Current Event for the Week of 3/19/2007
Student free speech vs. school drug policy
in 2002, a student in Juneau, Alaska was suspended from high school for 10 days after displaying a banner that read: "Bong Hits 4 Jesus." The banner was displayed during a parade in which the Olympic torch was carried through the town. The student was standing across the street from his high school, not on official school grounds. The student is suing the principal for confiscating the banner and suspending him from school. The case has worked its way through the federal court system, and is now being heard by the United States Supreme Court.
Read the article here.
Does the student deserve the suspension for his actions, or did the school administration react too harshly? Are school officials correct in believing that this case will significantly harm their abilities to host a drug free environment in their buildings? To what extent to individuals have the freedom of speech?
in 2002, a student in Juneau, Alaska was suspended from high school for 10 days after displaying a banner that read: "Bong Hits 4 Jesus." The banner was displayed during a parade in which the Olympic torch was carried through the town. The student was standing across the street from his high school, not on official school grounds. The student is suing the principal for confiscating the banner and suspending him from school. The case has worked its way through the federal court system, and is now being heard by the United States Supreme Court.
Read the article here.
Does the student deserve the suspension for his actions, or did the school administration react too harshly? Are school officials correct in believing that this case will significantly harm their abilities to host a drug free environment in their buildings? To what extent to individuals have the freedom of speech?
posted by phs_sociology at 3:13 AM
15 Comments:
i think that the student knew what he was doing. its like the norm violation activity. you should only do something minor and not something drastic that can get you into serious trouble. the boy should have known he would get in trouble and should just accept hi punishment.
I've heard different sides of the cases and different articles say different things. One article I read stated that this was doing school hours, sanctioned by the school, under supervision of teachers. The students were watching an Olympic torch runner. This article states that it was not doing a school sanctioned event. I think it comes down to that...not whether it was on school ground or anything else, but whether it was doing a school sanctioned event, which seems to be the likely case.
In that light, the student should be punished for promoting drug.
firstly, "bong hits for jesus" does not even make sense. If he was just trying to say "something," and not anything in particular, I think he needs to find a hobby. It is really sort of shameful to me that people in the U.S.A. choose to do stupid things like this in public, especially where the olympic torch is about to be lit, of all things. Whether the principal had grounds to suspend him or not remains to be seen, i suppose, depending on the conditions of the school jurisdiction, however, this was a really stupid thing to do on the kid's part.
I think its right for the student to be punished because when he made the sign he obviously must have atleast wondered whether or not he would get in trouble, and personally i think he was probably just being an idiot and deserves to be punished. Even though the constitution may say that we have freedom of speech, it is deffinatly limited because thats loike saying you wont be punished if you go yell bomb through an airport.
The principal had absolutely no right to suspend the student. The sign wasn't displayed on school property and the viewing of the relay wasn't a school-sponsored activity, it was open to the public. The case may minorly hinder the school's ability to fight drugs, but only because they're doing it in a way that attempts to stifle free speech.
I think the kid is funny to be honesty but stupid and im pretty sure he knew he was going to ge in trouble but i dont the school should have suspended him because he wasn't on school grounds and he was speaking his mind.
What people don't understand about this is that he held this banner during a school day. The school let the students observe the parade while it passed through their town. If he did it on his own time after school there would be no problem, but he did it while school was in session. He deserved the punishment he received.
I think that this student deserved what he got. He was doing this during a school day, and the school had allowed the students to go outside and watch the Olympic torch runner go through their town. Had this been a non school activity, then he would have been fine. He deserved what he got.
The student obviously knew that he could get in trouble. I think what he did was stupid, whether or not it was on school property. You just don't write "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" and expect not to get negative reactions. He should just accept his punishment and let it go.
I think he should get the punishment. Even if he wasnt on scohol property it was during school. He definitly knew what he was doing and should have known he was going to get in trouble. He just wanted attention and he got it now he's getting penalized, so he will have to deal with it.
The kid was not on school grounds so i dont think the principle had any right to take the kids flag and suspend him. It is his right to display whatever he wants. He is not harming or threatening no one or anything. It was a prank and no harm was done.
If like the article says, the banner was never displayed on school property or during a school-sponsored activity, and that it didn't disrupt the educational process then i don't think the student violated anything. he has a right to free speech and from articles i've read it was purely for attention by using two controversial subjects: drugs and religion. he wanted to show exactly what kind of rights we have. if we don't voice anything our rights will be taken away one by one. images of drugs and tagging is all over. i don't see what the difference is.
I believe that he knew exactly what he was doing he should just accept the punishment because he should have known he would get in trouble for it obviously.
I think that the school has no right to suspend him, and the student is right in his claim. What is not on school grounds cannot be persecuted by the school, in my opinion. If he wanted to display that banner than the school should have no say since it did not happen on the premises. The school has too much power when it comes to governing how students act, and it is the right of free speech. They have no right to touch him.
i think the student did deserve suspension. everyone knows most of the school rules (or at least that drugs are illegal). The free speech should not be granted here, because he seems like the school setting is not an appropriate place for the sign. It's just like free speech is taken away from people in the time of war against the federal government. I feel the school officials are correct in believing that this case will significantly harm their abilities to host a drug free environment.
Post a Comment
<< Home