The First Amendment

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The First Amendment The foundation of today's society rests upon the words of our forefathers. The Constitution claims that "the people" shape their own government. Who are "the people"to which this document refers? Americans have long struggled with defining "the people". Blacks, women, and homosexuals all deal with this issue, b ut today youth emerge as a challenged group. Students are often a censored body, thus not enjoying protection under the First Amendment. Schools profess they are protecting the rights of the majority, but in actuality, they are violating the rights of the individual through the denial of their First Amendment rights. Legally, the question is to what extent does the First Amendment apply to students? The First Amendment states, "Congress shall make no law... abridging the freedom of speech...". In 1988, the Supreme Court ruled on a case, Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier, that would create an obstacle for future students to overcome. In the Hazelwood decision, the Supreme Court said school administrators had the right to censor student publications (Top Ten 1). According to this decision, the First Amendment does not have students under it's protective umbrella. School boards use this ruling to censor students today. A battle against the Hazelwood decision is being fought and won all over the country. According to the Student Press Law Center, winning this battle began in California with the passing of a student-expression bill. California was the pioneer state to add such a bill to it's Constitution, but it is not the only state to have one. Today a total of six states have such bills: Arkansas, California, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, and Massachusetts (Top Ten 1). This bill reverses the Haze... ... middle of paper ... ...ited: "Connecticut Student Press Thrives with Self-Declared Freedoms." Associated Press. Freedom Forum. 9 November, 1999. Http://www.freedomforum.org/education/1999/11/9conn.asp. Hudson, David. Freedom Forum. 12 March 1998. Http://www.freedomforum.org/speech/1998/3/12michigan.asp. Sauer, Lauri. "Grad's Speech Raises Eyebrows." Daily Press. 15 June 1999. Online Newsbank Infoweb. "Student's Column Prompts School to Halt Distribution of Newspaper". Associated Press. Freedom Forum. 17 December 1999. Http://www.freedomforum.org/press/1999/12/17ORschoolnewspaper.asp Taylor, Phillip. "Michigan Lawmaker Drafts Student-Expression Bill". Freedom Forum. 29 December 1998. Http://www.freedomforum.org/press/1998/12/29studentpress.asp. "Top Ten, The". s.p.l.c. (Student Press Law Center). 20 August 1996. Http://www.splc.org/resources/QUESTIONS?highschool.html

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