2008 Woodie Awards
Alaskan principal puts student free expression in jeopardy
By: Journal Staff
Issue date: 3/22/07 Section: Opinion/Editorial
- Page 1 of 1
Why is someone always trying to shut us up? When it comes to the five personal freedoms of the First Amendment - free press, speech, petition, assembly and religion - students' rights are almost nonexistent. It seems students don't have the same free expression rights as the rest of society; instead, mouths are to be kept closed.
Currently, Supreme Court precedent gives high school officials like the principal and school board members power to censor what students write, say and do. Such is the case for Joseph Frederick, who took his high school principal to court.
Frederick, then 18 and a high school senior in Juneau, Alaska, unfurled a banner that read "Bong hits 4 Jesus" across the street from his high school. While the banner was not on school property, he was ordered to take it down. He refused.
The principal removed the banner, saying it promoted marijuana use and went against the school's drug policy. Frederick argued his First Amendment rights were violated and took his principal to court.
The case appeared in the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, where the court ruled in favor of Frederick. However, the case has since made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
In the 1969 Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District case, students were censored for wearing black armbands in protest of the Vietnam War. The case set a precedent in student free expression. The court ruled students have the right to free expression so long as it does not interfere with school activities or hinder the rights of other students.
The ruling set the bar for all student censorship cases that would follow, until the 1988 Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier case, which gave school officials the right to censor content in school-supported publications if administrators can prove they have a legitimate educational concern.
While college students might not see how this current Supreme Court case affects them, it's best they listen up. If the court sides with the school principal, student free expression rights - not just the rights of high school students - could change forever.
If the court sides with Frederick, more freedom will be given to student free expression. But if the ruling favors the principal, such expression could be limited and subject to further censorship. Court justices are split about how to rule in this case, and a decision will be made later this spring.
Free expression is protected under the First Amendment, but we don't live in a perfect world. Everyone - students and educators alike - should maintain a constant vigilance to prevent any encroachment upon free speech.
To paraphrase Justice William J. Brennan's dissenting opinion in the infamous Hazelwood case, freedom of speech does not stop at the schoolhouse gate. Instead, that is where students should learn the value of free speech in a free society.
Currently, Supreme Court precedent gives high school officials like the principal and school board members power to censor what students write, say and do. Such is the case for Joseph Frederick, who took his high school principal to court.
Frederick, then 18 and a high school senior in Juneau, Alaska, unfurled a banner that read "Bong hits 4 Jesus" across the street from his high school. While the banner was not on school property, he was ordered to take it down. He refused.
The principal removed the banner, saying it promoted marijuana use and went against the school's drug policy. Frederick argued his First Amendment rights were violated and took his principal to court.
The case appeared in the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, where the court ruled in favor of Frederick. However, the case has since made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
In the 1969 Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District case, students were censored for wearing black armbands in protest of the Vietnam War. The case set a precedent in student free expression. The court ruled students have the right to free expression so long as it does not interfere with school activities or hinder the rights of other students.
The ruling set the bar for all student censorship cases that would follow, until the 1988 Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier case, which gave school officials the right to censor content in school-supported publications if administrators can prove they have a legitimate educational concern.
While college students might not see how this current Supreme Court case affects them, it's best they listen up. If the court sides with the school principal, student free expression rights - not just the rights of high school students - could change forever.
If the court sides with Frederick, more freedom will be given to student free expression. But if the ruling favors the principal, such expression could be limited and subject to further censorship. Court justices are split about how to rule in this case, and a decision will be made later this spring.
Free expression is protected under the First Amendment, but we don't live in a perfect world. Everyone - students and educators alike - should maintain a constant vigilance to prevent any encroachment upon free speech.
To paraphrase Justice William J. Brennan's dissenting opinion in the infamous Hazelwood case, freedom of speech does not stop at the schoolhouse gate. Instead, that is where students should learn the value of free speech in a free society.
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