A school in Wolcott violated a student’s right to free expression when school officials asked him to remove a shirt that contained an anti-gay message, according to a statement released by the American Civil Liberties Union this week.
Seth Groody, a Wolcott High School junior, wore a T-shirt on April 20 that depicted a rainbow on the front — a well-known symbol of gay rights — with a slash over it. On the back of the shirt was a pair of male and female stick figures seen holding hands, as well as the phrase “Excessive Speech Day," the ACLU said.
The ACLU said Groody wore the shirt on a designated Day of Silence, which is part of a national movement to raise awareness of bullying and harassment of gays and lesbians. The school’s decision to order Groody remove the shirt — which he did under protest — was a violation of his First Amendment rights, citing a recent similar case, the ACLU said.
The organization, which notified the school district via a letter, said the shirt was intended to express his dislike for gay marriage and his opposition to the designated Day of Silence. According to the Hartford Courant, the ACLU said it doesn't agree with Groody's message but said the student had a right to wear that shirt.
“It was a statement of opinion that school officials and other students might disagree with but that would not substantially interfere with the operation of the school or invade anyone's rights,” the ACLU said.
With so many issues coming up on a yearly basis about school apparel, should schools police the slogans on T-shirts that kids wear? Take our poll and add your thoughts in our comment section.
I agree with the other commentators that a school should ban all disruptive speech from the facility so as to not disturb the educational process. Giving students cart blanche speech rights opens up a Pandora's Box that would seriously infringe upon a school's decorum and atmosphere.
I think most of us can agree "Abercrombie" is not offensive. Anti-gay slogans are offensive. AND Pro-Gay slogans are offensive to many as well. So how about NO SLOGANS AT ALL in school? No "Save a Boob" no "Save the Whales" No "Rainbows are for lovers" etc. It is distracting, even if only briefly some could lead to altercations. We were all kids ourselves once and I remember almost the same conversation only it was about earrings in a boys ear. If it won't help you to learn or is not a part of the typical school day it doesn't need to be in a school setting.
I went to a private high school. There was no free speech for our dress code. If it offended anyone official at the school your parents had to drop off new clothes or pick you up. No grey area. No appeals. If you couldn't dress in a polite approproate way you couldn't be there. It was pretty simple. And I certainly never felt like my rights had been violated. On the contrary - it sent a nice message of how to behave in a polite way in public. Something that is often lacking in todays young people. Until children are full adults and capable of more rational behavior and decision making skills they shouldn't have a say. They have plenty of time outside of school hours to exercise their right to free speech.
As for uniforms in schools....not such a great idea as the uniforms are hugely marked up when those rules are put in place. I still think that we should not allow slogans on clothing in schools unless it is school related. It would eliminate the whole problem and is a legal remedy that cannot be fought. But until that day a student can wear their Gay pride shirt and others may wear their Anti-gay pride shirts.
Here's an idea, instead of banning anything- sit them down for a talk- let the kid express why he feels the way he does- let the silence day observers express what they feel- teach people to accept we have differences but can live with dignity and respect- Forcing anyone not to wear something- doesn't change the tension- it in fact may make things more hostile- I say teach the youth to communicate and that includes listening to sides we don't agree with. It was a missed learning opportunity by the adults-
The schools should not be a forum for political speech. Once the school opened the door to political speech by picking sides in the debate concerning gay marriage (yes, this is unsaid elephant in the room), it has no right to discrimination based on content. It only has the right to be content neutral, i.e whether the message objectively creates a disturbance in the educational process. You are defending the use of a one-way ratchet to a particular political view and using the school system to advance it.
Seems rather prejudicial. How is it that a minority group (gays) want things look at one way and for themselves and another way for the majority (straights). Isn't that Bi-Constitutionality? {Oops, that's another fringe group altogether]
The trick is to craft understandable, common sense laws and rules and then apply them consistently and fairly to all. No personal bias, political agendas or flavor of the month political correctness, just good old commons sense. Finally, parents have to take responsibility for their children as well. Too many times that does not occur today.