In the grand tradition of J. Edgar Hoover, who kept dossiers on the sexual habits of politicians and potential political enemies, in order to "out" them when opportune, a Tennessee high school principal had her flunkies put together a list of student romantic couples in order to "keep an eye on them" and cut down on public displays of affection.
Eyewitness News reports:
Attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union say Daphne Beasley, the principal of Hollis F. Price Middle College High School in South Memphis, went way beyond her role as educator.
The ACLU says in September 2007, Beasley asked her staff to give her the names of students who were couples, heterosexual and homosexual, because she wanted to keep an eye on them to cut down on public displays of affection.
She's accused of publicly posting the names of those students, including two boys, Andrew and Nicholas, who had just started dating. The ACLU says that in doing so, Beasley revealed their relationship to other students, teachers and even their parents.
In a letter sent Tuesday, April 29, 2008 to Memphis City Schools, the ACLU says the principal's actions violated the students' constitutional rights to equal protection, freedom of expression and association, due process and privacy.
"Our first reaction was wow, this is unbelievable that a principal has gone this far," says ACLU attorney Christine Sun. "The constitution protects all of us from the government intruding in our private lives when there isn't a reason to do that. This was morally and legally wrong."
One of the young men, Nicholas, an 11th grader who just made the Dean's List, spoke with Eyewitness News Everywhere.
"It was actually frightening," he says, "to see a list with my name on it where not just other teachers could see but students as well."
Eyewitness News reports:
Attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union say Daphne Beasley, the principal of Hollis F. Price Middle College High School in South Memphis, went way beyond her role as educator.
The ACLU says in September 2007, Beasley asked her staff to give her the names of students who were couples, heterosexual and homosexual, because she wanted to keep an eye on them to cut down on public displays of affection.
She's accused of publicly posting the names of those students, including two boys, Andrew and Nicholas, who had just started dating. The ACLU says that in doing so, Beasley revealed their relationship to other students, teachers and even their parents.
In a letter sent Tuesday, April 29, 2008 to Memphis City Schools, the ACLU says the principal's actions violated the students' constitutional rights to equal protection, freedom of expression and association, due process and privacy.
"Our first reaction was wow, this is unbelievable that a principal has gone this far," says ACLU attorney Christine Sun. "The constitution protects all of us from the government intruding in our private lives when there isn't a reason to do that. This was morally and legally wrong."
One of the young men, Nicholas, an 11th grader who just made the Dean's List, spoke with Eyewitness News Everywhere.
"It was actually frightening," he says, "to see a list with my name on it where not just other teachers could see but students as well."
Remove her from her job and ban her from holding any managerial or administrative position, or any position involving young people or education, for the rest of her life. No exceptions.
As a retired educator I find this scurrilous behavior totally unacceptable and indefensible. However, as much as I find it offensive and totally unprofessional, I am not in the end terribly surprised. In my three decade plus experience it is generally the incompetent and stupid who are promoted to administrative posts within a school district.
The proper action here would be for the state to revoke her certification for life. This would effectively remove her from the educational scene in TN. Tennessee being Tennessee however, this will probably not happen.
Yeah, who want's to see love and affection, and IN PUBLIC TOO! Oh the horror! Surely we need government employees taking the initiative to compile dossiers on potential lovers to keep their damned love from infecting the rest of us.
Look, I have just stumbled accross this and seen it for what it is. Despite the obvious, it is a massive infraction against the liberty of students in relation to their ablity to pursue relationships. However, I do not think at any point was it a violation of the american constitution, i may be wrong but i do not think liberty in the sense of relationship anonymity was protected. If this is correct I think that the prinicpal should be punished because of a clear lack of ethical and moral guidelines rather than a notion of constitutional breakdown.
There are better ways to slow the frequency of public displays of affection.
For example, going up to the kids once in a while, and saying "Not here, in public, kids."
Its Most defintly not a constitutional issue though on a moral and ethical ground as previously stated its extremly inappropriote. It wouldnt suprise to see her removed from her position at soonest convince to to student, parental, and general community outrage that someone like that would be allowed to stay in that type of posistion
Nathan, ability to pursue relationships IS protected by the constitution- freedom of expression and association, due process and privacy. But their relationship isn't all she endangered. By "outing" them she put them in immediate danger (especially in Tennessee)- equal protection.
While this is still an infraction of liberties on behalf of ALL of the students listed, the consequences of her actions are much more threatening to these boys' lives and families than the heterosexual students'.
Nathan,
Since public schools in the United States are a fully dependent arm of the government, the employees of all school boards (including principals) are, explicitly, government agents.
As such, they are required to respect the safeguards guaranteed in the Constitution -- including equal protection, freedom of expression and association, due process and privacy.
This principal singled out and harassed students for expressing their physical attractio -- something that is, by the way, perfectly legal, short of someone's genitals popping out -- and attacked them in public because of their private actions.
Kissing in the hallway does not equal sex, and, in any case, rumours do not constitute evidence.
Particularly egregious in this case is the fact that she exposed certain students as homosexual -- depending on the expected reaction in the student body, this could be perceived as a conspiracy to commit a hate crime.
Wow... Hey Tennessee, get your wallet out. This ignorant "educator" probably just cost you a few million.
I think we can assume that the offending "principal" was probably a follower of christian beliefs...
The sooner all religions die, the better.
When I was in high school I often wondered if the administration was doing this to me.
Any time I so much as hugged my girlfriend, a teacher was never too far away to say "STOP DOING THAT YOU'RE OFFENDING PEOPLE!"
Who? Who are these random anonymous people I've offended? Furthermore, am I supposed to care?
That teacher should be fired, and probably fined. It's illegal for newspapers to print the full name of a minor for public display, why not the same thing for a teacher?
I go to a private school, I'm in 11th grade.
At my school the teachers know who's dating and discuss it at meetings, to cut down on pda.
It's just the way it is.
I think it's an invasion of privacy, personally.
I also think there's no way to stop adults from doing what they think would be the easy solution, such as keeping track of relationships.
Though around here they also know of one night stands... which doesn't really need to be known.
Maybe She had the best interest of the students in mind. Perhaps She wanted them to attend one of those nice retreat camps where the homo gays could get shock therapy. Changing them from homo gays into depressed, repressed, suicidal individuals. Which is much better than homo gay. Don't you agree?
Is it just me, or does this not really add up? How is recording and displaying the names of couples supposed to cut down on PDA?
As for the gay couple, it's disgusting that someone would do that without thinking about how it could affect their lives. She should be put on death row. Each child on the list should sue her individually.
Additionally, when I was in highschool, I constantly felt harrassed and threatened by the administration. I was a straight-A student and a good kid. Highschool is stressful enough when you're not constantly getting in trouble for things that you don't even know you did wrong. Most highschool admins are just on power trips. There should be a system in line to regulate their borderline abusive control.
The ignorance of some of the posters here is painful. It is an infringement of ones rights to "out them" in front of their peers when they have not be proven to commit an offense. It has nothing to do with PDA or morality, it has to do with simple basic human rights that do cross the lines of the constitution.
To "out" somebody due to personal or moral motives and then have the person experience ridicule or harm (such as gay bashing) for this "outting" is a serious offense with serious penalties in our society.
Kill her.
I am a straight A student and I used to be harassed by the admins. Then I hacked the school network, got suspended for a few months, and am still a straight A student. Except now, the fucking admins leave me alone.
Let's post the principal's sexual history for all to scrutinize. That only seems fair. What is good for the goose is good for the gander, sort of thing.
Well I just stumbled here (literally using Stumble) and I have to disagree somewhat. The principal is not like J. Edgar Hoover who kept information ike that so that it could be used to destroy someone if need be. It was kept to help enforce a policy of public displays of affection. If you are against that, fine, but there is a far cry of difference between what Hoover did and what this principal did.
It's worse then what J. Edgar Hoover did.
J. Edgar Hoover kept insanely detailed records on people to protect the country, at least in theory.
This principal kept records on people to prevent them from kissing. Who even wants that?
And in addition to that, she put the records out in public, which, 'cause this is Tennessee, might actually kill the gay couple, and is definitely not going to end happily for them even if they're not dead.
If PDA is against the rules, then the students are at fault, not the staff. Why is it that everyone thinks breaking the rules is ok and that any and everyone who tries to enforce the rules is evil? Grow up! Parents don't send their kids to school so they can kissy face and fondle each other. If it wouldn't be allowed at work, why should it be allowed at school?
As I stumbled across this and don't feel like signing in I have to leave this anon..my name is Jay though..... look, school is not a day spa for kids, it is not inspiration point, you go to school to LEARN!!!!!!! and to have some fun with pep rally's and such... You don't go to school to get away from your parents or have your teachers babysit you. Now I agree that she should have gone to her admin people and told them to tell students, 'not here, somewhere else and such' but it is her school, she has the right to run it her way. Of course, kids these days have more 'power' today than kids did more than 30+ years ago and thats why kids can come and go from schools these days, don't do homework(what's that) and in general think school is nothing but a Club Med place...but that's my opinion and if I have offended anyone I'm sorry but instead of worrying about what kids are doing in school we should worry about what they are (not)doing and we should give more control back to the teachers and admin. But again that's my opinion, I could go on with this ad nauseam but I'll end it here
While I don't think she should have posted the list per se, I don't see a problem with wanting to keep an eye on the kids. I mean, with the levels of teen sexuality, I would want her to be looking out for my kids - alerting me if they went too far or something. She didn't just pick out kids she hated, or just the queer couples, no - the list was of ALL couples. What is more fair than that?
Besides, if you don't want to see me or my children praying in school, I sure as hell don't want to see you or your children (gay or straight!) making out in the halls.
Like some other posters have said, the admin at a school often knows who is dating whom and they discuss it. I went to a small school and heard the teachers gossiping almost as much as the worst of the gossiping students. That really can't be stopped. I think that it should be discouraged, but I think that it's part of human nature to do that.
The problem with this principal was actually posting the names for all to see. She could have kept it to herself or to the admins, but she put it out in general public. She may not have done it out of malice, but she infringed on those students' rights.
I honstly don't see what the big deal is. I think PDA is disgusting and highly disrespectful to those around the ones doing it. I don't think the administrator went about stopping it the right way, but if two people are making out in school, aren't they pretty much making it clear that they are a couple? So why does is matter if a principal makes a list of whose with who?
There's absolutely no reason for her to be keeping tabs like this.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but unless a student is doing something that is dangerous or against the law or disruptive- and it's been a hell of a long time since two kids kissing in a hall way has been disruptive- there's no need to keep tabs on them. They're not having sex in a classroom, they're engaging in brief PDA betwixt classes.
Morality is taught at home/in general society, and by extension, personal faith systems should a person choose to go that route. It's not the job of the adminstration to police a brief moment of romance or affection between classes unless it's clearly a problem, and in what world is a brief kiss and a cuddle a problem? It makes a person happy, feel safe, feel loved. It's not going to set them on each others like hyenas on a corpse.
Teachers and staff have their hands full trying to teach the future and keep them motivated to learn. Let's keep everything else out of it.
IF we please people look at this situation some what reasonably we see that though at a ends she was. the her reason for this was no intended to be harmful and putting someones career in harms way for such a foolish mistake is silly and if reflected upon oneself you see that that in itself is a discrimination over the said principals mistake. where for as a government worker and politician i find that disobeying constitutional rights is more than enough to fir this lady we should out of what little grace we have in our hearts ( speaking for my own little black hole within my chest) to forgive and forget such trivial things as sexuality and religion form the Scholastic system completely.