Friday, March 02, 2007

Verbal insults yield harassment claim - and a lawsuit

Pop Quiz: Which of the following playground expressions constitutes harassement? (Check all that apply)
  1. "Do you have ten Moms?"
  2. "That's so gay."

See the story about a Santa Rosa high school student who gets a warning and a notation in her file. When a few classmates razzed Rebeka Rice about her Mormon upbringing with questions such as, "Do you have 10 moms?" she shot back: "That's so gay." Her parents sued, claiming school officials violated their daughter's First Amendment rights when they disciplined her for uttering a phrase "which enjoys widespread currency in youth culture." Parents claim the public high school employed a double-standard because administrators never sought to shield Rebekah from teasing based on Mormon stereotypes. This from Yahoo News.

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