Sluts will be sluts.
call me coldhearted, but i don't have much sympathy for this chick. they're just a bunch of dumbass kids. get off of myspace, you low self-esteemed attention whores!
but yeah, sure, suspend the boys, too.Ousted cheer student sues
5 GIRLS BOOTED FROM LELAND HIGH SQUAD, BUT BOYS WEREN'T PUNISHED
By Rodney Foo
Mercury News
Hold a Halloween party. Invite a few high school cheerleaders who arrive in lingerie-like costumes. Mix in some male prep athletes. Then add other students who smoke and drink. Take snapshots. Post them on MySpace.
What happens?
Five girls end up suspended from the cheerleading squad, no boys are punished and one of the cheerleaders sues the school district for sex discrimination.
Jaimee Bruno, 17, one of the five cheerleaders suspended from Leland High School, and her mother, Denise Bruno, allege that educators selectively suspended the female cheerleaders for attending the 2005 party, but took no action against the male athletes. The Santa Clara County Superior Court lawsuit says the San Jose Unified School District violated the Unruh Civil Rights Act and seeks an unspecified amount in damages and reimbursement for attorney fees and other costs.
``We wouldn't be here if everyone was treated the same,'' said the Brunos' attorney, John Cardosi.
School district counsel Celia Ruiz said school officials had not yet been served with the lawsuit, which was filed last week. Nevertheless, Ruiz maintained there was no wrongdoing.
``The district absolutely denies that it's engaged in any discriminatory practices or policies,'' she said.
Because of the fallout from the party, the suspension and her fight against the penalty, Jaimee is no longer at Leland and is missing out on senior year activities, according to the family. She attends a middle college program at San Jose City College. She has also had to endure the suspension's stigma and the rumors it has generated, her mother said.
Some students and parents have leaped to the conclusion that the former cheerleaders must have done something terrible to have been suspended from the squad, Denise Bruno said. ``It kicked up rumors for quite a while; there were misconceptions going around,'' she said.
But both daughter and mother believe the avenue they have taken -- the courts -- is the right path and the only option left to them after school and district officials dismissed their complaints.
``I want kids to stand up for what they believe, for what their rights are, and for what they deserve,'' Jaimee said.
About this time last year, Jaimee was a member of Leland High's spirit squad when she and four other cheerleaders attended a Halloween party at a home. They dressed in costumes that looked like lingerie. Cardosi said Jaimee's costume was ``not any more revealing than a two-piece bathing suit.''
Boys who played on various Leland sports teams also were at the party. Other students at the party engaged in smoking and drinking, which Jaimee and the cheerleaders did not, according to Cardosi.
In early November, Leland school officials ``became aware'' of photos, showing the girls at the party, through a MySpace Web site, the lawsuit says. A friend of Jaimee's had taken pictures and posted them.
On Nov. 14 the girls were suspended from the squad for 12 months, effectively stopping them from participating in this fall's tryouts and banishing them from cheerleading for two years. School district spokeswoman Karen Fuqua said the girls had broken their ``contract'' with the school. Fuqua did not know which clause in the contract was breached.
Denise Bruno said the affected cheerleaders were accused of being at a party where smoking and drinking occurred.
The contract stipulates that the students refrain from smoking and drinking but does not preclude them from attending parties where others are doing it, Bruno said.
According to the lawsuit, the girls were initially told they were suspended ``because of the way they were dressed and because there was smoking and drinking at the party.''
Later, officials changed their justification by deleting the reference to the girls' costumes, the lawsuit says.
But the boys, who also were required to sign similar contracts, were not disciplined for attending the same party.
The lawsuit also alleges that in the past, photos of a naked male athlete were posted on MySpace and no action was taken against him by Leland.
Leland's ``justification for the spirit squad's suspension, that the suspension was for attending a party where there was smoking and alcohol was a pretext,'' the lawsuit alleges. ``The spirit squad members were suspended because of how they dressed at the party. The five spirit squad members, including the plaintiff, were suspended because they were female.''
In April, the Brunos appealed the school district's rejection of their complaint and request for Jaimee's reinstatement as a cheerleader to the California Department of Education, but they have not received any indication of when a decision might be rendered.
In retrospect, Denise Bruno said school officials could have handled the situation in a less draconian manner, using the incident instead to teach students about the hazards of a cybersociety.
``Things have changed a lot in the world,'' Bruno said. ``There is the evolution of the Internet, MySpace, and how schools are using that information. Students and administrators are struggling with this new technology right now. The problem is a lot of these girls got caught up in that evolution.''
but yeah, sure, suspend the boys, too.Ousted cheer student sues
5 GIRLS BOOTED FROM LELAND HIGH SQUAD, BUT BOYS WEREN'T PUNISHED
By Rodney Foo
Mercury News
Hold a Halloween party. Invite a few high school cheerleaders who arrive in lingerie-like costumes. Mix in some male prep athletes. Then add other students who smoke and drink. Take snapshots. Post them on MySpace.
What happens?
Five girls end up suspended from the cheerleading squad, no boys are punished and one of the cheerleaders sues the school district for sex discrimination.
Jaimee Bruno, 17, one of the five cheerleaders suspended from Leland High School, and her mother, Denise Bruno, allege that educators selectively suspended the female cheerleaders for attending the 2005 party, but took no action against the male athletes. The Santa Clara County Superior Court lawsuit says the San Jose Unified School District violated the Unruh Civil Rights Act and seeks an unspecified amount in damages and reimbursement for attorney fees and other costs.
``We wouldn't be here if everyone was treated the same,'' said the Brunos' attorney, John Cardosi.
School district counsel Celia Ruiz said school officials had not yet been served with the lawsuit, which was filed last week. Nevertheless, Ruiz maintained there was no wrongdoing.
``The district absolutely denies that it's engaged in any discriminatory practices or policies,'' she said.
Because of the fallout from the party, the suspension and her fight against the penalty, Jaimee is no longer at Leland and is missing out on senior year activities, according to the family. She attends a middle college program at San Jose City College. She has also had to endure the suspension's stigma and the rumors it has generated, her mother said.
Some students and parents have leaped to the conclusion that the former cheerleaders must have done something terrible to have been suspended from the squad, Denise Bruno said. ``It kicked up rumors for quite a while; there were misconceptions going around,'' she said.
But both daughter and mother believe the avenue they have taken -- the courts -- is the right path and the only option left to them after school and district officials dismissed their complaints.
``I want kids to stand up for what they believe, for what their rights are, and for what they deserve,'' Jaimee said.
About this time last year, Jaimee was a member of Leland High's spirit squad when she and four other cheerleaders attended a Halloween party at a home. They dressed in costumes that looked like lingerie. Cardosi said Jaimee's costume was ``not any more revealing than a two-piece bathing suit.''
Boys who played on various Leland sports teams also were at the party. Other students at the party engaged in smoking and drinking, which Jaimee and the cheerleaders did not, according to Cardosi.
In early November, Leland school officials ``became aware'' of photos, showing the girls at the party, through a MySpace Web site, the lawsuit says. A friend of Jaimee's had taken pictures and posted them.
On Nov. 14 the girls were suspended from the squad for 12 months, effectively stopping them from participating in this fall's tryouts and banishing them from cheerleading for two years. School district spokeswoman Karen Fuqua said the girls had broken their ``contract'' with the school. Fuqua did not know which clause in the contract was breached.
Denise Bruno said the affected cheerleaders were accused of being at a party where smoking and drinking occurred.
The contract stipulates that the students refrain from smoking and drinking but does not preclude them from attending parties where others are doing it, Bruno said.
According to the lawsuit, the girls were initially told they were suspended ``because of the way they were dressed and because there was smoking and drinking at the party.''
Later, officials changed their justification by deleting the reference to the girls' costumes, the lawsuit says.
But the boys, who also were required to sign similar contracts, were not disciplined for attending the same party.
The lawsuit also alleges that in the past, photos of a naked male athlete were posted on MySpace and no action was taken against him by Leland.
Leland's ``justification for the spirit squad's suspension, that the suspension was for attending a party where there was smoking and alcohol was a pretext,'' the lawsuit alleges. ``The spirit squad members were suspended because of how they dressed at the party. The five spirit squad members, including the plaintiff, were suspended because they were female.''
In April, the Brunos appealed the school district's rejection of their complaint and request for Jaimee's reinstatement as a cheerleader to the California Department of Education, but they have not received any indication of when a decision might be rendered.
In retrospect, Denise Bruno said school officials could have handled the situation in a less draconian manner, using the incident instead to teach students about the hazards of a cybersociety.
``Things have changed a lot in the world,'' Bruno said. ``There is the evolution of the Internet, MySpace, and how schools are using that information. Students and administrators are struggling with this new technology right now. The problem is a lot of these girls got caught up in that evolution.''