Students apologize for 'hate list'

The two suspended Land O'Lakes freshmen say they are sorry and that no one was ever in danger of being harmed.

By BRADY DENNIS, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published May 10, 2002

LAND O'LAKES -- Two Land O'Lakes High School freshmen, suspended Wednesday after creating an Internet list of students and teachers they hated, posted an apology on the Web page Thursday.

"We want to apologize for frightening anyone with The List or The Website," the new Web page read. "This was not our intention. We're sorry to the parents of the students on the list if they thought they're children were going to be harmed. We want to assure everyone that the students on The List were never in any danger while the website was running."

The teenagers wrote that they created the Web page, which also featured a picture of Looney Tunes character Marvin the Martian toting a gun, to retaliate against teasing they had endured at school.

"The List was made to vent our anger," they wrote. "We are constantly picked on at school and this was a way to express how we feel about it. We decided to make The List make fun of the people who make fun of us."

The two female freshmen, whom school officials have declined to identify, were confronted Wednesday by a school resource officer after complaints about the original Web page, which listed dozens of students and teachers.

The teenagers were suspended until school officials investigate the intent of the site and the potential danger to students, school principal Max Ramos said.

Ramos said Thursday that students can be suspended up to 10 days, but he expects the investigation to wrap up sooner than that.

After apologizing, the pair of freshman go on to quote the First Amendment, provide a link to a free speech activism Web site and claim that "we did nothing wrong."

That's debatable, according to Pinellas County American Civil Liberties Attorney Bruce Howie.

Howie told the St. Petersburg Times this week that regardless of intent, the right to free speech protects the two students. Without a threat to do harm and the means to carry it out, people can say what they want, he said.

But there are limitations, Howie said, like shouting "fire" in a crowded theater. And in schools, the rules are even stricter.

Howie said posted rules of student conduct are law. That gives them the rights to establish dress codes and search lockers.

Pasco County schools specifically forbid "intimidating school staff or students or threatening them with violence, i.e., words, notes and false rumors." Rules also prohibit "harassment of school staff or students, including actions, verbal comments or written materials."

Students also aren't allowed to call each other names, tell dirty jokes or make written comments about someone.

The question lies in whether the Internet hate list created by the teenagers falls under school jurisdiction, Howie said.

Ramos sent a letter to parents Wednesday saying officials found the site offensive, but because there were no physical threats of harm, he allowed school to continue.

It's not the first time area students have faced suspension for creating hate lists. In 2000, two Mitchell High School girls were suspended 10 days after a profanity-laced list titled "People We Love" was discovered. School officials said it actually named people the girls disliked.

-- Brady Dennis covers the city of Zephyrhills and crime in east Pasco. To reach him, call (352) 521-5757, ext. 23, or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6108, then 23. Send e-mail to

dennis@sptimes.com.

Apology Web site

To access the apology Web site, visit members.aol.com/_ht_a/ihatelolhs//sorry.html. The original slambook Web site has been closed.

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