LMSD Addresses Students Getting 'Shmacked'
Students could face consequences from the district.
The principals of Harriton and Lower Merion high schools sent a letter to parents Tuesday night informing them of YouTube videos featuring district students who appeared to be drinking alcohol and using drugs.
"Though all of the activities occur off campus, and the film appears to have been recorded last summer, it is critical that there are swift and appropriate consequences," the letter, signed by Harriton Principal Steven Kline and Lower Merion Principal Sean Hughes, reads in part. "Where we have the authority and power to act and respond, we will. We are in the process of notifying parents of students that appear in the video and will do so by Thursday afternoon."
The videos—no longer online—depicted students getting "shmacked," or so high or drunk as to not be able to function, according to a CBS 3 report.
Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Ferman told CBS 3 she is especially concerned the apparent illegal activity was going on in or near cars.
According to the CBS 3 report, videographers said the alcohol and marijuana shown in the videos were fake.
There are also "I'm Shmacked" Facebook and Twitter pages, as well as a website where school-specific T-shirts are available for purchase.
"Adults who take things completely out of context [...] ought to mind the generational gap and stay in between their lines rather than try to exploit and magnify a situation simply to scare parents and raise an audience," read a post on the "I'm Shmacked" Facebook page on Wednesday with a link to a CBS 3 tweet. "Big Brother is watching."
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Joe D.
4:21 pm on Wednesday, February 22, 2012
And who was one of the derelicts starring in the video? You guessed it...LM's own Blake Robbins, holding a big bag of weed, probably purchased with the school district's money he extorted with his frivolous law suit. When will the LM residents and police wake up and throw this dirtbag in jail. And the videographer screaming that the alcohol and drugs were all props. Are you kidding me? Please put these scumbags in jail!
joe robbins
10:22 pm on Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Isn't it illegal to film children under 18 to put in a "movie" without their consent and especially their parental consent? The person behind these movies should be getting in trouble for illegally filming children under 18 years old without permission.
I'm Shmacked
8:27 pm on Monday, February 27, 2012
Nope, I was 17 when i filmed it :)
LM parent
7:57 am on Thursday, February 23, 2012
How did the school hear about these videos?
Todd Haney
8:13 am on Thursday, February 23, 2012
LWER MERION SCHOOL DISTRICT GETS IN THE NEWS FOR ALL THE WRONG THINGS! Way to much! This nonsense now is deplorable.....brings rest of our kids down to these goofs level. The Laptop fiasco..............The boys basketball team cheating, not playing fair, not playing all our local kids and bringing in these boys from other areas and other STATES! Maybe our kids are too busy getting SHMACKED..................but we definately have some kids in the Township who can play ball for us and not have to go looking for help to win.......I am tired of going to games and hearing everyone in the stands BITCHING about how we have to bring in kids from other areas to win and not play fair and showing NO sportsmanship!
A kid in my neighborhood apparently wasn't good enough for Downer and he plays big minutes at St. Joes Prep now, better coaching there to.
SO whats next in line for our School?
Joe W.
10:32 am on Thursday, February 23, 2012
In response to Joe D., how old were you when you lost your soul? These are kids, I myself am a college student. I can testify that it is not just Lower Merion "scumbags" who are doing this stuff. The kids are calling it a movement for a reason. 77% of high school students have drank alcohol before graduation, http://www.brad21.org/facts.html. And nearly half of Americas college students smoke marijuana. http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-03-15-college-drug-use_N.htm. Do you really want to throw half of Americas youth in jail? Maybe you should think about how every generation of kids is the same. We all want to have fun and mainly all have similar liberal mindsets while young and reckless. Its just that the media can now get everyone's attention to it at such a quicker rate that people are finally realizing that kids are kids. Its our responsibility to grow up when we get our degrees.
Metoxic
10:47 am on Thursday, February 23, 2012
Hey, Joe W, yes, we were all kids. We know what kids do. The difference is we were not idiots that made videos about it to post on the internet. If you are dumb enough to be the featured star in one of those schmacked clips, I don't want you around my kids. I don't want you around my business. I don't want you around me. Period.
Joe W.
11:04 am on Friday, February 24, 2012
I completely understand that, I am not apart of the videos and I would never want to be seen in one, its completely irresponsible. However, for these kids to have any punishments from the videos from people other than there parents is, in my eyes, completely ridiculous. Not to say its an invasion of privacy (they put themselves out there) but whats the difference between this and actors smoking weed in films. Its a movie, there's no proof or justice cause to punish them.
ADS
11:01 am on Thursday, February 23, 2012
Not that I condone the behavior in the videos (though I haven't seen it) but who in the hell does the school think they are? Big Brother? I'm sorry, but "Where we have the authority and power to act and respond, we will."???? The events occurred off campus and not during the school year. Exactly what authority does the school have to act here? Notify the parents and the authorities, fine. But taking some sort of action against these kids when they were not in school is WAAAY overstepping. I can't wait for more lawsuits to start after LMSD steps in it again.
Mark Stelsner
1:01 pm on Friday, February 24, 2012
So you're upset that the district said that they will respond where they have the authority? You also think it's ok to send home the letters. To my knowledge, that's all they've done. What exactly are you talking about?
ADS
2:44 pm on Friday, February 24, 2012
Sure, that's all that they've done _so far_, but the letter seems to imply something more - i.e. there will be "swift and appropriate consequences" - to whom, and for what? To the video makers? Good luck with that. To the students? It wasn't on school grounds, and there is no definitive proof that they weren't faking it. Wouldn't stand up in a court of law.
I'm also upset largely by the fact that the school is even involved at all. Who told the school about it and why would the school be involved? If it's a case of minors doing illegal things away from school property or being filmed without consent, then it's a matter purely for the parents and for the police, not for the school. These "students" may or may not have even been students at the time of the video. Are you so ready and willing to give up your privacy for the sake of convenience?
Just me
12:46 pm on Thursday, February 23, 2012
This behavior is going on every weekend, not just during the summer and it's not an isolated group -- jocks, the burnouts, straight A students, glee club -- not everyone, but I would say more high school kids have tried drinking than have not.
The school should be involved. This could affect a kids admission to college, ability to get a job ... I tell my teenagers that their on line life is permanent and out there for everybody to see.
ADS
1:41 pm on Thursday, February 23, 2012
So you mean to say that you actually want the schools to be parenting your kids? Why isn't it the parents' responsibility for monitoring and correcting their own childrens' behavior? Obviously college admissions, jobs, etc. are at stake, but in the old days, it wasn't the job of the school to be running people's lives. It was to educate. Discipline for school-related offenses, sure, but out of school offenses? Sounds like a police-state to me. No thank you!
Selma Davis
1:34 pm on Thursday, February 23, 2012
And where are the parents?
Just me
10:17 pm on Thursday, February 23, 2012
It takes a village to raise a child ... Parents need to support the education process and schools need to support the life skills process. Not all parents are drinking at 10 am, going to the gym and playing tennis. Speaking for myself, I am at work ... Most of my friends are too.
Ms. Anon
1:18 am on Friday, February 24, 2012
LOL I grew up next to LM and every day I passed it I dreamed of being a student there. I'm glad I moved. :) Most kids still do drugs in Upper Merion but at least were smart and dont FILM IT.
Metoxic
4:26 pm on Friday, February 24, 2012
Joe W, I'm glad you're smart enough to stay out of such things. I doubt anyone will be busted for being in the videos. That doesn't mean they might not have other problems, if certain people see such behavior. Kids don't realize how much these things can follow them around... for a long time.
Raekwon Hernandez
4:49 pm on Friday, March 2, 2012
Most of you people probably live in Haverford or some other dreadful place of the like.
Sammy
9:35 am on Saturday, March 3, 2012
I think you are missing the point. The school district is responsible for your children during school hours and parents would be in an uproar if this happened during those hours and one of those kids got hurt or killed! I think the district did the proper thing and notify ALL parents of what is going on, just think what would happen if they didn't! This affects All the students in the school district, not just the few on the video. As for the student who was interviewed and said it was no big deal and that he has gotten smacked, how disrespectful to your family name.
I love Getting Shmacked
12:46 am on Monday, March 5, 2012
im shmacked bitches!!!!!