knew and did nothing. Three weeks after that ended I was raped after gym class by an older student. Canadian schools are fucked, on every level.[/QUOTE] Maybe you shouldn't break windows. They obviously had reason to believe it wasn't an accident if you were punished so harshly.

[QUOTE=Aman VII;30315960] And I believe people should be able to say whatever they want[/QUOTE] "Aboriginals in this country are scum. All of them are scum. Criminals, drug addicts, whores, rapists, disgraces to humanity. There is not a single good aboriginal in this country. I call upon every employer, every hotel manager, every restaurant owner. Refuse to hire them. Refuse service to them. We will run them out of this country. And we will make a better Canada for it. My white brothers and sisters, stand by my side, and help me RID this country of these vile people!" should be legal? There weren't any threats, no slander against a specific person, but I find it really hard to offer legal protection to it.

[QUOTE=Zeke129;30316113]"Aboriginals in this country are scum. All of them are scum. Criminals, drug addicts, whores, rapists, disgraces to humanity. There is not a single good aboriginal in this country. I call upon every employer, every hotel manager, every restaurant owner. Refuse to hire them. Refuse service to them. We will run them out of this country. And we will make a better Canada for it. My white brothers and sisters, stand by my side, and help me RID this country of these vile people!" should be legal?[/QUOTE] Uhh, yes. Just because it is stupid and wrong doesn't mean they shouldn't be allowed to say it.

[QUOTE=Aman VII;30316144]Uhh, yes. Just because it is stupid and wrong doesn't mean they shouldn't be allowed to say it.[/QUOTE] I don't know man. Yelling fire in a theatre is a hell of a lot more tame than my example since people likely wouldn't start running around without actually seeing a fire, and it's illegal. Nowhere in the world (where other people live, of course - can't enforce restrictions on freedom of speech if the person is talking to themselves) has absolute freedom of speech.