# Hol-eeee Crap!! School Suspends Student...After Spying on Him **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 18, 2010, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510 "2010-02-18T19:42:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2010, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510/141 "2010-02-20T17:30:02Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Honestly, if someone does something wrong, I really don’t care how they get caught. > > \ > > But, then again, I’ve never ever gotten to worked up about privacy. Too often it’s a code word for not wanting to be watched so I can do something unseemly. You are a scary person. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2010, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510/142 "2010-02-20T17:55:46Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > It now looks like the student was observed thru the webcam eating candy, now known as “inappropriate behavior.” Observer thought it was illegal drugs, and the vice-principal accused the student of such. It’s also possible it _was_ illegal drugs, but I fail to see that to be a factor. He was busted for eating candy? No one even bothered to do anything except to go right to the confrontations and accusations? I’d be calling for that idiot’s head. My lawyer would be too. Invasion of privacy, false accusations, general sloppiness, and monumental stupidity. It keeps getting better and better. I’d be suing the shit out of somebody myself. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2010, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510/143 "2010-02-20T17:57:53Z")
> [@Contrapuntal](#): > > We’re searching everyone with the initials BT for contraband. Bend over and spread 'em. Surely you don’t mind, do you? He has nothing to hide. Hell, do the full cavity search in a public place. After all privacy isn’t a big thing. It doesn’t have to be conducted by “the law” either. Any petty bureaucrat will do. After all, he has nothing to hide. Right? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2010, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510/144 "2010-02-20T18:06:14Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > One thing puzzles me. I have seen reports that from 1800 to 2400 laptops were given out to students – not sure what age group – since last fall. How come none of those students, which I would expect included a whole lot of nerds, detected the spy software? Some did figure out there was something crummy going on, see [post 94](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=12136754&postcount=94). I can tell you that right now one of my gripes with my university is how they handle “appropiate internet usage”, and being able to demonstrate that they are ip-blocking WoW for their _residential_ customers does me exactly zero good. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2010, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510/145 "2010-02-20T18:11:00Z")
There have been cases of landlords installing cameras in their houses and spying on renters. They have had cameras in showers. But I believe in some jurisdictions, it was not illegal. Logically, it should have been, but if no statute exists, they can not prosecute. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2010, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510/146 "2010-02-20T18:21:03Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > There have been cases of landlords installing cameras in their houses and spying on renters. They have had cameras in showers. But I believe in some jurisdictions, it was not illegal. Logically, it should have been, but if no statute exists, they can not prosecute. I’d imagine its different if children are involved and the taper is now in possession of what is, effectively, child pornography. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2010, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510/147 "2010-02-20T18:30:24Z")
Maybe I’m a delicate flower but I HATE the idea of being seen when I don’t realize I am. It’s not about doing something wrong. When I’m alone, and I’m just…being unself conscious, private me, I don’t want to be seen. Even setting aside nudity or masturbation or anything. Right now I’m sitting in my apartment alone, but I just hate the idea of someone watching me because this is my private, alone time. I can’t explain it, but being spied on feels like having something robbed from you. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2010, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510/148 "2010-02-20T18:38:19Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Maybe I’m a delicate flower but I HATE the idea of being seen when I don’t realize I am. It’s not about doing something wrong. When I’m alone, and I’m just…being unself conscious, private me, I don’t want to be seen. Even setting aside nudity or masturbation or anything. Right now I’m sitting in my apartment alone, but I just hate the idea of someone watching me because this is my private, alone time. I can’t explain it, but being spied on feels like having something robbed from you. And it’s just so. fucking. creepy. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2010, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510/149 "2010-02-20T20:04:27Z")
Has it been mentioned on this thread yet that the FBI is looking into possible federal criminal charges? > **[Spying on L. Merion students sparks probes by FBI, Montco detectives](https://www.inquirer.com/philly/hp/news_update/20100220_Spying_on_L __Merion_students_sparks_probes_by_FBI__ Montco_detectives.html)** > > A federal invasion-of-privacy lawsuit may be the least of the Lower Merion School District's problems. > Allegations that the affluent suburban district used webcams on school-issued laptops to "spy" on students in their homes has now caught the... ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2010, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510/150 "2010-02-20T20:15:36Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > Has it been mentioned on this thread yet that the FBI is looking into possible federal criminal charges? > > [Spying on L. Merion students sparks probes by FBI, Montco detectives](http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news_update/20100220_Spying_on_L __Merion_students_sparks_probes_by_FBI__ Montco_detectives.html) Yep, I called it, earlier in the thread when I mentioned probable cause, the need for a warrant, etc. From the article: > [@](#): > > Allegations that the affluent suburban district used webcams on school-issued laptops to “spy” on students in their homes has now caught the attention of Montgomery County detectives and the FBI, both of which are looking into whether the practice violated wiretap and privacy laws. ---
**Author:** ![Generally\_Giap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85f322/32.png) [@Generally\_Giap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Generally_Giap)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2010, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510/151 "2010-02-20T21:40:57Z")
Slight update: …" The lawsuit, filed Tuesday on behalf of Harriton High School student Blake Robbins, claims that an assistant principal reprimanded the 15-year-old for “improper behavior in his home” that was captured by the embedded camera on Robbins’ school-issued Apple MacBook. Robbins told reporters outside his house last night that the improper behavior he was cited for was eating Mike & Ike candies, which he said the school mistook for illegal pills…" [http://www.philly.com/dailynews/local/20100220\_Spying\_on\_L\_\_Merion\_students\_sparks\_probes\_by\_FBI\_\_Montco\_detectives.html](http://http//www.philly.com/dailynews/local/20100220_Spying_on_L __Merion_students_sparks_probes_by_FBI__ Montco_detectives.html) ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2010, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510/152 "2010-02-20T22:05:31Z")
> [@Generally\_Giap](#): > > Slight update: > > …" > The lawsuit, filed Tuesday on behalf of Harriton High School student Blake Robbins, **claims that an assistant principal reprimanded the 15-year-old for “improper behavior in his home”** that was captured by the embedded camera on Robbins’ school-issued Apple MacBook. > Robbins told reporters outside his house last night that the improper behavior he was cited for was eating Mike & Ike candies, which he said the school mistook for illegal pills…" It’s perhaps illustrative to note that the bolded language from the linked article is false. This is typical; the article linked in the OP made the same error. The [complaint](http://craphound.com/robbins17.pdf) (pdf) in fact makes no allegation that the student was reprimanded. Just goes to show that we can’t always trust what we read. ---
**Author:** ![Palo\_Verde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Palo\_Verde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palo_Verde)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2010, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510/153 "2010-02-20T22:18:54Z")
[http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://bulkecandy.com/images/mike\_and\_ike\_bulk\_candy.jpg&imgrefurl=http://bulkecandy.com/mike-and-ike-p-301.html&usg=\_\_96O5JOLl6VKqaXtjNBZZMdTMIh4=&h=447&w=447&sz=37&hl=en&start=4&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=NLZ3DB1NrALz9M:&tbnh=127&tbnw=127&prev=/images%3Fq%3DMike%2B%2526%2BIke%2Bcandies%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26rlz%3D1B3GGGL\_enUS291US292%26tbs%3Disch:1](http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://bulkecandy.com/images/mike_and_ike_bulk_candy.jpg&imgrefurl=http://bulkecandy.com/mike-and-ike-p-301.html&usg=__96O5JOLl6VKqaXtjNBZZMdTMIh4=&h=447&w=447&sz=37&hl=en&start=4&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=NLZ3DB1NrALz9M:&tbnh=127&tbnw=127&prev=/images%3Fq%3DMike%2B%2526%2BIke%2Bcandies%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26rlz%3D1B3GGGL_enUS291US292%26tbs%3Disch:1) This is what Mike and Ike candy looks like for anyone wondering and not wanting to google it. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2010, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510/154 "2010-02-20T22:21:04Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > It’s perhaps illustrative to note that the bolded language from the linked article is false. This is typical; the article linked in the OP made the same error. The [complaint](http://craphound.com/robbins17.pdf) (pdf) in fact makes no allegation that the student was reprimanded. > > Just goes to show that we can’t always trust what we read. Or that we can’t always grasp what we read. > [@](#): > > 1. > > ``` > On November 11, 2009, Plaintiffs were for the first time informed of the above-mentioned capability and practice by the School district **when Lindy Matsko ("Matsko), an Assistant Principal at Harrington High School, informed minor Plaintiff that the School District was of the belief that minor Plaintiff was engaged in improper behavior in his home**, and cited as evidence a photograph from the webcam embedded in minor Plaintiff's personal laptop issued by the School District. > > ``` (bolding mine) That is a reprimand. [ > [@](#): > > –noun > 1. > a severe reproof or rebuke, esp. a formal one by a person in authority. > –verb (used with object) > 2. > to reprove or rebuke severely, esp. in a formal way. ]([http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/reprimand](http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/reprimand)) a person in a position of authority telling someone under their authority that they have done something wrong is a reproof, a rebuke, a condemnation, an admonishment, and yes, a reprimand. ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2010, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510/155 "2010-02-20T22:24:40Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Honestly, if someone does something wrong, I really don’t care how they get caught. The problem for me is whether what the kid did was wrong. With drug dealing–well, I’m not sure. I mean, I know for sure I wouldn’t care if the kid had physically hurt another human being, but I don’t know that for sure. > > I’m definitely against any idea of the school being able to punish the kid of any legal behavior outside of school. (That would include doing something with the laptop he doesn’t have permission to do. He doesn’t own the laptop, so that would be vandalizing property.) > > But, then again, I’ve never ever gotten to worked up about privacy. Too often it’s a code word for not wanting to be watched so I can do something unseemly. There are legitimate reasons for privacy, but being able to do something wrong is not one of them. > > When it comes to drugs, I usually err on the side of caution and assume all recreational ones are bad. So my instinct is to say that the kid deserves to be in trouble. As for the school? All they need is a sufficient punishment to keep them from doing something illegal again. Stunning and bizarre. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2010, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510/156 "2010-02-20T22:25:39Z")
> [@Generally\_Giap](#): > > Robbins told reporters outside his house last night that the improper behavior he was cited for was eating Mike & Ike candies, which he said the school mistook for illegal pills…" That’s why I only allow my kids to eat Hot Tamales. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2010, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510/157 "2010-02-20T22:46:25Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > = > > That is a reprimand. > > [url=[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/reprimand](http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/reprimand)] > > a person in a position of authority telling someone under their authority that they have done something wrong is a reproof, a rebuke, a condemnation, an admonishment, and yes, a reprimand. I don’t think that’s necessarily true, especially in a situation where formal reprimands are a matter of record. Just telling something that what they did was wrong might be a correction, but a condemnation? A rebuke? Suppose I coach a youth basketball team and I tell a player that he is taking off on the wrong foot when he lays it in. Is that a reprimand? Is it a rebuke? Suppose I say “No biggie, you’ll get it next time,” have I reprimanded him? Really? ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2010, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510/158 "2010-02-20T22:52:00Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > That’s why I only allow my kids to eat Hot Tamales. I was once detained by two San Diego police officers for eating a Kit Kat bar. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2010, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510/159 "2010-02-20T23:14:02Z")
> [@sevenwood](#): > > I really, really would not want to be a taxpayer in that school district right now. Nor would I, and the fact that we have to say it shows something horribly and terribly wrong with the legal system in the U.S. You just know the lawsuits against the school district looking for piles of cash in punitive damages are going to start stacking up. The people filing the lawsuits will be fully aware of the fact that the money isn’t coming from anyone who did anything wrong. It’s coming from the school district. Where does the school district get its money? The taxpayers. So any parents of kids in that school that file a lawsuit looking for cash damages are basically taking money away from the other parents of kids in that school, and their friends and neighbors who don’t have kids in the school, too. Yeah, I know – some of that money will come from insurance companies, who will proceed to raise their rates and once more land the bill in the laps of their friends and neighbors. ---
**Author:** ![Pray\_for\_peace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Pray\_for\_peace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pray_for_peace)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2010, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510/160 "2010-02-20T23:18:40Z")
> [@Contrapuntal](#): > > I don’t think that’s necessarily true, especially in a situation where formal reprimands are a matter of record. Just telling something that what they did was wrong might be a correction, but a condemnation? A rebuke? Suppose I coach a youth basketball team and I tell a player that he is taking off on the wrong foot when he lays it in. Is that a reprimand? Is it a rebuke? Suppose I say “No biggie, you’ll get it next time,” have I reprimanded him? Really? The [philly.com](http://philly.com) article linked above says that the incident was placed in the student’s record. Why would the lawyers withhold the detail about the Mike and Ike candy, and then allow the family to release the information in a press conference after the story had made the news? (I assume the information was released with the attorneys’ consent). It strikes me as grandstanding. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510.md?page=9)