Poor Stacy Snyder. As a Millersville University student, she was nearly within reach of receiving her teaching certificate before it was denied by the school’s administration. The problem is a common one: They were offended by her MySpace profile. MySpace users, for some reason, are notorious for posting photos of themselves engaged in quasi-legal/ethical behavior in various states of undress. This case is different.
Let’s break down the offending photo: It’s a woman in a pirate hat. She’s drinking from a large yellow plastic cup, which obscures most of her face. The caption reads, “Drunken Pirate.”
Presumably Millersville University has more of an issue with the caption than the actual photo, because they justify their actions (according to Snyder) by claiming they believe Snyder’s photo encourages underage drinking. That may hold up when high school students are photographed with bottles of beer in their hands, but this photo shows no evidence that any alcohol is actually being consumed. And there’s also the little detail that Snyder is over 21, so even if there is alcohol being consumed, she’s doing nothing illegal.
When we hear stories of people getting fired or punished for their online activity, they usually deserve it. This, however, is a gross example of over-reactive behavior on the part of the university, and Snyder is rightly suing. We should remember, however, that if she were fired from a job over this photo, she would have no recourse. It’s a reminder that we need to err on the side of extreme caution when we put anything online for public consumption, since we never know the sensibilities of who’s viewing it.
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