Essay, Research Paper
The articles that were written in the high school newspaper,
Spectrum , were blatant stories of misconduct amongst the
students. When a student walks on the school ground their parents
place the responsibility of what they see and hear in the hands
of the principal. In this case, Hazelwood School District v.
Kuhlmeier what the students wrote in his newspaper was what he
thought was inappropriate for the eyes of his students. The
principal did the right thing because he is liable for what is
written within his school.
In the case Miller v. the State of California the court
states states have the a legitimate interest in prohibiting
dissemination or exhibition of obscene material. However, this
holds true only when there is a significant danger of offending
the sensibilities of unwilling recipients or exposure to
juveniles . Which without a doubt relates to these students
because they are juveniles. Therefore stories about sex , birth
control and divorce would be considered obscene to the majority
of the student body. As well as being obscene, the stories taken
from the newspaper would have caused a disruption in the
educational process and presented a discipline problem
especially amongst the younger students. The case of Tinker v Des
Moines School District, showed an example where the school banned
students from wearing black arm bands protesting the Vietnam
war. The course decision says that the district court dismisses
the case on the grounds that the school board had acted
constitutional and reasonably in an attempt to maintain
discipline and avoid disruption in the educational process. In
Tinker v Des Moines School District they limited the students
speech because of the affects it would have on the student body.
Such as in Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier the principal
excluded the two pages of the school newspaper because of the
affect it would have on the student body, because the younger
students would disrupt class and make jokes about the girl who
wrote the stories on sex and birth control. Even though you don t
always like what you here or don t agree free speech is the most
important constitutional right we have as American citizens. That
brings me back to my question, should freedom of speech be
limited at school ? The answer to that question would be yes. My
answer is supported by Bethel School District no 403 v Fraser
schools must have the authority to guide young people into
healthy and acceptable social forms of expression, speech is
limited even for adults, and no one can claim that high school
students are adults. The principal of this Missouri high school
knew what would come of these articles especially the reaction he
would receive from the parents of his students. After all he is
responsible the actions of these students from seven in the
morning until they leave the school to go home.
In conclusion, the principal had the very right to exclude
the stories from his newspaper, in order to avoid the trouble
that would have followed.