Facebook page gets Wesley Chapel student booted from honor society

Alex Fuentes says it really wasn't that serious - more of a joke between him and a friend - when he created a Facebook page criticizing his high school.

But the popularity of the page he created about three months ago, "Wesley Chapel High = Fail," stirred trouble that eventually got him kicked out of the National Honor Society and led him to transfer to another school in January.

"I was frustrated that I was going to graduate from a D school," said Fuentes, 18, a senior.

"It wasn't anything malicious. It was just a joke taken the wrong way."

Soon after Fuentes created the Facebook page, other students began posting disparaging comments about the school there, too, and word got back to the school and its National Honor Society chapter.

On Jan. 11 - the first day back from winter break -- a panel of six teachers voted unanimously to dismiss him from the National Honor Society on the grounds he had not upheld a pledge members take to show loyalty to their school, Fuentes said.

The National Honor Society also has four pillars - scholarship, service, leadership and character - that members are expected to uphold.

"Being loyal to the school, does that mean blindly loyal?" Fuentes asked. "How can I be proud to say I come from a D school?"

The school's principal, Carin Nettles, could not talk about Fuentes' case specifically; but she said the National Honor Society has to follow procedures set out in its constitution when a member is accused of violating one of the four pillars or the pledge students take.

"They don't just kick someone out," she said.

Because every school organization and team has its own rules about membership, it's possible to violate the group's rules without violating a school rule, Nettles said. A violation of the National Honor Society pillars or pledge could happen in or out of school - or on Facebook, she said.

It's unclear how unusual it is for a student to get kicked out of the honor society because of what he posts on Facebook, though it seems rare, based on a survey of media reports and the relative novelty of social networking sites. Most incidents that draw media attention involve cheating, drinking or school pranks.

What seemed to offend people most about Fuentes' page was its name, rather than the comments on it, he said. So, in early December, he changed the name to "Pros and Cons of Wesley Chapel High," to encourage more positive posts; but by then it was too late.

The same week he was booted out of the National Honor Society, Fuentes said he decided to transfer to Wiregrass Ranch High School. Three of his teachers were on the panel that made the decision, and that bothered him.

"I don't think I could sit in the same classroom and smile with people who did not support me," Fuentes said.

He said he plans to look into whether he can join the National Honor Society at Wiregrass Ranch. But the National Honor Society constitution says anyone dismissed from the organization is no longer eligible for membership.

Regardless, the dispute has cost Fuentes, who transferred to Wesley Chapel High midway through his freshman year. He won't be able to try out for the track team, as he'd planned, or graduate with his friends.

"I would love to walk with my class, with my friends that I've known since freshman and sophomore year, but I couldn't do that to myself - look at teachers in the eye and pretend that everything was dandy," he said.

Fuentes' father, Ernest, said his son was treated unfairly.

"He is being blamed for what other people were saying on the Facebook page," he said.

When it became clear his son would not get back into the honor society, Ernest Fuentes said he encouraged him to take what lessons he could from the experience and work extra hard at his new school.

"The people from Wesley Chapel are going to regret losing such a good citizen," he said.

Fuentes' renamed Facebook page still exists, with more than 200 people listed as members.

Recent comments include discussions of Fuentes's dismissal from the National Honor Society and his decision to transfer to Wiregrass Ranch. Most of the comments are supportive.

Fuentes continues to post comments there, too.

"Here is a pro," he wrote on Jan. 21. "The track team and track coaches are awesome!"

Three days later he wrote: "Con: Absolutely no freedom. Other schools are more relaxed."