"Teddy Bear Master" causes uproar
Daniel Keenan
Issue date: 4/3/07 Section: Opinion
When I think of what it means to have the freedom of speech, "expressing" how I feel filming a video aimed at antagonizing and humiliating one of my teachers or another's teacher does not come to mind. Especially if that movie is entitled "The Teddy Bear Master."
Creativity and a whole lot of time was shared by four high school sophomores to end up with their 78-minute DVD. And then there was, of course, their subsequent expulsion followed by your classic "lawsuit situation."
Yes, that's right: after four high school students were embarrassed, or enraged, or whatever, by one of their teachers in Indianapolis' Knightstown Intermediate School, they devised the storyline of a "Teddy Bear Master," a mean stuffed animal who instigated trouble with other stuffed animals, (yes, these are high school students making this up), and attempted to kill this particular teacher. The students played heroes in the movie, fighting off the Teddy Bear Master before he could do any real harm. And once all of this was put into motion picture form, the students, Isaac Imel, Cody Overbay, Charlie Ours, and a fourth, burned DVDs of it and distributed the film to a few people, though no one affiliated with their school.
But the school found out anyway, and, seeing the movie as a threat to the teacher in question, expelled these four students. Subsequently, seeing the opportunity to reap the benefits of claiming freedom of speech infringements, Imel, Overbay, and Ours filed a lawsuit against the school. They based their suit on the fact that their First Amendment rights had been violated. And you know what makes this all crazier? They won -- and were awarded $69,000 in the settlement, but only after saying they were sorry. Furthermore, their permanent records were wiped completely clean of all traces of the event.
Like many bizarre freedom of speech cases, this story made me wonder where the line is drawn between what it's OK to say, (or watch, or distribute), and what is taboo. If I were to recommend something to these students, it would to get a hobby other than the one they clearly have already attempted, and secondly, to keep pent-up anger over a grade or a class to themselves.
Creativity and a whole lot of time was shared by four high school sophomores to end up with their 78-minute DVD. And then there was, of course, their subsequent expulsion followed by your classic "lawsuit situation."
Yes, that's right: after four high school students were embarrassed, or enraged, or whatever, by one of their teachers in Indianapolis' Knightstown Intermediate School, they devised the storyline of a "Teddy Bear Master," a mean stuffed animal who instigated trouble with other stuffed animals, (yes, these are high school students making this up), and attempted to kill this particular teacher. The students played heroes in the movie, fighting off the Teddy Bear Master before he could do any real harm. And once all of this was put into motion picture form, the students, Isaac Imel, Cody Overbay, Charlie Ours, and a fourth, burned DVDs of it and distributed the film to a few people, though no one affiliated with their school.
But the school found out anyway, and, seeing the movie as a threat to the teacher in question, expelled these four students. Subsequently, seeing the opportunity to reap the benefits of claiming freedom of speech infringements, Imel, Overbay, and Ours filed a lawsuit against the school. They based their suit on the fact that their First Amendment rights had been violated. And you know what makes this all crazier? They won -- and were awarded $69,000 in the settlement, but only after saying they were sorry. Furthermore, their permanent records were wiped completely clean of all traces of the event.
Like many bizarre freedom of speech cases, this story made me wonder where the line is drawn between what it's OK to say, (or watch, or distribute), and what is taboo. If I were to recommend something to these students, it would to get a hobby other than the one they clearly have already attempted, and secondly, to keep pent-up anger over a grade or a class to themselves.
Viewing Comments 1 - 4 of 4
Erin
posted 4/04/07 @ 12:29 AM EST
PLUS! -- I just looked up the high school and it's a public school which means that this was REALLY a violation of first ammendment rights since as public school employees the teachers and administrators at this school are working for the government -- which, as it turns out, can't violate someone's freedom of speech. (Continued…)
Erin
posted 4/04/07 @ 12:30 AM EST
If students can be expelled from school for making a movie that makes fun of their teacher and distributing it off of school property, things have gotten out of hand. (Continued…)
mail order brides
posted 3/27/10 @ 3:06 AM EST
I bookmarked this article. Thank you for good job!
ssbbwdating
posted 4/22/10 @ 5:40 PM EST
It agree, very much the helpful information
Post a Comment