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Comment by code_sterling | Hacker News Reader

It's interesting, I graduated from that school in '92, and I was surprised when I read it. The faculty I knew, most would have encouraged such a project. My drafting teacher let me do a 3point of a x-wing for my final project. The school let me take 3 years of art in one year. I got caught smoking in the stairwell, and was just told to go outside. I did nudes, a controversial art projects that my college would have raised an eye to. This wasn't a bad school, or at least it wasn't the 5 years before this story occurs. So while I'm sure this happened, my own experience makes me believe that were not getting the whole picture.

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The difference is that your experiences didn't directly challenge any member of staff. You might have challenged some abstract rule or social norm, but you likely did not personally and publicly attack a teacher. This guy named names and went personal, he crossed a much bigger line. His "crime" was not to lampoon the official magazine, but to personally attack school staff. I don't think any school, as good as it might be, would have tolerated that (although they could have handled it better, as he pointed out).

The difference is the teachers took it personally.

The crime was serious, but not expulsion serious. But authoritive figures often overreact when their very governance is questioned. Which, like the author, is a lesson I've had to learn the hard way (albeit I never landed myself in quiet as serious trouble as the aforementioned)

> The crime

What crime!

> The crime

"The crime"? Did we read the same article? What crime was committed? Making a low-tech version of ratemypreofessors.com?

I meant "crime" in a colloquial sense rather than the author literally having committed a criminal offence. But that said, deformation of character is a liable offence in the UK, so I assume the same would be true in Canada as well.

You can't equate a ratings site with an obvious satirical (at best) and potentially malicious outlet for angry students.

To the other two replies to the op, I think he meant "crime" in the figurative.

The author titled a section of the post, "My Crime".

Yeah, it's not a crime technically. Everyone is using the word figuratively, here.

I was really surprised by how it all went down as well. Up to that point, I had felt that the school, teachers, and administration were all very progressive and tolerant, which was a huge factor in my decision to go forward with the whole project and keep it going as long as I did.

As far as not getting the whole picture, I shared everything I could to the best of my recollection. I also had one of the friends who was involved go over it and it was his opinion that I have left nothing salient out as well. It did all happen close to 20 years ago, however, so it's entirely possible that we've forgotten something significant.

It's amazing to read that first-person account. I recall reading about it at the time. Or maybe it was the other case that you refer to. Thanks! I'm curious about your perspective on a few things, though.

What free-speech rights did Canadian students have then?

Do they have more rights now, or less?

Teachers are "public figures", right? Or is Canadian libel law more like English than American?

I'm pretty sure that a high school teacher would not be considered a "public figure" in the US.

Fair enough, and my memories are 25 years old. So it's very easy that my brain is only remembering the best memories while forgetting the bad. My brain tends to do that with ex's I haven't seen in a while.

I wouldn't underestimate the pride and power-trip of those teachers and administrators. The same thing happened to me at a middle school in los angeles, and our newsletter didn't have anything remotely libelous, only criticisms of school policies, dress code, etc. The most poorly-written column compared the school to a concentration camp, which is of course an offensive statement, but not a personal attack. Four of us were suspended and had some other minor punishments. The dean was level-headed and reasonable but others were out for blood.

What I missed both in the article and in the consensus that "you personally attacked and offended teachers", is drawing the important distinction between authoring those comments, and merely publishing them. Also, the issue of whether they were subjective but essentially honest, clearly humorous, or malicious fabrications.

In any case, I do not think that taking a personal offence is at all an appropriate reaction to someone merely facilitating an anonymous survey.

Which Winston Churchill is this? There are two in Ontario alone. I was unable to tell from the article or from briefly researching the author.

Good question. Since his friend put him in touch with the Calgary Herald in the article, I assumed the one in North West Calgary (Alberta).

Pretty much all of your post talks about art class. That's the way most art teachers are.

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