Posted on 06/02/2005 7:41:25 AM PDT by SmithL
LAFAYETTE - An Acalanes High School sophomore whose flippant campaign signs got him booted from the class elections ballot told the school board Wednesday his right to free speech has been violated.
Jeremy Wolff told the board that a teacher made a mistake when he decided to censor the sign, but when the school administration backed the decision, "that little mistake grew into a First Amendment right issue."
Wolff and a handful of supporters spoke during the public comment portion of the meeting. School board members, who cannot address issues that are not on the agenda, had no response. But, staff indicated they planned to meet with the family Friday to discuss the issue.
Wolff says he was disqualified after clashing with leadership teacher Michael McAlister over his campaign sign, which urged students to vote for him for vice president "because the president won't die."
It was just a joke, a slogan he had been saving since the idea first occurred to him last year, Wolff said. "It's pretty much teasing myself, saying why not vote for me, I won't have any power."
But Wolff said McAlister refused to let him use the signs because they "made light of death" and could be misinterpreted. So instead, Wolff covered the offending words with tape, and wrote "Censored" on the posters.
It was partly a protest, and partly because a sign that simply said "Jeremy L. Wolff For Junior Class Vice President" would be "obnoxiously serious, and you don't win high school elections that way," he said.
In a school assembly May 10, he gave a campaign speech where he says he echoed the spirit of the original campaign poster: Why not vote for me, it's not like schools shut down when there's an ineffective school administration.
By the end of the day, McAlister had disqualified him for being "disobedient" and "disrespectful," Wolff said. The election took place over the next two days, and Wolff tried to mount a write-in campaign, but says McAlister refused to count the votes for him. He appealed to school administrators, who supported the teacher.
Acalanes district Superintendent Jim Negri said Tuesday the school and the district cannot comment on the incident because it involves student discipline. On Wednesday, McAlister said the district had advised him not to talk about the incident, but referenced the court ruling in Poling v. Murphy.
In that 1989 decision, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the school's right to regulate a student's campaign speech after one candidate was disqualified for insulting an administrator in his speech.
"To sum it up from our perspective, he got kicked out of the election for exercising his right to free speech," said Jeremy Wolff's father, Charlie Wolff. When he and his wife heard of their son's protest, "We were both very proud of him. We thought it was a great way to respond."
Charlie Wolff said he is particularly upset over the Acalanes administration's "knee-jerk reaction in support of a teacher who made some bad decisions."
The family has discussed the matter with the American Civil Liberties Union, but are hoping to resolve the problem directly with the district. Jeremy Wolff does not want to overturn the election results, just get officials to acknowledge that his freedom of speech was violated.
Despite the dispute, Wolff's political aspirations are undimmed. He plans to run for office again next year, but he may rethink his slogans.
"Well, I won't use 'death' in them," he said.
Has the makings of a good DEM!!
I was agreeing with the student, until I read what his signs said. "Yell 'fire' in a crowded theatre." The First Amendment is not absolute, and this pup just got a taste of that notion.
IME, the admins always back the staff against the students. If 10 students say they saw X and the staff member says it did not happen, the staff member wins without question or even minimal investigation. BTDT. Worse than women in a Sharia court. Mini Mifflins (protect the school and staff, not the kids) happen daily in schools.
I guess it depends on where you live. In our area, it is often the opposite. I have friends who are teachers. One was physically assaulted by a student. NO disciplinary action was taken for the assault. My friend no longer teaches. That is just one of a number of incidents where students behavior were dismissed with no more than a verbal, "Now you shouldn't do that."
Only time I have seen that happen here is with Special Ed kids, which makes it a sticky issue.
Here the educrats stick together like superglue. I've gotten cross ways with them a number of times. Minor issues like staff flouting the 504 plan for my child and such. They hated being called on it.
That cinches it.
The whole family has sh*t for brains.
Pleading ignorance.
What's a 504 plan?
Just as it is depressing to see some parents still supporting their child's inappropriate behavior.
Uh. That was the whole point of this.
When did this become business as usual for family/school matters? No wonder the kid is a jerk.
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