Personal blogs in public
domain are subject to scrutiny

Avery Doninger, a senior at Connecticut-based Lewis S. Mills High School, has been stripped of her position as class secretary for calling a school administrator a "douchebag" on her personal blog.

The administrator in question apparently threatened to cancel a school event Doninger helped plan, compelling her to write a post demanding that other students help save the event. No threats were made against the school or administrator, and the post was not written during school hours.

View an excerpt of the blog at Ars Technica.

According to Ars, the event was rescheduled, but Doninger and her mother have sued the school for violating the First Amendment. Yesterday the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld a lower court's decision, ruling that the school did not violate any constitutional rights.

Personal relationships — good and bad — are increasingly publicized on personal blogs and social networking sites. To protect students and administrators alike, schools have begun to crack down on what they call "cyber bullying."