Posted on 05/19/2005 8:33:42 PM PDT by SmithL
Los Angeles -- Student journalists sued their Bakersfield high school district Thursday in an effort to keep the school's principal from censoring student newspaper articles on homosexuality.
The suit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, requests an emergency order to allow the paper to publish the stories in The Kernal's year-end May 27 issue.
"The Kernal staff, along with the gay students we interviewed, we have lost our voices," said the paper's editor in chief, Joel Paramo, a plaintiff in the case filed in Kern County court.
East Bakersfield High School Principal John Gibson said he blocked publication because he is worried about violence on campus.
"It's not about gay and lesbians. It's about student safety," he said.
Paramo, however, said the principal's decision "regrettably sends the unmistakable message that school officials would rather students keep closeted about their sexual orientation."
California's education code allows schools to censor student publications if articles are obscene, libelous or slanderous, or incite students "as to create a clear and present danger."
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Let the students use their *own* money to publish then if they want the right to publish what they wish ... you dont have the right to make soemone else pay for your megaphone.
if you dont agree, your not a libertarian, you're just a liberal with confused notions.
There is no flaw in his logic ... the ACLU only is interested in the 'free speech' cases that advances the Communist agenda of those who founded the ACLU.
The ACLU doesnt ever defend the free speech rights of Christians on campus, and in fact has worked to *suppress* their free speech rights.
They are f'ing hypocrites.
btw, WELCOME TO FR, NEWBIE.
Homosexuality is ONLY about obsessing with their chosen sexual fetish.
"But the fact remains that if the article does not incite violence, it has to be printed."
NO, IT DOESNT. This is a SCHOOL paper, why doesnt the SCHOOL have a right to decide what goes in its SCHOOL paper?
"It is not illegal to offend someone."
Nor is it illegal for a school principal to determine what can go in a school newspaper.
It does seem to be an obsession. Homosexuals always want you to know that they are homosexual and want to talk about it constantly.
While it might be a smokescreen, it nonetheless should be more than legal for a high school principal to preemptively attack potential violence. And that means you've got to give the principal discretionary power.
I'll say it again. It is not illegal to offend someone.
But the ACLU is a warped organization. Too true.
"The public school system has become a dangerous institution. It has become an insane assylum with the ACLU as it's head mistress. The best thing you can do is get your kids into private or home schooling. Period."
We are facing this challenge right now ... sending our private schooled kids to public school, and wondering if they are going to end up wasting the next year or two of school simply because the public school is almost 2 grades behind...
... and this is elementary school!
... never mind the annoy environmental indoctrination we already noticed at the school.
Ugh.
Why does the ACLU get all the rights, but conservative parents get no rights to see a decent education happen to their children?
Sorry, bro. It's a public school and the principle has to give equal time. Fair is fair. These are just kids talking about their lives. Just becasue you and others find it offensive does not mean it should be supressed. What if the principal was gay and he was stopping all the articles addressing heterosexual issues? My guess is that you would be livid.
There's a difference between libertinian and libertarian, you ought to look it up. Minors do not have the same rights as adults, unless you happen to live in Hillary's world (where 12 yr olds can sue their parents).
Schools are supposed to equip their students with the knowledge and the tools to move forward to the next step in life. School is NOT a place to learn about sexually deviant activities, to promote "diversity", or institute any kind of activism among children who severely lack enough life experience to know any better.
The public schools are in need of a major overhaul, and total destruction of the system as it stands is the only way to fix this mess.
Hm. I wonder.
>>Let the students use their *own* money to publish then if they want the right to publish what they wish ... you dont have the right to make soemone else pay for your megaphone.
if you dont agree, your not a libertarian, you're just a liberal with confused notions.<<
I agree with this.
The constitution guarantees freedom of the press - the Principal is the publisher. The students don't have the right to publish things that the publisher doesn't approve of any more than an individual reporter at the NY times can go off the reservation and print anything he chooses.
"I'm only saying that this is censorship and has no place in public schools."
NONSENSE.
a) it's not 'censorship' it is publication decision.
b) Censorship *does* have a place in public schools. All those things not related to schooling and inappropriate to that environment *should* be censored.
c) Your statement cannot be viewed as credible on its face, since X-rated obscenity or 'hate-speech' would certainly be censored as well. And if you have a problem with censoring *that* in a school newspaper, I'd peg you as clueless. Some censorship is certainly valid and justified. And whose call is it to make? Whoever runs the school!
"If you REALLY hated baseball for whatever reason would you protest against articles concerning the school's baseball team?"
The principal would be within his rights to stop any such article, even if it was innocuous.
" Your problem is with homosexuality. You are offended by it. "
BS. You dont know me. My problem is with ACLU lunatics running and ruining school systems one by one with these insane lawsuits that destroy good order in schools.
This is anarchy-by-lawsuit... once they homosexualize the school indoctrination system, they'll move on to their next issue. Students have a 'right' to do this but must be *FORBIDDEN TO QUOTE THE BIBLE* in valedictorian speeches - that's the ACLU's warped and phony view of the First Amendment for you. Free speech for obscenity and silence for those of faith. The ALCU is in the cultural warfare business, and they have a whole bunch of changes stacked up once they roll up their gay agenda into the schools ...
"I'll say it again. It is not illegal to offend someone."
Really? Then we *can* have prayers back in schools?!?
If you have an issue with the principal's call, take it up with the school board... going to court is absurd Liberal-leftist nonsense that harms the education system, which is Gawd-awful enough bad as it is.
Homosexual Agenda Ping.
"Safety" my (deleted). The students who think they are "gay" should stay closeted. And ads should be placed by groups that help people get free from the "gay" life.
Let me know if you want on/off this pinglist.
Note how the accursed ACLU is in this already. When is that vilest of all organizations going to get what it deserves?
The principal has to give equal time? What universe are you referring to?
Finding something offensive is not the issue. Promoting homosexuality is the issue.
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