Monday, April 2, 2007
In 2002, Joseph Frederick, a high school senior in Juneau, Alaska, unfurled a 14-foot sign that proclaimed, “Bong Hits 4 Jesus!” in front of passing news cameras at a school field trip to the Olympic Torch Relay. After his school principal, Deborah Morse, tore down the sign and gave him a 10-day suspension, Frederick sued the school on the grounds that, under the first amendment, his right to free speech had been violated. He won.
Five years later, the case of Frederick v. Morse, otherwise known as bratty pothead v. anal principal, is in the Supreme Court, making a mockery of the judicial system. Unlike famous past cases that made groundbreaking rulings to establish civil liberties, this case won’t really establish anything for the better. No matter who the Supreme Court sides with, their decision is problematic.
Frederick was on public property, and his sign was both innocuous and nonsensical. Whether Morse should have taken the sign down, she shouldn’t have suspended him. Free speech doesn’t have to be intelligent speech. However, if the justices side with Frederick, who publicly admitted he wanted to irritate school officials and be televised, and has, incidentally, also been arrested for distribution of marijuana, the decision could cue misbehaving students around the nation to abuse their right to free speech and disrupt school cohesion.
On the other hand, it is not difficult to imagine acting as Morse did or believing that a school official could (and should) block a student’s illegal drug reference from public television on a school outing. It certainly doesn’t seem fair that Morse should provide monetary compensation to a kid who pushes limits to irritate school officials. If the Justices side with Morse, their decision may hinder students’ ability to constructively voice opinions or to oppose school policy.
nutgraf
The first amendment is a serious matter; it’s not a superfluous law that allows people to annoy others.
The verdict? Please, have some respect for the judicial system.
The first amendment is a serious matter; it’s not a superfluous law that allows people to annoy others. While we enjoy it daily, we also learn to leave certain unnecessary comments at the door, particularly in institutional settings. Employees are expected to act appropriately in a work setting; students are expected to act appropriately in a school setting.
At the same time, the first amendment can be unjustly violated, and it is important to ascertain when free speech is being unfairly limited. For example, should school officials have the ability to limit productive class conversation about illegal substances? How much control should schools have over students’ studies? These are questions that need to be seriously addressed.
Unlike these hypothetical cases, however, bratty pothead v. anal principal creates more confusion than clarification.
— Alison Kieler for the editorial board.
Don’t uptight high school administrators
Adams: Ruling good for the First Amendment, ...
Around here, the Phelps are well known. With newly secured First Amendment ...
Attorney in historic case to give speech
Attorney involved in Second Amendment Supreme Court case to visit law school.
First Amendment, controversial protests up for debate
'Is Nothing Sacred?' inspects the free speech case Snyder v. Phelps.
Campus reacts to Westboro Baptist Church ruling
For many it is difficult to reconcile the right to free speech ...
Letter to the editor: Protect free speech
A University of Colorado student who said he understood how Cho Seung-Hui ...
University issued "red-light" for freedom of speech
The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education gave Kansas and 260 other ...
Legalizing Love: the state of same-sex marriage ...
A look at the battle for marriage equality.
Chief Justice to speak at Lied Center ...
Chief Justice John Roberts wil be speaking at the Vickers Memorial Lecture ...
A new bill might expand the rights ...
With the approval of Student Senate, amendments to a students’ rights bill ...
Protestors should be prepared with informed opinions
‘Big Religion’ marginalizing free speech
Leave judge appointment
Attorney in the Roe v. Wade case ...
More than 40 years ago, a college administrator told Sarah Weddington to ...
Student Senate approves Student Code changes, $15 ...
The changes in the code will expand protection for students' freedom of ...
Holtz: Freedom of speech, freedom to tweet
18-year-old Emma Sullivan was not forced to apologize after a negative tweet ...
Castle: New York’s marriage equality symbol of ...
Politics is slowly catching up with cultural beliefs on marriage equality.
Chief Justice discusses constitution
The judge spoke at the Lied Center Wednesday night as part of ...
Brew: Show spirit at games, not on ...
More often than not, attempts to drum up school spirit with videos ...
Poverty divides America's schools
Cohen: Drawing the line in political battles
Is the judicial branch truly off-limits from politics?
University re-examines privacy policy
Following Jason Wren’s death, University considers allowing parents more access to student’s ...
Hundreds attend memorial for Frederick
Hundreds of friends, family, coworkers and former students attended a memorial Wednesday ...
Young Americans for Liberty works for free ...
The group plans to have more events to raise awareness of free ...
Editorial: Campus well-maintained
The number of on-campus maintenance problems rises as available funds decrease.
Cosby: California court case still carries weight ...
Debate on Proposition 8 is about more than gay rights.
1st Amendment protects military funeral protesters
The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that the First Amendment protects fundamentalist church ...
State bill proposes right to carry concealed ...
The bill would require the University to either allow guns inside or ...
Editorial: Graphic displays protected by First Amendment
While many students found the graphic anti-abortion displays offensive, the University must ...
Castle: Governor should repeal law against same-sex ...
Gov. Brownback should repeal law against sodomy, which bans sex between persons ...
Nichols: Lighten up about drive-through rap
Utah teenagers shouldn't face legal consequences for harmless fun.
Brinker: Keep financial industry out of politics
Wall Street's involvement skews the political process.
Watson case did not qualify as indecent ...
Further information on public pornography case will be private.
Editorial: Proposed policy infringes on privacy
Past semester’s alcohol related deaths spur proposal to inspect students rooms
Williams: Intramurals picks better Web site
Students will have an easier time registering for club sports.
Letter: Snyder v. Phelps ruling deserved larger ...
The Kansan missed a crucial opportunity to discuss an important local issue.
Student activists come out against Proposition 8
Members of Queers and Allies protested California’s ban on gay marriage with ...
From left: Kimberlee Hinkle, Libby Johnson and Hannah ...
1 comment
Kansas Jayhawk fans hold aloft a reproduction of ...
2 comments
Erin Saupe, a Ph.D. student from St. Cloud, ...
1 comment
0 comments
Armed robbers continue to threaten.
3 comments
Lecture from Greg Mortenson, co-author of New York ...
0 comments
Comments
Editorial: Civil rights a double-edged swords
The ACLU is infatuated with defending even the most ridiclous cases invovling free speech. It is suprising they didn't come the rescue of the Nebraska student who held up the "gayhawk jayhawk" sign at the basketball game a few years ago. That sign was obviously just as inflammatory as the student's sign in Alaska. If the ACLU keeps defending extremists who use the ruse of free speech just to promote antagonizing messages, how long will it be before they actually start to devalue the sincere free speech by non-extremists? I wonder if they care?
Sign in to comment
Or login with:
OpenID