It’s a seemingly open forum, available to those who desire to share their thoughts, opinions or daily gripes to the cyberspace world, and the most effective procrastination tool on the market today.

In fact, it’s probably bookmarked on practically every Appalachian State University student’s computer.

Facebook serves as a “way to connect” and an avenue to complain about every last stress without ramification, or at least it used to be.

For University of Florida freshman, Katherine Evans, this networking site became the source of controversy and judicial battle.

When Evans was a senior at Pembroke Pines Charter High School in Pembroke Pines, Fla.,  last year, she wrote a post against her English teacher, according to the New York Times.

The post said “To those select students who have the displeasure of having Ms. Sarah Phelps, or simply knowing her and her insane antics: Here is the place to express your feelings of hatred.”

While I’ll agree the use of the word “hatred,” may have been a little extreme, in no way would I find this post threatening or a form of harassment.

However, months after Evans removed the post, the administration of the high school suspended her for “cyberbullying,” according to the Times.

This is an action that will leave a permanent dent in Evans’ record –possibly preventing her from landing her dream of success in the journalism field.

To earn back her good name and intentions – minus her momentarily “hostile” gripe session on Facebook – Evans is suing her former principal, Peter Bayer.

Evans simply wants the suspension removed from her record, and frankly, I think that’s not too much to ask for.

We’ve all been warned about incriminating pictures or posts concerning foul language because a future employer may be savvy enough to look us up and decide not to put us on pay roll.

And while I agree Facebook should remain classy, this utility should be a place for students to post opinions.

Essentially, isn’t Facebook just a glorified blog, anyways?

Under the First Amendment, citizens have the right to free speech and expression –and basically, this school is punishing Evans for exercising her rights –regardless if she posted her opinion online or not.

If every student was reprimanded each time they posted a complaint or enticed other students to share their grievance of a professor or person, Facebook would cease to exist, because the site would continually be tangled in legal confrontations.

Furthermore, cyberbullying is a real issue –students are tormented, manipulated and sometimes pushed to suicidal levels due to online cowardly bullies.

For legislation to pass banning cyberbullying, it’s important to constitute what’s harassment or Internet assault –and what’s simply a random rant that poses no harm.

According to StopCyberbullying.org, a site devoted to saving lives and reputations –“cyberbullying” is when a child, preteen or teen is tormented, threatened, harassed, humiliated or embarrassed or otherwise targeted by another child, preteen or teen using the Internet, interactive and digital technologies or mobile phones.”

The site also makes a point to note both sides of the “cyberbullying” have to be minors. Once adults become involved, according to the site, it then becomes cyber-harassment or cyberstalking and is “never called cyberbullying.”

So suspension for “cyberbullying” isn’t even a technically true term in Evans’ case.

Maybe Executive Director of the ACLU in Florida, Howard Simon said it best:

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