Who's Sorry Now?
Two drive-by apologies got our attention today. Note that they both involve teenagers, online-oversharing, sex. Mean anything? Let's just point out once again. Online information NEVER goes away, folks.
Which means that that cute prank you pulled as a teenager may follow you into job hunting or background checks or whatever. The double-edged sword is that you can self-promote like crazy (Tila Tequila of myspace is one of the best examples here); you can also get totally busted because of something you did or said online. You could be sorry later. Oh, and you think you have a fake identity online? Your IP address can be tracked and you can be identified. Duh.
1) Top 25 of 2006 - a sex ranking compiled by the boys of Mt. Lebanon HS. At issue is whether the list, which includes grades for girls' faces, breasts and buttocks and talks about drug use, oral sex, sexually transmitted disease and weight, constitutes criminal sexual harassment or violation of the school's policy against sexual harassment....The mother of one of the girls thinks the consequence to the boys should be something important to them, such as loss of time on an athletic team, or a public apology."
Hey, will they apologize to the girls who didn't make the list? Or maybe they'll take a page out of Hottest Hollywood Assistants and list the "bottom 25"...never mind.
2) On MySpace, a student from Springfield Middle School, OH pretended that she was the teacher and an assistant principal. "...Board member Ken Musch said that board members are all furious that a student would post such information online about another person, let alone a teacher and assistant principal. He said that the postings on MySpace by the girl were "nothing but pornography." The district, which is struggling financially, cannot afford to go to court over the matter, he said, noting that it could cost the district into the six-figure range for a court battle... An online apology was posted by the student as well, he said." Beware, the wrathful student!
