I don’t understand why people still believe there is freedom of speech on school property. Even on college campuses its increasingly restricted. Those kids should have known better then to write about things interesting to them. They are probably all 16+ they should know to kiss ass 24/7 by that age. Welcome to the real world.

thats great nathan, just keep spreading that defeatist attitude. these kids were awesome; and even if their school won’t applaud them, i will.

However Chris, remember that just a few years back the Supreme Court ruled against one Joseph Frederick, citing that his 14-foot-long banner proclaiming “Bong Hits 4 Jesus” promoted drug use and even though he was off school grounds because it had let out early for the day, the court ruled to uphold the school district’s decision to suspend him. = /

Derek, in bong hits 4 Jesus, the boy was off school property but was still being counted as “in class” because the students were on a chaperoned trip to a parade. School had not let out early for the day, and the boy was subject to school rules.

“members of the paper’s staff were told by administrators that they would have to reveal their sources in a piece on students in the National Honor Society and freshmen mentors program who admitted to drinking and smoking.” Journalistic integrity?? Sounds more like Sensationalist Shit! Stories like these will get these kids jobs with Rupert Murdoch one day, the evil prick…

I’m 30 years old now but I began to see this kind of thing happening in public school systems when I was still in school. The school administrators don’t look at those kids as citizens with rights granted by law but instead as cattle that have to be kept under control at all costs. That’s what the system demands of the administration and they’ll trample all over the kids’ liberties to achieve it. That might sound a bit extreme but it really is happening and it will get worse unless we reform the way our public schools do business. Children may need to be kept in order in school but that certainly doesn’t have to mean pissing all over their constitutional rights and those of the parents to bring about that order. Unfortunately, people are becoming increasingly desensitized to this kind of thing and the parents usually don’t want to make more waves by fighting it legally and the kids usually think there’s not much they can do. So… nothing gets done at all and things like this continue to happen on a large scale and to a higher degree.

It’s a perfect example of the current political climate in our country. Freedom of speech and freedom of press should be very high on our list of priorities, yet this is happening in our schools. Schools that OUR government manages and OUR tax moneys pay for. Yet it’s “Do as you’re told, because it’s for the good of everyone”. It’s a sickening fact that we live in one of the most free nations in the world, yet at the first sign of trouble we hand over that freedom to the very power structure that’s supposed to be protecting the document that gave us that freedom in the first place. After all, it’s for the children and for the good of the people. I guess it’s more trendy these days to worry about someone having more money that someone else than to actually worry about our liberties and freedom granted to us by the US Constitution. Disgusting.

This is exactly what led to the murders at Kent State years ago. This paper is protected under the first amendment and we set another very bad example of republican government if we fail to protect the authors rights to present the story as they perceived. Just because you or I do not like the content means either we are not looking or we choose not to care and either case is the precursor to disaster. My generation ended a war and the presidency of a criminal but we failed to solve the murders of two Kennedys and MLK and look at what that got us with Bush Chaney and a complete disregard for the rule of law. If other “news” outlets covered the stories their readership needed to know about perhaps they would not have been replaced by the likes of talk radio propaganda and Fox “News”. Someone with a law degree and some clout needs to step up and defend these “kids” and their civil rights and the rest of us better anti up and pay the freight for it or we lose a lot more than our integrity. Time has come to walk the walk because the talking has been censored. Just where is Stevenson High School and what was the outcome of this? Are these Journalists now in college and if so where? We need them inside the beltway desperately and right now! If there is nothing to be done I still must congratulate each and every member of that paper for being the “real” Americans on the front line in the battle for democracy.