Two Pembroke Academy students were recently suspended for a cafeteria fight that carried over into a situation of what is commonly known as “cyber bullying.”

One of the girls was suspended immediately after the physical fight, and the other after a parent printed out copies of statements on MySpace Web pages which allegedly threatened physical retaliation.

Pembroke Academy Headmaster Michael Reardon called the school’s response “an emblematic event,” adding that interactions outside of school can often affect the safety of students.

“A big part of this issue is the relative anonymity of these modes of conversation,” Reardon said. “There is the innate difference of looking someone in the eye and saying something and saying it on cyberspace.”

Cyber bullying has become a problem in communities across the country with the advent of social networking sites including MySpace, Facebook and Friendster.

While these sites have regulations guarding against improper behavior on the site, they don’t – and can’t – catch everything.

Cyber bullying is considered a computer crime in several states. According to an issue of “Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice” magazine, threatening or harassing other individuals via the Web may constitute a federal crime, punishable by up to two years imprisonment.

In October of 2006, 13-year-old Megan Meier of Dardenne Prairie, Mo., hung herself after an online relationship with someone who called himself “Josh Evans” ended in cruel postings on MySpace. It was later determined that “Evans” was actually the parent of one of Meier’s classmates.

In 2004, Vermont passed legislation to punish cyber bullies after Ryan Halligan, 13, committed suicide. Other students had been sending him taunting instant messages using sexual slurs.

“The use of technology is scary now. That environment out there is so liquid,” said Arthur Adamakos, principal of Manchester Memorial High School.

He added that times have changed from when he was growing up, when bullying was largely a schoolyard occurrence that was clearly defined and could be dealt with on the spot.

“The immediacy of everything wasn’t there. Things can escalate in a hurry with the Internet,” he said, adding that the school has made strides to handle Internet bullying.

But how far can such investigations be taken when Internet capabilities are such that social networking sites can be altered by almost anybody?

Pembroke Police Chief Scott Lane said they could not press charges against the two Pembroke Academy students because copies of the alleged threats were not hard enough evidence to do so.

“Printed copies of e-mails is not going to substantiate us prosecuting anyone criminally,” Lane said. “That’s something that points us in the right direction, but it’s not the only component.”

In this case, Lane said, conflicting reports from the two sides made it hard to rely strictly on the Web content, which he pointed out could be altered by just about anyone.

“Especially in the school setting, there are times when it’s appropriate for the school to take action and us not to,” Lane said.

To validate the threats, Lane said, the students’ computer would have be to be sent to the state crime lab for processing, for which the waiting list is long.

“In the investigation, we couldn’t substantiate that it was anything more than just posturing,” Lane said, referring “talking big” or what is commonly called “flaming.”

Reardon said he was pleased with the way police handled the investigation. “Pembroke police couldn’t have been more responsive or thorough,” he said.

If police were to take action, Lane said, it would take a no-contact order between the students, which would make attendance complicated for the school and the students involved.

“It guts the school of doing proactive things to solve the conflict. There’s not much of a learning curve if we handcuff the school like that,” Lane said.

Reardon said schools and parents should take a proactive approach by teaching kids how to express their anger and negotiate solutions constructively.

He added that the school will host a parent night sometime before Christmas addressing these issues. A letter was sent out to parents after the incident.