Posted on 04/28/2005 7:36:38 PM PDT by beaversmom
DES MOINES, Iowa -- Two students at Roosevelt High School say their rights were violated when they were asked to remove their T-shirts.
Sisters Brittany and Tamera Chandler said Tuesday was Pro-Life Day, so they wore T-shirts with a picture of an unborn baby and the phrases, "She hears, kicks and feels pain" and "Abortion kills kids."
"I figured it would open some people's eyes ... that abortion is wrong," said Tamara Chandler, a senior.
Anita Micich, principal of Roosevelt, said students became upset about the shirts and a concerned teacher referred the girls to the office. Officials then asked the girls to cover the shirts or remove them, NewsChannel 8 reported.
The girls removed their shirts but Brittany Chandler said she fought the decision.
"I don't see what the problem is. I'm standing up for what I believe," Brittany Chandler said.
Micich said the shirts were an issue of disrupting the educational environment and not an issue of expression of freedom.
Chuck Hurley, of Iowa Family Policy Center, said the disruption had to be substantial and material.
"It can't just be offensive," he said.
Supporters of the girls compared the case to Tinker v. Des Moines Independent School District. In that case, the U.S. Supreme Court said students do not leave their free speech rights at the school door.
"Students don't shed constitutional rights at the schoolhouse gate," Hurley said.
The girls, who say they were threatened with suspension, said they want an apology. School officials denied the allegation.
The truth REALLY bothers lefties.
So, now an image of an unborn child is offensive? I guess some people just do not want to be reminded of what they are actually doing, with abortion.
Of course if they had a picture of Osama bin Laden, Che Guevara, Joseph Stalin or some other murdering hero of the left on their shirts, that would be fine.
Moral Absolutes Ping.
I shouldn't be, but this shocks even me. Considering the sick slogans and more that kids are allowed to wear to school, I'm really amazed that these girls had to remove their rather innocuous pro-life tee shirts.
I can't beleive so many people still send their children to public screwels.
Let me know if you want on/off this pinglist.
Yeah, I understand that several public schools have actually declared an official Osama bin Laden/Che Guevara/Joseph Stalin day. My kid is going dressed as Stalin. They're handing out candy.
And that's exactly what they should have done.
Back in the day, when I was a connoisseur of civil disobedience, a bunch of guys were threatened with suspension for coming to Sunday dinner without coats and ties (which were required). They went home and changed into coats, ties-and nothing else.
The power of the Left to suppress speech really cries out for direct action.
Or is it possible those same officials are duplicitous double-dealing liars?
I think you'd better get in here and defend their right to direct students about what is or is not correct behavior and thought.
Are they willing to equally exclude EVERYTHING that at least one person finds disruptive and offensive?
That's a rhetorical question, of course the answer is no, the Left are hypocrites, they aren't really concerned with equality, free speech or fairness.
I don't know if it's lefties so much as chicken you-know-what administrators who are afraid on any controversy. Administrators will also usually fire teachers in a heartbeat at the least sign of controversy. Spineless.
Funny, the local high school just had a day of silence for homosexuals and people wore shirts with an image of a tortured homosexual prostitute hanging on a fence and that was deemed OK by the school.
... and there will be a special property tax assesment on your home this year to help pay for it.
The little Hitlers with Ph.D's and M.Ed.'s have obviously learned nothing in 36 year. They should be seeking refunds from their diploma mills.
People got really upset at my former university when a group came with large signs featuring pictures of aborted fetuses. "These people are dispicable" seemed to be the groupthink answer. I almost went along with the sheep, but then realized that, you know, what's on those signs is real. These protesters didn't get pictures from horror movies. These pictures were real. I realized that this is why so many college students were revolted. These pictures, although terrifying, forced us all to face a very dark truth about what an abortion really is. I think being "pro-choice," unless one is pure evil, requires a massive suspension of belief. One must ignore a dark, hideous elephant in the room.
If my comment on a previous poster's hyperbole made anything think I supported abortion, I hope this will convince you otherwise.
I'm currently renting.
School uniforms. No more disruption.
If I was a zillionaire, I would create a chain of affordable private schools that would be radical in its methods: teaching. I would do my best to drive the pubic school system to its knees.
pictures...?
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