I just finished reading your article titled "Student Thinks School Violated 1st Amendment Rights" in your Jan. 23, 2009, online edition of your newspaper.
It is my belief that the school did indeed violate his 1st Amendment Rights. You only need to look at the Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District case the Supreme Court ruled on Feb. 24, 1969. In that case, three students of the aforementioned public school were suspended from school because they wore black armband in protest of the United States Government's policy in Vietnam.
The Supreme Court explained, "as we have discussed, the record does not demonstrate any facts which might reasonably have led school authorities to forecast substantial disruption of or material interference with school activities, and no disturbances or disorders on the school premises in fact occurred. These petitioners merely went about their ordained rounds in school. Their deviation consisted only in wearing on their sleeve a band of black cloth, not more than two inches wide. They wore it to exhibit their disapproval of the Vietnam hostilities and their advocacy of a truce, to make their views known, and, by their example, to influence others to adopt them. They neither interrupted school activities nor sought to intrude in the school affairs or the lives of others. They caused discussion outside of the classrooms, but no interference with work and no disorder. In the circumstances, our Constitution does not permit officials of the State to deny their form of expression."
According to this ruling, the school in your article did indeed violate the student's rights under the 1st Amendment. If you would like to read the Supreme Court's entire verdict on the aforementioned case you can find it at this link:
My hope is that the students involved in your article would hire an attorney to sue the school on the grounds that it violated the student's rights. I'm sure that once the ACLU hears about this instance they, too, will most likely get involved.
Remember that the school's policies do not overrule the laws set forth in the U.S. Constitution. Just a reminder to those who aren't familiar with the 1st Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, it states: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
