By Michelle Hu

<[email protected]>

When the story of the basketball team broke back in February, people who followed the story wanted to know everything from details of what happened to the two freshmen to the consequences dealt out to the three seniors and even the employment status of one seniors’ family.

Once the administration responded, but with little specifics, the anonymous online community sparked debate after debate on news bits that were merely speculation. Some called for the coaches’ resignations, some hoped Principal John Williams would never hold an administrative position again and some stated that the administration was holding back on details because it was concerned about the status of one of the state’s best men’s basketball teams.

Most incendiary were the comments related to the identities of the three seniors, which were not revealed by any of the television stations or The Indianapolis Star, but by people who commented on the stories. These people were not professionals who had interviewed the administration or those directly involved with the incident.

Regardless of their intentions, what most of the commentators were not aware of was that the administration was bound, by federal law, to not release any information that would give away who the students were. 

Though tragic, this incident can also teach current students an important lesson on privacy rights. According to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), no matter how old a student is, the school is not at liberty to release any information without the student or parent’s permission. However, there is information that the general public can know: the details of a filed police report, which must be released but can be “redacted,” or censored, based on legal rights. This is what the media typically asks for, and if charges have been filed, the identities of the seniors who are over 18 may be released.
Michelle Hu is editor-in-chief for the HiLite. Contact her at [email protected].