May 2006

More on MySpace Codes

Eric is far more disapproving of the policy towards internet postings, here is the Unit 5 Athletic Code that has been updated in recent years, but is substantively the same one I signed in 1985 with the exception the 1985 one forbid sex as well–which I imagine figuring out the enforcement on probably led it to be dropped since.

Misbehavior after a season was and is relevant to such codes. Eric would probably argue that is a bad idea, but the idea isn’t new. The story is overblown. I remember one faculty member seeing students out at a restaurant and being served alcohol. He reported that since he was a coach and some were athletes. They were then stripped of eligibility for 1/4th of the season. Treating math team members differently than athletes seems a bit strange to me.

However, all this policy does is point out that publishing information in a public forum means the information is just as fair game as running into the students at the local restaurant. It’s sort of a no-duh point of fact that students should have figured out already.

While I worry about codes being used to restrict speech or after school activities such as political action, the general notion that illegal activities are a cause for prohibition doesn’t seem to out there.

More to the point, it isn’t taking away parental authority to ask students to obey the law and basic human decency as a requirement of participation in activities–in fact, it’s part of making students responsible for their own behavior as they age. There are consequences to beating up others. There are consequences to illegally consuming alcohol even if many of us feel the current state of the law is somewhat irrational.

The strange thing to me is that pointing out that posting information about illegal activities can bring disciplinary action for such behavior gets more attention than attempts to ban books and teach creationism in districts.

I’d make it a priority

While hiding out from George Bush, Topinka attacks Blagojevich for higher education funding.

At what opportunity cost? Seriously, this is what’s frustrating. Even in endorsing Blagojevich in 2002 I pointed out he was being dishonest about spending. Now, Topinka is offering up a free lunch for the universities. Where does the money come from?

I think the cuts, especially to ISU which is a quality school for students who don’t go to U of I, are horrible, but I’m not sure how Judy thinks she can solve that and every other problem without a tax increase.

The Non-Story Blog Story

The ‘controversy’ over a student code of conduct in Libertyville is a bit silly.

If you are a high school student and you put pictures of yourself drinking or doing illegal drugs the biggest problem is that the school is doing such a bad job of encouraging critical thinking skills.

Lake Bluff resident Mary Greenberg, the only person to speak during the public comment period, told officials that the district is overstepping its bounds.

As parents, “we have to watch what they’re doing,” said Greenberg, who has a son at Libertyville High. “I don’t think they need to police what students are doing online. That’s my job.”

I have to admit that if I thought school officials were going through the sites regularly just to look for problems, this might be a waste of resources, but the first thing you should understand about posting stuff on the internet is that such posts are public.

If the District were to try and limit free speech rights or squelch criticism of school officials that’s a different story, but pointing out to students that public display of incriminating pictures can result in discipline for the conduct should be a no duh moment.

Ummm…what implications Denny

Denny gets huffy about the FBI raid on Jefferson’s office.

“Once I have more information about this raid made available to me, I have had an opportunity to carefully consider the long-term ramifications for the Legislative Branch of this action, and I have consulted with the appropriate bipartisan leaders of the House, I expect to seek a means to restore the delicate balance of power among the branches of government that the Founders intended.”

Presumably, there was a search warrant. Then again, maybe not given the Administration of late, but the only protection Members of Congress have in relation to criminal cases is to not be stopped and held from reaching Congress during session. The separation of powers is serious, but in this case, the other two branches must act in concert to have a warrant issued and that is consistent with the Constitution.

Gee, Denny, how about phone records for Members of Congress being obtained without a warrant–THAT doesn’t concern you?

Leaving the Mess for the Next Guy

We’ll see how close the story is to the plan, but this stuck out at me:

Schools would get at least $1?billion a year for the next four years from such a deal, with the remaining $6?billion going into an education trust fund governed by a board appointed by the four legislative leaders, governor, comptroller and treasurer, according to a Democratic source briefed on Blagojevich’s proposal late Monday.

Madigan should oppose this point simply to save Lisa the headache. It’s again a revenue stream that ends after a set amount of time while the asset isn’t available for 6 more years. While we are still speculating on the total plan, it’s worse than that–nearly $650 million a year goes to education (if one doesn’t count the displacement effect) so the net gain in the first four years is $350 million/year. What happens in year 5 if the other $6 billion is not distributed?