Saturday, July 21, 2012

In regards to Morse v. Fredrick can/should First Amendment law only be made in cases of serious messages? Why or why not?Background: Morse v....

Rights cannot be curtailed; however, freedoms can.  Freedom is the ability to exercise Rights, and freedom can be restricted if that exercise violates the Rights of another individual.  In this case, the student expressed an opinion (which seems to have been calculated to arouse ire) which may have not been school sanctioned, but should not have been forbidden or restricted, as his expression did not impact anyone else's Rights -- the principal finding the message offensive doesn't qualify as a "Right not to read messages I don't like at school sponsored events."


Nevertheless, schools should and do impose some discipline upon the student body for the purposes of efficacious education, and anything that detracts from that should be minimized, but under no circumstances can any discipline impact Rights, but only restrict activities distracting from an educational purpose.  Perhaps the principal, rather than pulling rank, should have held up a counter-banner stating "Just Say No!"

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