Greece bans mobiles in schools (BBC)

By Malcolm Brabant
BBC News, Athens

Greece's education ministry has banned children from using mobile phones while at school.

The ruling follows the rape of a 16-year-old girl during a school sit-in which was reportedly videoed by fellow pupils on their mobiles.
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Almost every Greek school pupil over the age of 15 possesses a mobile phone, according to a recent study.
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There has also been a rise in "happy-slapping" incidents where violent assaults by bullies are captured on video and circulated.
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Teachers and psychologists have concluded that the video taping of bad behaviour encourages further disorder as well as competition amongst pupils to create increasingly shocking images.
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more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6162243.stm

Amazing ... give people the technology to work potential wonders and there are some who use it only to demonstrate what utterly worthless idiots they are.

The answer is to prosecute the rapist, not to ban phones.

The article doesn't say if anyone phoned for help, but without phones, no one can phone for help.

baby out with the bathwater.

Idioms...

sw

Naw, the Greeks are intelligent, educated, and very nice people.

:rofl:

This seems very odd to me. And rape is "bad behavior"?? I guess boys will be boys. :wtf:

too much evidence!!!

:eyes:

And this is the country that originated Democracy?

:wtf:

:shrug:

:D

sw

ceiling and was going, WTF?

i think the 'teachers and psycologists' have it wrong and maybe should look a little deeper.
it should provide the evidence to prosecute the offenders though.

parents like to know they will be able to get in touch with their kids.

a corporation has manufactured 300 million sets of earplugs and blindfolds and given them out free to US citizens.

There is an eery parallel to the case of the student tasered in the UCLA library. Another eery parallel to the propensity to sue for damages and distress. Since when did having a video as evidence become a more valuable thing than the absence of all need or desire to commit such acts.

I'm no luddite. Tech can be a wonderful tool, but we are also only ten or so real years into the era that will be marked in history as the 'digital age'. We are still kids in a toy shop in regard to what is available. The teachers and psychs have it right. Having one of these vids would give a kid far more cred than the ethics or morals to break the mould and speak up when they see something like this happening.

And why on earth, barring a life or death situation that could be relayed via a school's administrative office, would a parent need to be able to contact their kid during school hours? Are people not organised any more?

Apparently many here have not heard about several recent incidents in which beatings, assaults, and rapes have been video'd and posted on the Web, some for gang initiations. To some people, the Web is just an outlet for their egotistical displays -- and with some people (the real throwbacks in any society), the only thing they have to display is aggression.

No, we should not blame witnesses, but people who "pass around" these videos are not only witnesses, but voyeurs, and an audience to motivate the real perpetrators.