Current Events > 7th grader suspended for liking a photo of an airsoft gun on Instagram.

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/zachary-bowlin-instagram-gun_us_5910b46fe4b0e7021e99e865

An Ohio seventh-grader learned a bizarre lesson after he was suspended for “liking” a photo on Instagram.

Zachary Bowlin, who attends Edgewood Middle School in Trenton, was suspended for 10 days after school officials noticed he “liked” a photo of an airsoft gun on the photo-sharing social network Wednesday evening.

The photo caption simply said “ready.”

“I don’t think I did anything wrong,” Zachary told Columbus station WCMH-TV.

But the next morning, school officials called him into the office, patted him down and checked him for weapons.

“Then, they told me I was getting expelled or suspended or whatever,” he told the station.

The notice sent to Zachary’s parents said he was suspended for “liking a post on social media that indicated potential school violence.”

The decision angered Marty Bowlin, Zachary’s father.

“I was livid, I mean, I’m sitting here thinking, ‘You just suspended him for ten days for liking a picture of a gun on a social media site,” he told WXIX-TV. “He never shared, he never commented, he never made a threatening post … anything on the site, just liked it.”

Neither Zachary nor his dad saw anything threatening about the photo.

“I mean, I figured he’d cleaned his gun and was ready, wanting to play and stuff,” the teenager told WLWT-TV.

Marty Bowlin said he knows the boy who posted the pic.

“The young man that posted it and my son, and probably four or five other kids, play airsoft in our field,” he told WLWT. “So I pretty much knew what it was about. So I really wasn’t concerned.”

School officials didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment from HuffPost as to how they discovered the social media post.

This note was sent to parents on Friday:

“Yesterday evening school officials were made aware to an alleged threat of a student bringing a gun to school. We act on any potential threat to student safety swiftly and with the utmost importance. This morning, the alleged threat was addressed and we can assure you that all students at Edgewood Middle School are safe and school will continue as normal. Thank you”

Edgewood City Schools Superintendent Russ Fussnecker also released a statement to news outlets:

“Concerning the recent social media posting of a gun with the caption “Ready”, and the liking of this post by another student, the policy at Edgewood City Schools reads as follows:

The Board has a “zero tolerance” of violent, disruptive, harassing, intimidating, bullying, or any other inappropriate behavior by its students.

Furthermore, the policy states:

Students are also subject to discipline as outlined in the Student Code of Conduct that occurs off school property when the misbehavior adversely affects the educational process.

As the Superintendent of the Edgewood City Schools, I assure you that any social media threat will be taken serious including those who “like” the post when it potentially endangers the health and safety of students or adversely affects the educational process.”

School officials lifted Zachary’s suspension after talking with his parents.
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Suspending a kid for liking a social media post might seem a little extreme, but George Washington University Law School Professor Catherine J. Ross said schools have some rights in this regard.

“Schools are allowed to isolate the student while figuring out if there is cause for concern about safety,” Ross told LawNewz.com. “Then, if the inquiry reassures that there is no danger, the student should be reintegrated into his or her academic schedule. So the officials should be applauded for lifting the suspension even if they over-reacted initially. Some school officials just dig their heels in.”


Liberal policies, ladies and gentlemen. What's next? Are we going to take out pictures of guns from the history books?
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"We think this kid may be violent with a gun. Let's piss him off!"
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If I was the parent, I don't think I could hold my composure over this. I can't even
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Unbelievably insane how far these radicals have gone. They want to invade every last nook and cranny of a child's privacy to find any reason to punish them in school. Also there is no geographic bounds to this supposed authority. They think because a child is enrolled at a school, anything they do at any time, anywhere, in any place, is fair grounds for the school to scrutinize and possibly discipline them for it. There is literally no escape.
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Wow seriously? Someone went through the trouble of checking instagram for likes and all that to suspend the kid? Who the hell does that?
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i would have literally said i accidentally liked it (which is common when browsing on a phone) just to fuck with them


either way this is ridic stupid big brother type stuff
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Caution999 posted...

alleged threat of a student bringing a gun to school.

Literally nowhere did it say that. How the fuck could the administration be so illiterate?

Either way, I've had this exact scenario happen to me too. Reposted a picture of a gun on my Facebook with the caption "THIS ISN'T ME". Next thing I know, I get suspended for one month out of school because the administration thought I was bringing a gun to school for some shit reason. Also, because I look Muslim.
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Puglia77 posted...

Caution999 posted...

alleged threat of a student bringing a gun to school.

Literally nowhere did it say that. How the fuck could the administration be so illiterate?

Either way, I've had this exact scenario happen to me too. Reposted a picture of a gun on my Facebook with the caption "THIS ISN'T ME". Next thing I know, I get suspended for one month out of school because the administration thought I was bringing a gun to school for some shit reason. Also, because I look Muslim.

Yeah makes sense, if you were going to bring a gun to school, you totally would have shared it first in Facebook to let everyone know.
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Holy shit this is the dumbest thing I've read in months. What an absolute waste of time for everyone involved.
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It's good to see that they lifted the suspension. The problem is that they didn't speak with the student or his parents before they took action in the first place. With all the facts in hand, it's pretty obvious that there was never a threat, but they didn't bother to get the facts first. And the fact that they sent out those letters and raised everyone's alarm over nothing is completely counterproductive to whatever safety measures they thought they were taking.
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Liberal policies

I guess it's officially impossible now for us to have discussions on stuff like this without you tools attacking each other's political stance for no reason.
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Yeah, this is bad. Overly invasive, overly punitive, etc.
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The type of shit that got Trump elected
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That is so fucking stupid
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wow. litterally thought-police
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Kitt posted...

Liberal policies

I guess it's officially impossible now for us to have discussions on stuff like this without you tools attacking each other's political stance for no reason.

Seriously. These policies piss off 'liberals' too. This is ridiculous.
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Yep, gotta stop those Airsoft rampages before they start.
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Sir Will posted...

Seriously. These policies piss off 'liberals' too. This is ridiculous.

Shit like this has been happening since I was in 7th grade at least, so to pretend its "STUPID NEW LIBERAL POLICIES RUINING EVERYTHING! THIS IS WHY TRUMP WON!!! REEEEEEEE!" is intellectually dishonest. But hey, don't let it stop people from turning it into a stupid political bitchfest.
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Stupid Liberal Teachings, there is no boundaries apparently for indoctrination.
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Suspending someone for that is fucking stupid. Zero tolerance policies need to be gotten rid of. Just keeps getting more and more ridiculous.
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There's a pretty good chance this 7th-grader isn't 13 yet, thus shouldn't have even had an instagram account.

Another social media fail. Things like this is why I like anonymity. The worst that could happen is you get banned.
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it shouldn't be a story, but it is
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Questionmarktarius posted...

There's a pretty good chance this 7th-grader isn't 13 yet, thus shouldn't have even had an instagram account.

I was 13 when I was in 7th grade.
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If only that kid had a Muslim name, liberals would be outraged.
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That shit happened to me like 9 years ago. Got called into the office and they said they believed I had a gun. They patted me down and searched my locker and everything and said "You hid it well" and suspended me. I guess all it takes is someone to accuse someone.

Didn't even own a gun until 4 years ago lol

Given how much social media activity somehow finds its way back to real life impact lately, it seems like the only smart choice is to separate your "net life" from your "real life". Either way, I definitely glad I'm not in school anymore; I'd probably get accused of occultism for liking a Megaten related post somewhere.
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I remember talking about paintball with other people while at school, and the teachers didn't care, they know it's a fucking game.
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L0Z posted...

That shit happened to me like 9 years ago. Got called into the office and they said they believed I had a gun. They patted me down and searched my locker and everything and said "You hid it well" and suspended me. I guess all it takes is someone to accuse someone.

Didn't even own a gun until 4 years ago lol

Should have sued for defamation and due process violations (14th amendment) assuming it was a public school.
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Kitt posted...

Liberal policies

I guess it's officially impossible now for us to have discussions on stuff like this without you tools attacking each other's political stance for no reason.

What else do you expect from the TC/LiberalFAQs.
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I guess the Republicans just got a lifelong voter.
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stone posted...

Wow seriously? Someone went through the trouble of checking instagram for likes and all that to suspend the kid? Who the hell does that?

Losers
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Zero tolerance policy seriously needs some retooling. I mean I understand its purpose but still.
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stone posted...

Wow seriously? Someone went through the trouble of checking instagram for likes and all that to suspend the kid? Who the hell does that?

Soon, they will be looking in the kids windows to see what they are watching

"We have noticed that your son was watching Pulp Fiction, and are suspending him until we can determine whether or not he is a threat."
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The Admiral posted...

If only that kid had a Muslim name, liberals would be outraged.

I am outraged though.
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I remember in 2006 when I was a senior in high school, a girl in my class got in trouble for having bikini photos on myspace. Schools looking for things on the Internet is nothing new but this thing is dumb.
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SwordMaster13X posted...

I remember in 2006 when I was a senior in high school, a girl in my class got in trouble for having bikini photos on myspace. Schools looking for things on the Internet is nothing new but this thing is dumb.

wtf, was this a religious school?
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Crazy.

sue the shit out of them. their bottom line is the only thing they care about.
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Soon that meme of the school being suspended because of a gun shaped cloud flying over it will become an unironic reality
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this NEEDS to be logged.....every action, every incident...log it.....
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What the actual fuck.
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Electrokinesis posted...

What the actual fuck.

its the zero tolerance policy you americans have always wanted
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Jfc
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I work at a school that hauls kids into the office and threatens them with suspension if they make a gun with their fingers when playing.

This is real life now. It's like this bottomless pit of overreaction and insanity we've fallen down that's born out of paranoia from administration.
Honestly I keep hoping one of these parents will sue the hell out of the district one day but I'm sure the district's ass will be covered by the "It's just a safety precaution" bs defense.
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Sativa_Rose posted...

Unbelievably insane how far these radicals have gone. They want to invade every last nook and cranny of a child's privacy to find any reason to punish them in school. Also there is no geographic bounds to this supposed authority. They think because a child is enrolled at a school, anything they do at any time, anywhere, in any place, is fair grounds for the school to scrutinize and possibly discipline them for it. There is literally no escape.

makes me glad I graduated before social media really took off
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How did the school know he liked something on Instagram. Did he share it or something?
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