Protests pour in on TMC’s Facebook page

KOLKATA: Protests against the proposed name change of West Bengal to Paschimbanga have been pouring in on various social networking sites, including the official Facebook page of the Trinamool Congress.

The group ‘Not Paschimbanga’, which began on Facebook within an hour of the announcement of the new name with a few memebers, grew to 1,544 in just 24 hours. The community has also decided to file a petition on reaching 2000 ‘likes’. In a matter of 24 hours there have been close to 30 groups on facebook alone where people are firmly criticising the government’s act of christening the state.

Facebook polls also mirror people’s sentiments. “Do you like the name change to Paschimbanga? Let’s see how much support is with Mamata’s decision,”went one of them.

A staggering 1,193 people have voted against it as compared to an insignificant 147 who have welcomed the name change.

The new name have left the people absolutely enraged and furious. Netizens are strongly voicing their opinion regarding the name change of the state. The common question raised by all is that if the government designed this move to get rid of a vestige of colonial heritage and bolster its dignity, the name Paschimbanga is not helping its cause.

“I lodge a strong protest against re-naming of the state as Paschimbanga. It is the single greatest mistake your government could ever commit, and dare I say,we didn’t vote you in to usher “change” into any and everything possible. Kindly retract on the name and adopt Bengal/Bangla or even keep WB. Miss CM, we were expecting better things,”added Annesh Bilas Thakur, who posted this on the All India Trinamool Congress (official) page.

When it was chosen that ‘west’ wil be discarded from ‘West Bengal’, what sense does it make to rename our state as ‘Paschimbanga’? Bengal or Bangla would have been better or even Banga would have been good. But its senseless to make it ‘Paschimbanga’! Not only does the name sound weird, it’s also very big, said Facebook user Jay Shade.

Social media is said to be the best place to express one’s opinion and Facebook perfectly reflects that. “The whole point of change of name is not satisfied. Always it was about keeping the unnecessary burdain of ‘West’ tag off our head but that ridiculous legacy of partition will still haunt us after all that fuzz about a ‘name change’. Ei muhurte ei poribortoner poriborton ghotanor jonyo mukhyamontri r kache argi janachhi,” wrote Nirveek Sengupta.

“People are trying to change Kolkata into London…well London has not changed its name since ages….,” wrote another. “Govt is trying to change the look of the city …. however check the condition of the roads … seems Yamraj is sitting waiting for the accident to happen so that he can complete his target…. flood…is killing people and here govt is busy building road dividers and footpaths… gosh what blunder have people done,”went another post.

The second most important question raised is we needed change but did it have to be so impudent, with all the jokes and jibes being made at the expense of the new name. “What is this Poschim Bongo and where can I smoke it?” one user quipped on Twitter.

The other jokes doing rounds is the name sounding similar to that of Congo, a place in Africa and the musical instrument Bongo.

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Internet changes face of policies

Teachers can be friendly in the classroom, but being “friends” with students on Facebook is off-limits.

That’s what many school districts are telling teachers this year.

Social networking sites on the Internet are forcing school systems to revamp policies to reflect the new technology. And while the old rules may have ended when the final bell rang and students went home, the new ones cover what a teacher does 364 days a year, 24-hours a day in the online world.

Facebook is a social networking site where people post information; including pictures of themselves, and invite people to “friend” them in order to get access to the information. The network reports it has 750 million active users.

John Leidy made a presentation this week to Perquimans County school employees on social media. He is the attorney for the school board there, and holds the same position for Camden County Schools and the Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Public Schools.

“Most legal disputes arise out of some kind of misunderstanding,” Leidy said. “People may not have the worst intentions, but someone can view it that way. That’s where things go off the rails and where teachers are vulnerable.”

He used the example of a teacher who had a photo on his Facebook page showing him in Key West holding alcoholic drinks in each hand and hugging a woman. That would not be appropriate for a teacher looking to set an example for young students.

The worst cases would be a teacher who used social networks to entice a student into a romantic relationship.

Camden County Schools have a policy on social networking.

“Social networking has place, but we caution students and staff to use caution,” said Superintendent Melvin Hawkins. “There is some good coming back from social networking, but you have to adhere to the policies.”

One rule is you can’t use school computers for anything other than proper school use.

“If it means using social networking to get information out to students, that’s one thing,” Hawkins said. “It’s not just during school hours, it’s 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.”

Pasquotank County may soon be looking at a similar policy.

“We do not currently have a board policy that specifically addresses social networking,” said Angela Noblitt, a school spokeswoman. “However, we see the need for developing an appropriate policy will be working on this in the near future.”

This summer, New Hanover schools enacted a policy that says students and teachers can’t be friends on social media sites like Facebook.

Their new policy said school employees are not allowed to knowingly “friend” a student on Facebook.

Wake and Guilford County School Districts both have specific guidelines for teachers and staff to follow. Both restrict student teacher relationships on Facebook and other social media sites. Mecklenburg County does not have a section for social media, but all personnel must follow the policy guide for the code of ethics or action will be taken.

Teachers aren’t the only ones impacted.

“Though school personnel generally do not monitor students’ Internet activity conducted on non-school system computers during non-school hours, when the students’ on-line behavior has a direct and immediate effect on school safety or maintaining order and discipline in schools, the student may be disciplined in accordance with board policy,” reads the Perquimans County policy.

“It is problematic,” Leidy said. “Students and teachers “aren’t friends in the literal sense, but there is a relationship between students and teachers.

“Teachers have a First Amendment right to rant and rave on a Facebook page, but if it’s a matter related to their duties and they want to complain about the school or the students, that is not something that is protected by the First Amendment. People are just now getting around getting a handle on the need to regulate it.”

The new Perquimans policy says students can have cell phones on their person, but they can’t be turned on when school is in session. If a teacher sees a student in violation of the policy they are supposed to get the phone, turn it off without looking at it and turn it over to administration.

In a way the technology shouldn’t get in the way.

“While things have changed dramatically, you still should know what is proper and what isn’t,” Leidy said. You have to look at the difference of what is acceptable and what is not.”

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