Who should enjoy freedom of speech?
Do American high school students have the same First Amendment rights that adults have?
Should American citizens who advocate hate, violence, and prejudice have First Amendment rights?
What rights should you expect as an American teenager? Should you be able to express your opinion freely through your language, your clothes, and your school newspaper? Should you be able to refuse to pledge allegiance to the American flag if that is your choice? Should you be able to say a prayer in school if that is your choice?
What about Matt Hale, a white supremicist who recently spoke in Wallingford CT? Does he have a right to express his opinion freely, even though he advocates violence against minorities? Should Americans protest his appearance in Connecticut and attempt to stop him from speaking on the principles of Nazism?
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What is The First
Amendment? |
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We have studied The First Amendment in journalism class as well as in history classes in the past. The following is The First Amendment, word for word, from The Bill of Rights: 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 grievance. |
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American High Schools: Can you find examples of The First Amendment being practiced in your high school? Go to the following site to learn about legal interpretations of The First Amendment in high schools: http:splc.org/resource.asp(Open the frequently asked high school top ten questions |
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Task # 1: Write a first person essay on freedom of the press at Law. Look at copies of your school newspaper, The Advocate. Are there articles on controversial topics? Is student opinion freely expressed so that the readers understand how the student writer feels about an issue? Interview an editor from last year's paper. Ask the editor about freedom of the student press. Was the paper ever censored? Did any administrator read the paper and ask for editing? Were there any topics that were considered unacceptable for publication? Write a first person essay explaining whether or not there is freedom of the press at Jonathan Law. Give examples to support your thesis. Make certain to include the name of the journalist whom you interviewed as well as the dates of the newspapers that you read for substantiation. |
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Below is the criteria
that I will use in evaluating your essay: |
| Does an administrator have the right to censor student writing in The Advocate? |
| You have questioned students about censorship, and you looked for student voice in The Advocate. Now what you need to figure out is whether or not an adminstrator has the legal right to censor. What would happen if a new principal came in and wanted to have some editing power over the choice of topics in The Advocate? Could that individual legally stop the students from publishing an article that he or she disapproved of? |
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Task #2: Write a decision paper explaining why Law administrators could or could not legally censor The Advocate. A Supreme Court decision, known as The Hazelwood Case, has interpreted the First Amendment so that administrators, in some cases, have the right to censor student press. To understand more about The Hazelwood case, go to the following:http://www.splc.org/legalresearch.asp?subcat=1 Now, you need to apply what you have learned about the Supreme Court decision to our high school. Go to the following site and follow carefully the Hazelwood flow chart that will help you to determine the present situation at Law:http://www.splc.org/legalresearch.asp?id=38 |
| Write your decision as to whether or not Law can be censored by explaining the flow chart in relationship to The Advocate. Make certain that you look carefully at the front cover of The Advocate as well as the editorial page. Find out whether or not Connecticut has a law that over rules the Hazelwood decision. |
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Below is the criteria that I will use in evaluating your decision essay:: 1. You have understood the Hazelwood flow chart and made mention of the ways that Law follows the guidelines leading to Hazelwood or to Tinker standards. 2. You refer directly to The Advocate and its policies as well as legacy in making your decision. 3. You have explained under what conditions censorship legally does and does not exist at Law. 4. You make mention of whether or not Connecticut has a law over ruling the Hazelwood standards.
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| Does a white supremist or an acknowledged member of the Klu Klux Klan have the right to speak in a public place? Could this individual preach violence, bigotry, and hatred without being stopped legally by the police? |
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Task#3 Write an essay explaining what tactics you would use against a public speaker who is trying to rally forces around hatred, violence, and bigotry. You should differentiate between what would be legal and what would be illegal action. Find out what happened when Matt Hale, an avowed white supremacist and leader of the World Church of the Creater visited nearby Wallingford, Ct recently. Go to the following site to read about reaction to his visit. The first site is the Jewish Defamation League, a group that monitors anyone who shows any anti-semetic viewpoints: :http://www.jdl.org/enemies/nazi/hale_ct.html The second site is a commentary from The Hartford Courant on Mr. Hale's right to free speech: :http://www.wcotc.com/ohio/ct2mar82001.html The third site is the web page of the Wallingford public library, the site of Matt Hale's speech:http://www.walpub.lib.ct.us/Wallingford_Coalition_against_hate.htm |
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Below is an excerpt from an Advocate journalist, Nicole Haley, on Hale's visit: "Hale, the leader of the World Chruch of the Creator was invited to speak in Wallingford by a group known as the Connecticut Matt Hale supporters. The 60 supporters who came to hear Hale speak were met with violent opposition. Ironically, 250 of the protestors who previously shouted for hale to go away, later formed a line to stop his car from leaving. AFter his car got through, these same protestors whl held up peace signs in retaliation to the Nazi salutes of Hale supporters, participated in a violent confrontation." |
| In your essay, explain what Matt Hale's rights are as a public speaker. Then explain what you would do to protest his visit. Would you follow the ideas of the Jewish Defamation League, the Wallingford Coaltion against Hate, the ideas of the Hartford Courant commentator, or the actions of the protestors that Nicole mentions in her article? |
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Below the criteria that I will use in evaluating your essay: 1. You will explain clearly the rights of Matt Hale as a public speaker. 2. You will take a position based on one of the points of view from the four sources(three websites and excerpt of Nicole's article). 3. You will explain what your tactic is the most effective way to counter prejudice.
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