By Nick May ’13
THE ROUNDUP
It never seems to fail, once or twice a year you hear that so-and-so got called into the Dean’s Office because he posted something he shouldn’t have on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
When this happens, the conversation that usually follows is “should the dean be allowed to search your social networking profiles or your property like your back pack and car?”
I understand this thinking. You feel like the school is invading your privacy, but it’s the law of the land.
If you don’t want to get in trouble then don’t post or do anything that would give the dean a reason to invade your privacy.
It is not as if the administration is sitting around looking for inappropriate pictures of kids or searching cars just for the sake of getting kids in trouble.
They are doing this for the wellbeing of the student body and to maintain a reputable image of Brophy.
“I think what students need to realize is that people aren’t searching for them; people are seeing it and if students want privacy, they should have privacy and don’t post anything they want to keep private,” said Dean Mr. Pat Higgins
“We have a 24/7 policy in our student hand book that says that Brophy students are students at any time, any place and anywhere and are held to a high standard and that includes the Internet,” Mr. Higgins said.
When students come to Brophy, they sign a contract that basically limits most of their rights, so most students should not be upset when they get in trouble for doing something online that the school doesn’t like.
“Our school’s policy is based on laws that have been heard over the course of many years based on the fourth amendment rights and how the courts interpret those rights for public schools and private schools,” said Security Director Mr. John Buchanan.
This means the school is able to search your car and backpack at any time and for any reason.
People often say that the school needs a warrant to search your car.
But this isn’t true because of the interpretation of the fourth amendment during the court case New Jersey v. T.L.O., which states that “the school setting requires some easing of the restrictions to which searches by public authorities.”
This means that the government realizes that for the safety of students and faculty, schools are allowed to bypass the fourth amendment and not have a warrant to search a car and other property.
The school is not looking for trouble. They never just search your car or backpack for no reason, even though they legally have the right too.
The best way to look at it is to just keep private business private and don’t do or say anything you don’t want the school knowing about.
