A nasty trend that has surfaced on a social networking site will not be tolerated in Garden City Public Schools, announced Superintendent of Schools Dr. Robert Feirsen.

Administrators were notified this week that Garden City Middle School students initiated groups on Facebook which designated May 11 as “Hug a Slut Day.” The following day students were encouraging their classmates to “Kick Someone with Crutches” at school. The week also included “Punch a Whore Day” and “Slap a Brunette.”

Dr. Feirsen said it probably began as a joke, but is in no way funny. “These might be humorous when in a cartoon, but they are certainly not humorous in real life,” he said. He called the activities degrading, insulting and hostile.

The district has a discipline code that clearly addresses the issues involved, including bullying, cyber bullying and sexual harassment. “Administrators and I are united in the sense that the code will be very much enforced,” he said.

Dr. Feirsen mentioned that the middle school has worked with home-based advisory groups to talk about the implications of this behavior and discuss good citizenship. According to researchers for the National Middle School Association (NMSA), a Middle School Advisory Program is an arrangement whereby one adult and a small group of students have an opportunity to interact on a scheduled basis in order to provide a caring environment for academic guidance and support, everyday administrative details, recognition and activities to promote citizenship.

Dr. Feirsen stressed the importance of parental involvement, and encouraged monitoring of internet activity. He said if parents watch closely they will often see their child drop hints of possible problems originating online.

“It’s very important for us to work together on this,” he said. “The world of instant technology is very wonderful in many ways, but also it can be very harmful.”