Homecoming floats stir free-speech controversy

The Orlando Sentinel ^ | 11/04/03 | Jason Garcia

[Prov1322]

Homecoming floats stir free-speech controversy

By Jason Garcia Sentinel Staff Writer

November 5, 2003

Students and administrators at Dr. Phillips High School might be headed to federal court over homecoming floats with skits featuring Saddam Hussein and Jesus Christ.

The flap has students hiring a lawyer and promising a constitutional battle.

At issue are two floats -- one depicting Young Republicans fighting "evildoers" and tearing down a statue of Saddam Hussein, and the other, by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, urging students to "Let Jesus Rock Your Night Away."

Students are building floats for Dr. Phillips' "Panther Pounce" parade on Thursday evening. But administrators Tuesday squashed plans for the two floats, calling them inappropriate and worrying they would offend parents and other students.

In response, the Young Republicans Club and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes are threatening a federal lawsuit.

"It is a free-speech issue," said Melissa Mack, 17, a senior and the president of Dr. Phillips' Young Republicans Club. "We're not being heard. Our ideas are not getting out."

The Young Republicans wanted to build a replica statue of the former Iraqi dictator. The plan called for students wearing black T-shirts with the word "Evil" to force other students to kneel in front of the statue.

Then, the Young Republicans float -- a pickup painted red, white and blue -- would arrive, carrying students in club T-shirts who would chase away the students in black T-shirts with silly string and water guns, before toppling the statue.

Mack said her club simply wanted to use their float to send a patriotic message.

"We're just trying to support the troops," Melissa said.

However, Principal Gene Trochinski said the theme did not belong in a pep rally, and he worried that it would offend Dr. Phillips' "fairly large" student Muslim population.

"Panther Pounce is not the venue, necessarily, for dealing with Saddam Hussein," Trochinski said.

Meanwhile, members of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes are building a float that urges others to "Let Jesus Rock Your Night Away," which is meant to play off Dr. Phillips' homecoming dance theme: "Rock the Night Away."

They wanted to have a number of students hold signs with words such as sex, suicide, depression and drugs. Another student would walk up to them, point skyward, cross his arms on his chest to signify love, and then point at the students holding signs.

They would then tear the signs apart and jump onto the float, playing air guitars as it rolled away.

"Every other club is going to have their symbol out there," said Neil Renois, 17, a senior and the president of the school's Fellowship group. "Our symbol is Jesus."

But again, Trochinski said the float could alienate students of other religions. He also said the signs were out of place at an event that would have families with young children in attendance.

"There's a balance between having free speech and having the proper decorum," he said. "This is a homecoming event."

Trochinski said he would meet with his students today to discuss possible solutions, such as scaling back the floats' content.

But that might not be possible.

"The Constitution doesn't require them to compromise. Matter of fact, the Constitution protects them from having to compromise," said Erik Stanley, an attorney for the Liberty Counsel, which the students called Tuesday afternoon.

Stanley immediately sent a letter to school officials, threatening to file a lawsuit in federal court Thursday morning if Trochinski does not reverse his position today.

And the students are not on their own, either.

"I think they used good taste," said James Coney, an American history teacher at Dr. Phillips and the sponsor for both the Young Republicans and the Fellowship. "We'll be in the parade. Or we'll be in court."

Jason Garcia can be reached at jrgarcia@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5198.

Copyright © 2003, Orlando Sentinel

[dead]

and the other, by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, urging students to "Let Jesus Rock Your Night Away."

LOL! Anybody see South Park last week?

Talk about life imitating art! "Body of Christ, yeah! Body of Christ!"

[WinOne4TheGipper]

It is not a free speech issue. You are a conservative. How dare you even think you have any rights. Rights are reserved for leftist, homosexual, Muslim, vegan, tree hugging Commies. NCCNA.

[Prov1322]

It is not a free speech issue. You are a conservative. How dare you even think you have any rights. Rights are reserved for leftist, homosexual, Muslim, vegan, tree hugging Commies. NCCNA...

LOL! I forgot...thanks for clearing that up!

[KantianBurke]

[nothingnew]

ATBG

FMCDH

[fnord]

"The Constitution doesn't require them to compromise. Matter of fact, the Constitution protects them from having to compromise," said Erik Stanley, an attorney for the Liberty Counsel, which the students called Tuesday afternoon.

Exactly wrong. They are perfectly free to run their floats, uncompromised, just not in someone else's parade. Don't they even teach about the Constitution in law school any more?

[F16Fighter]

Wonder if there would be this same kind battle cry of "free speech" were there a float depicting a croaking AIDS patient holding up a black skull & bones flag shouting, "The Legacy of Queer Nation"!"

OR the 'Young Democrats' float featuring a statue of Stalin, Soviet Flag, and a banner waving that reads, "TRAITORS".

[SouthernFreebird]

They are perfectly free to run their floats, uncompromised, just not in someone else's parade.

A public school function funded by their parents is someone elses parade? just whos parade is it then?

[RightWingAtheist]

Here at the University of Minnesota, the homecoming committee chose as its masters of ceremonies a pair of foul-mouthed transvestite stand-up comics who did a "toned down" version of their regular act at Minneapolis's largest gay bar, but which still included a lot of not-very-subtle sexual inneuedo. When someone wrote a letter complaining about the innappropriate way these two behaved, the homecoming organizers lamely apologized while adding that they had a "responsibility to entertain a diverse student body" and that the duo had a right to "artistic control".

[RightWingAtheist]

By the way, was the school's "large Muslim population" allowed to make its own float?

[general_re]

I think he must be describing how he would like the law to be, rather than how it is. Rightly or wrongly, the law is fairly clear about the First Amendment rights of students in school and at school functions - students may express themselves so long as it isn't "disruptive". And who decides what is and isn't "disruptive"? Why, the school administration does. "Liberty Counsel" has got a hard row to hoe, insofar as it means overturning half-a-dozen Supreme Court cases to get what the kids want...

[fnord]

that's what I meant. The 1st applies to public speech. This jack wants to apply it to school ... methinks his interpretation could be disruptive to classwork (even in publik skools)

[mansion]

Don't they even teach about the Constitution in law school any more?

I'm sure they do - but I have read the constitution a couple of times and I don't seem to recall the "Mandatory Public Schooling" and "Nullification of Constitutional Protection of Students" clauses.

The fact is, students ARE citizens, and as such are protected by the First Amendment. To deny them their right to free speech means that the government may suspend citizens' constitutional protections at its whim - because Dr. Phillips High is a PUBLIC school and attendance is compulsory.

(btw, "Illuminatus!" is a great book.)

[hmmmmm]

However, Principal Gene Trochinski said the theme did not belong in a pep rally, and he worried that it would offend Dr. Phillips' "fairly large" student Muslim population.

Ummmmm... so? This is America, we're allowed... it's called Freedom.