Prior to receiving his Red Rider BB Gun, Ralphie had to deal with Scot Farkus. It was Johnny and his friends that motivated Daniel LaRusso to learn karate from Mr. Miyagi. Undoubtedly, each of us have a name or face in mind when we hear the word bully.

C1.G and several friends were at a thrift store on Friday 13th, 2019. They placed wigs and hats on, one of which resembled a foreign WWII military hat. C.G. posted the picture to Snapchat stating “Me and the boy’s bout to exterminate the Jews”. While C.G. removed the post an hour later and posted an apology the next day, a parent had taken a screenshot and reported it to the school.

Districts and schools can face harsh criticism from parents, students and community members. Often times such comments can go viral causing conflict within the school or the community. As a result, officials often make the mistake of selectively deleting comments or blocking users from their official sites.

Public school officials generally cannot punish students for off-campus social media posts, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a case involving a student punished for venting her frustration on Snapchat for not making the varsity cheerleading squad.

The Landmark Tinker case has guided whether a school can punish a student for speech, but that soon may change. Over the past decade, the use of social media has exploded and students are often choosing social media as their mode of expression. When posts are reported, school officials struggle to enforce rules while not limiting the 1st Amendment rights of students.