Friday, June 20th, 2008

Time	Event
8:03a	How the hell did she even get a lawyer? Twelve-year-old sues for and wins right out of grounding from class trip. The first article says it was a dispute with her stepmother. According to another article, she was grounded for posting 'inappropriate' pictures of herself online, and according to an opinion article about the results of the case, one of the sites she went on was an adult dating site. The argument of the girl's lawyer, quoted in the first article and this one, was that she shouldn't be denied the "significant rite-of-passage" that the class trip she was grounded from amounts to, regardless of what lead up to the grounding. Needless to say, the father's now appealing the ruling. I got nothing here. My brain's stuck on an endless loop of "Wait, what?" I started laughing when I first saw the news, but I think that's just because it was so absurd. ETA: Another article mentions that the girl ran off to live with her mother after being grounded, and it was the mother's support that got the lawyer and the subsequent court case. Thanks, shinga! (27 Comments | Comment on this)
12:54p	Ohio science teacher burned cross on kids' arms A Mount Vernon teacher undermined science instruction in the public school district by discrediting evolution in his classroom and focusing on creationism and intelligent design, a probe has found. Eighth-graders who were taught by John Freshwater frequently had to be re-taught in high school what they were supposed to have learned in Freshwater’s class, according to outside investigators hired by the district. For 11 years, other teachers in the school district and people in the community complained about Freshwater preaching his Christian beliefs in class and slamming scientific theories, a school administrator told investigators. “There is a significant amount of evidence that Mr. Freshwater’s teachings regarding subjects related to evolution were not consistent with the curriculum of the Mount Vernon City Schools and state standards,” the consultants reported. The report confirms that Freshwater burned crosses onto students’ arms, using an electrostatic device, in December. Freshwater told investigators the marks were Xs, not crosses. But all of the students interviewed in the investigation reported being branded with crosses. The investigation report includes a photo of one student’s arm with a long vertical line and a short horizontal line running through it. The family of one student who was burned filed a federal lawsuit last week against Freshwater and the district, saying the student’s civil rights were violated. Today, the family’s attorney, Jessica Philemond, said it was unfortunate that the school district didn’t do anything sooner to stop Freshwater. “These concerns had been going on for at least 11 years and the school had not done anything,” she said. A teacher who worked in Freshwater’s classroom last year also reported to investigators that Freshwater told his class that homosexuality is a sin. Edit: More on this, thanks to notjo: Mr. Freshwater used the BD-10A High Frequency Generator, the tip of which can put out up to 50,000 volts, on the skin of several of his eighth grade students. I need a drink. (103 Comments | Comment on this)
2:15p	So, on the down side Penny Arcade made rape jokes in their last D&D podcast (the podcast can be found on iTunes or the Wizards of the Coast website, which requires membership) and seem to be bragging about it. On the up side, Wizards of the Coast frowns upon rape being referred to as a "minor action" and made them edit the references out. They're both married and seem to be more feminist than the average gamer, wtf. ETA: Gabe removes the post and then posts an explanation on how the statement didn't trivialize rape. And by explanation, I mean he explains what a minor action is, not how comparing rape to one does anything but imply that rape is less of an action than casting magic missile. Current Mood: I don't know how to feel (49 Comments | Comment on this)

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