Corner Post editorial —
Facebook safety

by Cathy Crowley, posted Sept. 23, 2011

It was 10 p.m., and I was panicking.

In exactly 12 hours, I had an essay due in English. I was such in a rush to get out of the class earlier that day that I forgot to write down the topic for my paper. None of my friends were answering my calls or responding to my text messages.

After frantically pacing my room for 10 minutes, I came up with the idea to fake sick the next day to avoid getting a zero on the assignment. After coming up with that idea, I decided to quickly check Facebook one more time before I went downstairs to tell my parents that I “wasn’t feeling well,” but hold on…

My English teacher was online, and available to chat.

I thought about clicking on her name to chat, then the idea of emailing her came to my mind. But my teacher was right here, right now, so why not?

I informally asked my teacher what the essay that was due the next day was supposed to be about. Within 30 seconds, I had my answer … and peace of mind.

But what if state law prohibited me from even being “friends” with my teacher on Facebook? That’s what some people have created controversy over recently.

Last January, Missouri State Senate Bill 54 was introduced to the Missouri legislature. The bill, formally called the “Amy Hestir Student Protection Act,” was designed to protect students from sexual misconduct by teachers.

The bill was signed by Gov. Jay Nixon on July 14 and was set to go into effect on Aug. 28, but was eliminated in committee in early September.  It required school districts to report claims of sexual abuse within 24 hours and holds districts accountable if they don’t disclose suspected or known abuse by former employees. 

The background checks are nothing new in the Columbia Public School system.

“Every employee goes through a background check,” said Michelle Baumstark, the community relations coordinator of the school district.

The bill also banned registered sex offenders from holding positions on school boards and toughened criminal background checks on school bus drivers.

Despite the fact that the law was written to protect students from sexual abuse, it was a cause of controversy. In the thick of the bill was Section 162.069. It descriptively stated that teachers and students, both current and former, couldn’t communicate online.

The bill read that “teachers also cannot have a non-work related website that allows exclusive access with a current or former student.”

“I thought it was a good idea,” said Tom Maggard, a freshman health major from Collins, Mo. “That way students and teachers couldn’t have private conversations on Facebook. Those private conversations could’ve led to bad things.”

Not everyone agreed. The Missouri State Teacher’s Association (MSTA) filed suit against the state, stating that the bill infringed on teacher’s first amendment rights.

I think the bulk of the bill is legitimate. Sexual relations between teachers and students are by no means appropriate, but not permitting teachers and students to communicate via social networking sites is not reasonable. Interacting online is not a major factor in student protection. Students and teachers can still email each other. The only differences between email and Facebook are that status updates and instant chat are available on Facebook. Might as well ban emailing.

I think the biggest factor in stopping this bill is that students need to speak up. It is difficult to say something so personal and private, but it’s not impossible. Students need to tell teachers about their boundaries if a teacher is getting too close with a student. If a student is uncomfortable around a teacher, he or she needs to go to someone who can change the situation and protect the student, such as a parent or the principal.

Fortunately, I haven’t had any issues with my teachers when I use Facebook. Maybe it’s because I went to Catholic school, or that I rarely talked to them at all, even in person. The real question is, can we really blame a social networking site for a teacher’s actions?

After all, there is an “unfriend” button.

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