Posted on 05/09/2007 7:50:46 AM PDT by agent_delta
MILLERSVILLE, Pa. - A 27-year-old Millersville University graduate filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday against the college for denying her an education degree and teaching certificate after a controversial Internet photograph surfaced last year shortly before graduation.
The picture shows Stacy Snyder of Strasburg wearing a pirate hat while drinking from a plastic "Mr. Goodbar" cup. The photograph taken during a 2005 Halloween party was posted on Snyder's MySpace Web page with the caption "Drunken Pirate."
"The day before graduation, the college confronted me about the picture," Snyder said Thursday. "I was told I wouldn't be receiving my education degree or teaching certificate because the photo was 'unprofessional.' "
Snyder said she apologized for the photograph, but Jane S. Bray, dean of the School of Education, and Provost Vilas A. Prabhu refused to issue the bachelor of science degree in education and teaching certificate Snyder earned.
Instead, the college issued Snyder a bachelor of arts degree in English.
Millersville University spokesperson Janet Kacskos referred questions to the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education spokesman Kenn Marshall, who declined comment.
Snyder, a single mother of boys ages 9 and 7, works as a nanny for a family in Lititz.
"I dreamed about being a teacher for a long time," Snyder said. "When I was growing up, I spent more time with my teachers than my own parents, and it inspired me to someday make a positive impact on children."
Attorney Mark W. Voigt of Plymouth Meeting filed the lawsuit after failing to negotiate a hearing with Prabhu and Bray.
"Stacy deserves to be a teacher," Voigt said Thursday. "The bottom line is we want the college to bestow the degree and teaching certificate that Stacy earned during four years of hard work and sacrifice."
The lawsuit also seeks $75,000 in compensatory damages.
The university, Bray, Prabhu and professor/student-teacher supervisor J. Barry Girvin are named in the suit.
Voight writes in the lawsuit that Snyder, a dean's list student, performed her student-teaching requirements in 2006 at Conestoga Valley High School.
Teachers Deann Buffington and Nicole Reinking advised Snyder.
On May 8, Buffington called Snyder at home about an "issue" about her "professionalism" as a teacher, according to the lawsuit.
Reinking viewed the "Drunken Pirate" picture of Snyder on myspace.com and showed it to Buffington.
Buffington gave it to Girvin, who told Snyder "she may lose her teaching certificate due to the incident," according to the lawsuit.
Girvin also issued a final student/teacher evaluation of Snyder and granted "superior" or "competent" ratings in all areas except "professionalism." He gave Snyder and "unsatisfactory" rating, according to the lawsuit.
"There were errors in judgment that relate to Pennsylvania's Code of Professional Practice and Conduct for Educators," Girvin wrote in the evaluation.
On May 11, Girvin, Buffington and Reinking showed the "Drunken Pirate" photograph to Snyder, according to the lawsuit.
Buffington told Snyder that posting the photograph on the Internet was "unprofessional" and Conestoga Valley students might find it offensive.
Buffington also accused Snyder of "incompetence" and "claimed she should have been removed from her student-teaching position months ago."
Conestoga Valley officials told the college their students wouldn't be allowed to perform student-teacher requirements there if Snyder was not punished, according to the lawsuit.
Bray met with Snyder May 12. She accused Snyder of "promoting underage drinking through her 'drunken pirate' photo. Bray then stripped Snyder of her education degree and teaching certification, according to the lawsuit.
Snyder graduated the next day with an English degree.
Actions have consequences....
The beatings will continue until morale improves.
“Might be something about my age, but personally I would like schools and employers to be barred from checking people out on MySpace and Facebook. I’d really like to know how they’re doing it too, cause usually you can’t see a person’s profile unless you’re friends with them. It just doesn’t seem right.”
Well...only if they set their profile to “private”.
Most people do not have their profiles set that way.
I would like it if all underage profiles WERE private, however.
Wait a minute - she’s a Pirates fan, and likes Hersheys milk chocolate - what’s the big deal - It is Pennsylvania after all. Something else is going on - did she mention being a Christian on her myspace page?
And sometimes those consequences are retarded and unforeseeable, like now.
I thought she was naked or something awful. She doesn't even look that drunk.
This is what the Millersville U. has up on its website:
Millersville University Statement
on Ms. Stacy Snyder Lawsuit
Millersville University denies the claims alleged in the federal complaint filed by Ms. Stacy Snyder. Although the University respects Ms. Snyder’s opinion, these allegations only provide a single perspective of this academic situation.
Due to federal student privacy restrictions, the University is unable to directly respond to media accounts related to the case. The University notes, however, that all of its educational decisions are based on a full range of academic performance issues, not solely on a student’s personal website or social networking site. The University is committed to maintaining the academic integrity of its academic programs and degrees and will vigorously defend itself and the actions of its employees in legal proceedings related to the lawsuit.
Any further comment about the suit will come through the State System of Higher Education Office of Legal Counsel in Harrisburg.
Issued: April 30, 2007
Is this what we've come to? A stupid photo might be offensive, so you can't be what you worked so hard to get? This is beyond insane! The admin at that college should be so ashamed of themselves they could not come out in public with their faces uncovered. PC run amok!..............
Was the captioned photo her creation? You can put any caption you want under a photo. She could have been drinking water for all anyone knows.
Honestly looks like she’s at her nephew’s Halloween party drinking soda.
Someone needs to deny the idiot, who denied her her degree, their job.
I have seen a pic like that about a certain pilot I know, and so far as I know, no one has proposed taking away her pilot’s license!
And, what is Google doing about this?!
“While I won’t condone the typical college “binge years” behavior, by this standard 90% of all college students would never be granted a degree.”
Great point. There has to be something more to this yet to be published. The action by the school guaranteed a lawsuit they have no affirmative defense for.
Look for this women to get her degree, and a hefty sum of cash, out of court. No way the legal team for the University allows this to go before a jury.
Yup.
If you truly believe that, apply the rules to EVERYONE EQUALLY. As it now stands, one young woman is being singled out for drinking during college(and not even passed out drunk).....something which almost everyone does in their rite of passage.
Hope she wins based upon the evidence presented.
I will drink to that.
And what actions might those be?
huh? For this picture she doesn’t get her earned degree?
Poor judgment on Snyder’s part, but the university violated the degree program. If she satisfactorily completed the work for the degree she sought, then that is the one she should receive. It is a shame that she is having to sue for it.
Heck - I’m not sure that even if there had been nude pictures on her site, that they could legally withhold the degree. But the teacher’s certificate - that I don’t know the Pennsylvania regulations on...
Also from their website:
Millersville University- n: 1The Best Choice
Founded in service to a rural nineteenth century Lancaster Pennsylvania, twenty-first century Millersville University is a vibrant public liberal arts university in a vital economic region. Millersville provides an educational opportunity second to none, and is the best choice for the motivated people of Pennsylvania and beyond who seek: . . . [yada, yada, yada].
As I suspected from the news article, this is a “PUBLIC liberal arts university,” part of the state university system. So there are no religious reasons for this action.
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