First Amendment not an issue of taste

By Lauren Thiery
Features Editor

First Amendment rights of public school students may be infringed when students “materially disrupt class work or involve substantial disorder or invasion of the rights of others.”

Due to the 1988 case of Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier, the Supreme Court created three exceptions regarding student free speech rights. One states that “educators do not offend the First Amendment by exercising editorial control over the style and content of student speech in school-sponsored expressive activities so long as their actions are reasonably related to legitimate pedagogical concerns.”

However, do these iffy and loosely worded exceptions to the First Amendment violate the rights of free speech given to all? This kind of wording leaves much room for interpretation in all its loopholes and gaps, often to the expense of those whose rights may be violated.

In 2004, the North baseball team’s slogan, as printed on its t-shirts, was, “How deep can you go?” The following year, it was, “Where swinging wood is understood.” Last year’s more risky slogan was, “You hang it, we bang it.”

While these slogans can be taken offensively as sexual references, they also pertain directly to baseball. These slogans caused a lot of controversy, but they’re still within guidelines. Much of the time, negative connotations are only seen when they're directly looked for.

Habitat for Humanity’s t-shirt slogan is, “Show us your cans.” This can also be interpreted as a distasteful sexual reference as well, but the real meaning is overlooked. Habitat, a prestigious and nationally acclaimed organization dedicated to sheltering the homeless, collects cans of food to help feed those in need. The slogan was meant to be a cute way to help advocate their cause.

Although some of these slogans certainly raised an eyebrow and/or were frowned upon, they were still printed. It is a step forward when students exercise their First Amendment rights. However, it is a step backward when these rights start to be abused.

Appropriate exercises of free speech would include shirts which stand for a cause. Shirts for things such as clubs, fundraisers and political campaigns help advocate a cause, instead of suggesting vulgar innuendos. These kinds of shirts don’t overstep the line and are meant to do good instead of offend others.

Rights shouldn't be exercised wrongly in order to challenge authority or test the extent of their boundaries. The appropriateness of material in school should be a personal decision and the need for it to be questioned, censored or edited should never even rise.