Private school went too far
COMMENTARY

Three Los Angeles private school students were expelled after a sexually explicit homemade video was exposed, The Associated Press reported Saturday. Two junior boys and a sophomore girl made the video last spring, and it came to parents’ and the school’s attention after a boy who watched it told his parents.

The problem isn’t the video. There’s nothing new about sex on film, and teenagers won’t stop having sex either. The problem is the school’s reaction. Granted, private schools have the right to refuse admission, and the video might not be the best thing to have associated with your institution. But the video involved the students, not the school. This incident isn’t the only example of schools grossly misusing their power.

In 1998, National Honor Society member Jennifer Coonce was expelled her senior year for taking two sips of sangria at a party for the design firm at which she had just begun interning. In 1999, 15-year-old Peter Ubriaco was expelled after the school administration discovered he posted curse words on a private Web site. Earlier this year, Jeffrey Woodard was expelled from a private school after admitting his homosexuality.

Not one of these “offenses” had anything to do with school, and in July 2000, a county judge in Washington took a step in the right direction by ruling that public school officials cannot punish students for free speech outside of school grounds.

If the three students had been videotaping themselves having sex in a classroom or Coonce had been drinking at a student council meeting, the school would be justified in stepping in. But since Ubriaco did not curse in class and Woodard was not making out with boys in study hall, the school had no right to punish them. Regardless of who should be responsible for the welfare of students, the school administration most definitely should not.

As college students, we shouldn’t have to worry about this. But in 2001, Peter Okema, a foreign student from Uganda, was expelled from Pittsburgh’s La Roche College because he lived with his girlfriend.

There will be consequences if three high school students decide to make a sexually explicit video. The parents will most likely punish their children, and the police might need to take action depending on the age of those involved. But there is no reason for the school to get involved.

Zach Lee is a columnist for The Daily Cougar at the University of Houston.
This column was distributed by U-Wire.