‘Drunken Pirate’ sues school that nixed degree
Does anyone support the University taking away her degree for the photo of her on MySpace? Should we fire a teacher if student see them having a drink at a restaurant?
MSNBC-MILLERSVILLE, Pa. - A woman denied a teaching degree on the eve of graduation because of a MySpace photo has sued the university.
Millersville University instead granted Stacy Snyder a degree in English last year after learning of her Web-published picture, which bore the caption “Drunken Pirate.”
“I dreamed about being a teacher for a long time,” said Snyder, 27, who now works as a nanny.
April 30th, 2007 at 8:05 am
OK so I assume this is an open and shut case? Their argument was that she promoted underage drinking… by posing for a photograph at the age of 25 or 26, drinking an unspecified liquid out of a cup. Are we to take it that their entire argument is based on the fact that the CAPTION under the photo containted the work “drunken”?
I’m afraid I just don’t see who the hell these school officals these days think they are. This woman has paid thousands to attend this university and has met every single requirement necessary to receive her credentials, and on the eve of her graduating they say they have decided they don’t have to give her those credentials? What?
According to Pennsylvania law someone actually CAUGHT drinking underage can only be issued a citation, which is a summary offense requiring the issuing officer to notify the parent or guardian of the minor… and even then according to PA crime code a summary offense can NOT be used in consideration of the acceptance or denial of a state license or certificate (I assume a teaching certificate is state issued). So if a physical record of an actual offense documented and witnessed by an official of the law can NOT be used as the basis of denying a state issued certificate, how can they expect to win this case when their entire argument is based on the presence of a single word in the caption of an otherwise unremarkable photgraph of a 25 year old adult?
I can’t locate Millersville U’s degree application criteria, however I believe that however whichever portion of that agreement they are using to justify this absurd action is worded, they are using a very liberal interpretation of it. Absolutely ridiculous.
This woman has spent how much money, how many years of her life, working hard to achieve her dream… and it’s denied because someone didn’t like a photo they saw on her personal MySpace page. How about this folks… did you consider contacting the woman, voicing your concerns, and asking her nicely to remove the photo? How about to change the caption? No? So you jumped right to DENY HER A DEGREE AND TEACHING LICENSE?! What the hell is wrong with this country.
April 30th, 2007 at 1:53 pm
She will sue and win and the institution that sued her will be shamed. Good luck in getting any support from this alumni. How stupid can decision makers in higher education get?