Supreme Court .. Morse V. Frederick .

freedom of speech?

an Alaska high school principal, OFF-CAMPUS, tears down a
student's banner because it read "Bong Hits 4 Jesus"

student is OFF CAMPUS, had not attended school that day,
student is a senior, 18 yrs old,
student made banner at home, not in class,
student made banner with own materials, not school funded,
banner has no reference to the school,
student claims it was a political message not promoting illegal use,
there seems to have been no disruption or attempt to do such by the student,
Alaska has numerous referendums to legalize pot,
other school students are on a off-campus field trip watching the Olympic runners,

is this freedom speech within America's public schools?
is this freedom of speech in public land (street)?

can the school govern the behaviour and speech of students outside the school
grounds when the students are not with a class or supervised by a teacher?

what is at stake?
1. a decision favoring student Frederick may create a situation in which teachers are
unable to keep order for fear they will be sued?
2. a decision favoring the Principal may create a situation in which schools can punish any
student who openly disagrees with their "mission," no matter how oppressive that "mission" is?

hmmmmmmm .... where have i seen that before ...... ?



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