\nMISSOURI – A high school student says even though “it\nhas become hell here in Mexico,” he will not file a lawsuit\nagainst the school system that suspended him for five days after\nofficials deemed his personal Web site offensive.
“I won’t file the lawsuit because I am scared,” Brad\nGore said in an e-mail, “and if the students don’t support\nme, maybe I was wrong.”
Gore alleges he was assaulted and seriously injured by another\nstudent. “The way I have been treated is a result of my Web\nsite,” he said.
Darriel Douglas, Mexico High School principal, said he does\nnot blame other students for being offended.
“He’s insulted people,” he said. Douglas added that\nGore’s site was more than just offensive–it was perverse. He\nsaid the original site included pornographic pictures of women\nwith farm animals, and a system rating Mexico’s teachers on a\nsexual level.
“He actually talked about having sexual intercourse with\nmy teachers. He’s hiding behind the First Amendment,” Douglas\nsaid, explaining that he does not consider Gore’s case a matter\nof censorship, since the site intimidated and harassed several\npeople in the school community.
“Is that what made America great?” Douglas asked.\n
Gore defends the previous contents of his Web site, including\nthe teacher rating system.
“[The Web site] is mine and what I do on it is none of\ntheir business to control,” he said. “They may have\ntheir opinions, but I also have mine.”
He claims that his Web site had a link to a computer game Web\nsite, which then linked to pornography sites.
“I can have links on my site to whatever the hell I want,”\nGore said.
“It’s none of [Douglas’] business.”
Douglas said that Gore was kept out of classes for part of\nthe semester, in order to minimize any fights with other students.\n
The student who assaulted Gore was suspended, according to\nDouglas.
Gore was suspended in February for his Web site, which also\ncriticized the school’s administration.
The Web site called Douglas an “assucker” and one\nteacher a “pansy.” The Internet service provider removed\nGore’s site after Douglas wrote letters and complained. Now at\na new location, the revised site contains links to organizations\nsupporting and defending the First Amendment.
Part of Douglas’ claim that the site was inappropriate stems\nfrom the school’s computer policy. He said Gore violated the policy\nwhen he created the Web site in a class at school.
Gore admits that he established his Web page at school, but\nsaid he created and placed the content of his page from home.\n
Gore said that as a result of his classmate’s assault and his\nsuspension, his grades have fallen. Douglas said that Gore chose\nnot to make up the assignments he missed during his suspension.\n
Gore is uncertain where he will attend school next year.
“If I do decide to stay here and try to go to school and\nanything happens,” he said, “then I am dropping out\nand going to community school to get my GED, then getting the\nhell out of here.”
For more information:\nTo access Gore’s Web site, go to http://www.wastedwin.allhere.com
For more information:
To access Gore’s Web site, go to http://www.wastedwin.allhere.com