Ok, this would seem a straightforward case. A student at in Union, South Carolina, steals his teacher’s phone and then accesses her private photographs. He finds semi-nude pictures that she took for her husband for Valentine’s Day and shared them with other students. Result? Union County schools superintendent David Eubanks (left) and his colleagues demanded her resignation. I can certainly understand why teacher Leigh Anne Arthur might be a tad confused.
Eubanks had a truly Orwellian take on the situation: “I think we have a right to privacy, but when we take inappropriate information or pictures, we had best make sure it remains private. Students had access to very inappropriate pictures of a teacher.” What? The student did not have “access.” He stole a phone. Under Eubanks’ approach, a bank robber is given “access” to safety deposit boxes.
Eubanks seems to believe that the mere fact that a cellphone was unlocked is a matter for termination. Does that mean that teachers with unlocked cars or coats hanging in the teacher’s lounge would also be fired for a theft by a student?
For her part, Arthur forgives the 16-year-old student and says that teenagers can do some really stupid things. Arthur shows far better judgment and understanding than Eubanks or her superiors in Union, South Carolina.
Karen S at 2:05pm:
Well said. In the late 1970’s Congress also passed a federal copyright law protecting the ownership of photographs. Photographs couldn’t be used without the permission of the photographer or the owner of the copyright. One famous case included singer Madonna trying to sue a photographer to block publication.
Newspaper photographers were also required to obtain written waivers from citizens that gave permission for themselves to be published in a newspaper or publication.
You have to wonder about that fabulous and strong union that, purportedly, protects its own. Where is it in the equation? No mention of the mighty union when one of its dues paying members gets thrown under the bus. Like most other unions, I can only assume that it is silent and unwilling to step up to the plate when the $hit hits the fan, but, obviously, more than happy to siphon-off those union dues under the guise of protecting the workers. Laughable. The money, squeezed from the gullible workers, is mostly spent on booze and whores by the union bosses. Unions–rah, rah.
I hope she files charges against the student, sues his parents, and sues the school. She was the victim of a crime and cyber bullying. Those pictures are now out there forever.
The lesson the school is giving the students is that they are not responsible for crime. It is the victim’s fault for creating an opportunity to be victimized.