Hmmmm......

Interesting article. But as of yet, I'm not convinced that our "freedom" is being threatened. Keep in mind that this ruling has alot more to do with maintaining order among a couple hundred hormonal high school kids than it does about an individual's right to express an opinion in a classroom. At this point, we will assume until otherwise indicated that the school is permitting dissenting opinions in classroom discussion. With that assumption made, turning oneself into a hallway billboard on an emotional topic (whether you support or disagree) is closer to shock-value taunting than it is to advocacy. And taunting, although it is an enduring high school tradition, is rarely constructive. Anybody go to high school?

One other thing. I think anyone who wants to start an anarchy "club" (will they elect a president and hold weekly meetings?) has missed the point. Can somebody send little Katie Sierra a good website link on anarchy? And maybe a Sex Pistols MP3 file - everybody needs a commercialized theme song!!!!!

Thanks to Pat for his skillful missive.

TM

-----Original Message-----
From: Sr. Quint Lollipop [mailto:nightyouther@home.com] Sent: Saturday, November 03, 2001 11:25 PM To: jbc-list@jazzbutcher.com
Subject: not so free?

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20011101/us/anarchy_club_1.html

Judge Rules on Student Anarchy Club

By MICHELLE SAXTON, Associated Press Writer

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - A judge ruled Thursday that a 15-year-old sophomore cannot form an anarchy club or wear T-shirts opposing the U.S. bombing of Afghanistan (news - web sites) because it would disrupt school.

Katie Sierra was suspended from Sissonville High School for three days for promoting the club. She was also told she could not wear T-shirts with messages such as: ``When I saw the dead and dying Afghani children on TV, I felt a newly recovered sense of national security. God Bless America.''

In a complaint filed with her mother, Sierra argued her right to free speech was being denied.

Circuit Court Judge James Stucky agreed that free speech is ``sacred'' but he found that such rights are ``tempered by the limitations that they ... not disrupt the educational process.''

Sierra said she'll pursue the dispute.

``I don't want war. I'm not for Afghanistan,'' Sierra said. ``I think that
what we're doing to them is just as bad as what they did to us, and I think it needs to be stopped.''

James Withrow, lawyer for the Kanawha County Board of Education, argued that an anarchy club was inappropriate because students ``do not feel that their school is a safe place anymore.''

``Anarchy is the antithesis of what we believe should be in schools,''
Withrow said.

Sierra's attorney, Roger Forman, said she is ``being punished for expressing her opinion.'' Received on Mon, 5 Nov 2001 09:28:47 -0500