STUDENT FREEDOMS Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

STUDENT FREEDOMS - Research Paper Example The first amendment of the constitution provided that â€Å"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances† (The Pocket Constitution: U. S. Constitution – Amendment 1, 1995). It gives the citizen their rights to express themselves and gives them the right of speech. This freedom has been envied by many people all over the world as only a handful of countries allow their citizens such rights. However, one of the main concerns in today’s world is the misuse of the rights given to them. In schools students use this rights to break the school rules stating that it is indeed their constitutional rights to express themselves as they want. The constitution did provide us with the freedom of speech and press, but it is not right to take this freedom and say anything we want anywhere, at anytime. Freedom should be used but in no way should it be mis-used. The freedom of speech should be limited in public school as students need to adhere to the school rules and to maintain social stability, racial harmony and to protect the students from dangerous influences which can hamper their academic growth. Many people who are against banning freedom of expressions in school argues that censorship should not be done as the banning of ideas, thoughts and information in any stream is unconstitutional as the first amendment guarantees freedom of speech and the press. History has shown us time and again that man is an animal if not regulated by rules and regulations. If students are given the freedom to do what they want regardless of the school norms and regulations, the society as we know it will be chaotic. Freedom should not be taken for granted and should not be misused. Freedom of expressions should be limited in schools to maintain law and order. It should also be kept in mind that too much freedom for students can be a dangerous thing. Limiting the freedom of expressions in school makes sure that dangerous ideas, ideologies, philosophies and outlook does not disrupt the students. School rules and regulations are also solely motivated by morality and also the belief that exposure to too much negativity in any streams causes students to behave in a destructive ways. Schools have the right to discipline their students if the students behave in a vulgar way which can disrupt the harmony or influence the students in a negative way. One of the famous cases regarding schools right is Frederick v Morse.  Joseph Frederick, who was a senior at Alaska Douglas High school, sued his school for suspending him for 10 days. Joseph Frederick, put up a 14 long chart at an Olympic torch relay in 2002. His banner read â€Å"Bongs hits 4 Jesus† He was suspended by the then high school Principal Deborah Morse for violating t he school policy. The principal stand point was that Joseph Frederick violated the school policy by â€Å"promoting illegal substances at an event sanctioned by the school†Ã‚  (Free Speech Rights of Students: The Issue: When May Administrators in Public Secondary Schools and Colleges Restrict the Speech of Students?, n.d.). The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals sided with Frederick based on the First Amendment rights. However, Kenneth Starr filed a petition for cert at the Supreme Court. In June 2007, a verdict was announced on the