By VANESSA VALENZUELA
TEACHERS at a St Albans secondary school have become the target of online abuse after the creation of a Facebook page earlier this month.
The page which features the St Albans Secondary College logo has had more than ‘700’ likes since its creation almost three weeks ago.
The page features comments and ‘memes’ (pictures with text) targeting teachers and students at the school.
At least five teachers from the school have been named on the page and more than three have had their images used.
Derogatory and racially abusive comments have been posted on the social networking site, attacking students and staff.
Star has found similar pages targeting teachers and schools in the West, including one targeting Lakeview College as reported last week.
The Lakeview page now has more than 1000 ’likes’.
St Albans Secondary College principal Kerrie Dowsley was aware of the page which she said had been created by former students of the school.
“It is disappointing when we put so much effort into teaching young people about being responsible and respectful online,” Ms Dowsley said.
She said the school held regular classes and assemblies for all students regarding appropriate internet use, including a cyber-safety information session for parents last week.
“Our Student Management policy states everyone, which includes teachers, deserves to be treated with dignity and respect at all times. And our extensive anti-bullying policy extends to students’ use of social media,” she said.
Ms Dowsley said it was pleasing to see some positive memes created supporting the teachers, including one which said teachers really care about students at the school.
“We are really fortunate that the vast majority of our students are very respectful and considerate of their teachers and the school community,” she said.
A spokesperson from Victoria Police said people who engage in cyberbullying could face criminal charges under changes to Brodie’s Law introduced earlier this year.
“Bullying is not acceptable and people need to speak up,” the spokesperson said.
“Victoria Police can only investigate incidents where crime is reported to us. We take these reports extremely seriously and are committed to investigating them and prosecuting offenders where criminal offences are detected.”
The school has requested Facebook remove any offensive memes from the page.
