Students suspended over online threats

Published 9:00 pm Wednesday, June 7, 2006

BEAVERTON, Ore. – Six students at Southridge High School were suspended Tuesday for threats made against other students on the popular Web site MySpace.com.

The conflict started with an electronic posting that attacked “goth” students at the school, which led to an online exchange of violent threats. Goths are characterized by the dark clothing and often-heavy makeup they wear.

One group was rumored to be planning to retaliate against the other on Tuesday because the date, June 6, 2006, or 6-6-6, is tied by some to biblical warnings of the Apocalypse. Some parents kept students home, and the district received a flood of phone calls about the rumors.

No violence took place, according to police who patrol the school.

But it drew further attention to the conflicts caused by MySpace. The online network allows members to create personalized Web pages, host blogs and open discussion groups.

In the Southridge case, after the online attack began, more students logged on, said Randy Kayfes, the Beaverton School District’s public safety director.

“The rumors morphed and changed, and eventually it got so you couldn’t tell who said what,” Kayfes said.

The district said more students could be suspended.