Mary Beth Tinker speaks, inspires at First Amendment Symposium

Ariel Boehnlein
For You Editor

The third annual First Amendment Symposium was held at the Indianapolis Court House on Tuesday, March 3. The symposium was started three years ago by the Indiana High School Press Association (IHSPA) as a way to bring schools together to celebrate the First Amendment.
This year's guest speaker was Mary Beth Tinker, famous for her participation in the Supreme Court case Tinker v. Des Moines . Set in Iowa, 1969, Tinker and her younger siblings wore black arm bands to school in an attempt to mourn those lost in and protest the Vietnam War. The students were suspended and, after the case was taken to the Supreme Court, were cleared due to the fact that their punishment demonstrated a heavy restriction on their First Amendment right to protest.
Forty years later, Tinker was welcomed warmly by fans and admirers at the State House. Tinker spoke on issues surrounding the First Amendment that existed in the past and are still relevant today, such as prior review and speech limitations in school. She discussed that, while unfair, some limitations cannot be lifted.
So, as they remembered the past, students celebrated the present. As Tinker spoke, shook hands and took photos, she reminded students how important it is to stand up for their rights, even when it seems the hardest.