Background
Summary and Questions
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Vocabulary
remove (to remove)
Define:
Use in a sentence:
violated (to violate)
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appealed (to appeal)
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Use in a sentence:
reverse
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Use in a sentence:
interfered, interference (to interfere)
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Use in a sentence:
censor
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The journalism class at Hazelwood East High School wrote articles
and put them together for the school paper. They gave the
newspaper to their teacher, Howard Emerson. Mr. Emerson showed
the newspaper to the principal. He asked the principal if
it was okay to make copies and hand them out to students at
the school.
Principal Reynolds did not like what he read. First, there
was an article about pregnant students. It described the students,
but it did not give their names. Principal Reynolds was afraid
that students would be able to figure out who the pregnant
students were. He also noticed that the article mentioned
sex and birth control. He did not think that students in ninth
grade should be reading about sex and birth control.
There was another article that Principal Reynolds did not
like. This one talked about divorce. In it, one student said
things about her father. For example, she said that her father
went out too much. She also said that her father didn't spend
enough time with his family. The father did not get a chance
to tell his side of the story. Principal Reynolds thought
this was unfair.
Principal Reynolds thought the paper needed to be changed.
But it was almost the end of the school year. He was afraid
that it would take the class a long time to change it. If
it took too long, the school year would be over and the other
students would not get the paper. So he told Mr. Emerson to
remove the pages that had the articles about pregnancy and
divorce. He said to make copies of the rest of the paper.
The students were very angry. They had spent a lot of time
writing the articles. They could have fixed them if Principal
Reynolds had given them a chance. Instead, he deleted two
pages that also contained other articles. They felt that this
was a violation of their First Amendment rights. They went
to the U.S. District Court. The court did not agree with them.
It said that school officials may limit students' speech in
the school newspaper if their decision has "a substantial
and reasonable basis." In other words, if he has a good reason,
it is okay for a principal to limit students' speech.
The students appealed the decision. The Court
of Appeals reversed the decision of the U.S.
District Court. This court said that the school paper
was a "public forum," or place where students could
express their views. The judges said that the school
could not censor the paper except "to avoid
. . . substantial interference with school
work or discipline . . . or the rights of others". They
did not think that the articles about pregnancy would
have interfered with schoolwork. They thought
the articles should have been printed.
The school appealed the decision of the Court
of Appeals. The Supreme Court of the United States thought
that this was an important case. It dealt with the rights
of students. It agreed to hear arguments from both sides.
Questions to Consider:
- In
the article about the pregnant students, what was Principal
Reynolds worried about?
- What
did Principal Reynolds say was wrong with the article
about divorce?
- What
did Principal Reynolds do to fix the problem? Did he have
any other choices?
- What
rights did the students say had been violated?
- Do
you think a principal should be allowed to limit what
is said in a school newspaper? Why or why not?
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