Facebook post gets student banned from campus
January 12, 2010 by Claire KnightPosted in: In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views, Tech News
After reading a student’s Facebook post, school officials banned the woman from campus. Was it the right call?
Here’s what happened:
The 29-year-old University of Minnesota mortuary science student had just broken up with her boyfriend.
She vented her frustrations on Facebook, posting that she looked “forward to Monday’s embalming therapy.”
Further, she wrote that she had “lots of aggression to be taken out with a trocar” (a sharp embalming tool).
After the original post, the student added a second, according to police reports. That post included, “I still want to stab a certain someone in the throat with a trocar though.”
Three instructors contacted law enforcement. Police arrived on scene, questioned the student and considered the matter closed. But school officials decided to ban her from campus — which is where the case remains pending the outcome of the investigation.
Citing privacy concerns, University spokesperson Daniel Wolter declined to comment on specifics of the case. He added that cases such as this are normally “referred to our Office for Student Conduct and Academic Integrity” for investigation.
The student said she was just “venting,” noting that she had just been “dumped, which is never a nice thing. I was bitter and really angry.”
She has already missed one exam and is likely to miss more.
Did school officials make the right call? Let us know in the comments section below.
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January 13th, 2010 at 10:14 am
Officials made the right call; the police did not. The student was communicating extremely violent threats in a public forum. How are school officials supposed to know that she’s “just venting” even now. She can’t be allowed to attend classes until the matter is fully investigated. Remember Virginia Tech!
January 13th, 2010 at 10:45 am
The university over-reacted. The proper approach is for a threat assessment to be made of the student in question to see if she poses a physical threat to anyone. The police, in all likelihood, did their own threat assessment – the results of which are evident by their decision to not pursue the case.
January 13th, 2010 at 11:32 am
The campus acted appropriately by contacting police. The police conducted an interview and “considered the matter closed.” I believe the police acted appropriately. Yet, the young lady has been vilified by the campus. Almost 100% of society vents and rarely do those 100% act. It still amazes me how a campus will turn a blind eye to some campus events and/or behavior among faculty, staff, and students and/or demand due process for illegal or unethical practices– I will agree the matter needs additional investigation, and the woman probably needs counseling (an awful lot of dollars go into student counseling centers). However, cutting the woman loose probably turned anger more toward the University than the former boyfriend. I would be a little more worried now than before.
The ban from campus in reality is more symbolic than substantive since campus police will have a difficult time tracking the woman on a large, urban university campus. Simply banning the Virginia Tech shooter would not have necessarily prevented the tragedy. Likewise this ban would be more effective as a method of mitigating liability than prevently a voilent act.
January 13th, 2010 at 3:06 pm
Like the woman in the story, I’m a female grad student in my late-20s. I see 2 major flaws in her behavior. First, facebook is a public forum which adults should realize is only useful for keeping in touch and looking at old friends’ pictures. Second, and more importantly, grad students who cannot control themselves should not be “friends” with 3 or more instructors! Get real. I love my advisor, but we will not be facebook friends until I leave here with my Ph.D. She doesn’t get to know that I’m playing Word Twist instead of writing my dissertation.
January 13th, 2010 at 3:37 pm
The police acted appropriately, the campus overreacted….
But if it were a MAN doing the same venting, there’d be a SWAT team waiting outside his home.
January 13th, 2010 at 3:47 pm
Total overreaction. Good to be cautious but must also be sensible.
January 13th, 2010 at 5:47 pm
I think she should have opened a can of Whoop-Ass on the dude…
January 13th, 2010 at 8:35 pm
Pretty soon we won’t be able to talk anymore.
January 14th, 2010 at 1:58 pm
Total overreaction by the university: not that university officials shouldn’t have talked to the woman, but why such drastic sanctions? She didn’t do anything and a “trocar” doesnt sound like a deadly weapon to me. Any of my kitchen knives, my car jack, my camping hatchet, and my folding spade in the car constitute more effective lethal weapons than this little mortuary tool. Let’s keep our senses please and not go into panic mode. I am known to say very bad things about insurance agencies and used car dealers, lol -see the wink, I am just venting righteous anger, lol-, trust me, but that does not make me a public menace.
January 15th, 2010 at 3:07 pm
Does the U of Minnesota routinely read student’s facebook pages? The student’s comments did not sound like a real threat to me. However, the instructors were right to alert the police. The police investigated and said the issue was closed. That should have been enough for the university. Banning the student from campus is a punitive action. Are there Univ regulations and precedent that supports this action? I think they overreacted and should reverse their policy before they ruin this student’s career (and open the university to a lawsuit).
January 20th, 2010 at 6:18 pm
The university was right in its call. It’s better safe than sorry. Remember the no-fly list? There should also be a no-admittance list.
February 5th, 2010 at 4:03 pm
If it was a male making gender related violence comments? I don’t think there would be much discussion. He probably would already be in jail. Then could we imagine 1.) an African-American male making the comments…and let’s notch it up…2.) an arabic looking male making the comments.
Hmmmm…catch my drift on “perspective”?