Question:
This happened at a high school very close to mine

Politics, Free Speech Come to Life in School Election

"Eons ago, when the Beatles ruled the music charts and the Beach Boys were the hottest band in America, schools got themselves into the business of enforcing social codes. Worried about boys wearing their hair too long or girls hiking their skirts up too short, school administrators across the country announced firm rules about the length of each.

Today, as boys not only wear their hair in ponytails, but often dye it purple, that sounds amusing and quaint. But it was dead serious at the time. It was not unusual to see an assistant principal carrying a ruler in the halls. He would use it to measure the length that a girl's skirt rose above her knees or to calculate the distance between a boy's eyebrows and his overhanging hair.

Those who failed the test were subject to disciplinary action and at that time it was possible that a student might be expelled from school for wearing his hair too long.

Now, those school administrators were not (at least usually) bad people. They were deeply concerned about their schools, about standards, and had the best intentions. But looking back at it, they overreacted.

Today, as girls go to school wearing skirts that would require a yardstick to measure the distance from the hem to the knee, you would think that those days are over. And in most cases they are. But there is something lasting and inevitable about the tug and push of boundaries by students and the desire for school officials to hold the line.

All of which brings us to Acalanes High School in Lafayette and senior student Jeremy Wolff. Over the past year the two have done their best to help English teachers who would like to have an example to illustrate the concept of "a tempest in a teapot."

This all began last spring, when Jeremy was running in class elections. Now, the matter has worked its way to the superintendent of schools. Today, Wolff is preparing for a scheduled meeting with the school board on Monday. And it is all over his campaign poster.

Here's what happened. Wolff decided to run for junior class vice president, and, like all candidates, tried to think of a clever, eye-catching poster. For example, one student made one that said, "Vote for me or I will destroy you."

"It was hilarious," Wolff says. "It had this great little graphic with him with his eyes all red."

Wolff came up with one that he thought had the same kind of irreverent humor. It was a photo of him with the American flag waving in the background. It said, "Jeremy L. Wolff for Junior Class Vice President. Because the president won't die."

We will now pause so you can gauge your reaction. If you think the poster was amusing in an irreverent Jon Stewart kind of way, you are in the Wolff camp. If you think it was an unacceptable message that crosses the line of good taste, you are on the side of the administrators. (Acalanes Principal John Nickerson said he is not able to comment because it is a pending issue before the school board.)

Wolff, who thought he'd come up with an idea that would amuse his classmates, says if he had it to do over he probably wouldn't have shown the poster to an administration official before putting it up.

"There's no requirement to show them the posters," he says. "He was just in the room and I thought it was a funny poster."

School officials disagreed. They worried, they told Wolff, that parents would be upset. And what if something terrible happened and the president did die?

Wolff was told to either not post the image on the wall or cut off the last sentence. And here, of course, is the traditional moment when things escalate. Wolff put the poster up, but used tape to cover the offending sentence and wrote the word "censored" on the tape.

And away we go.

Things have happened pretty quickly since then. Wolff was pulled out of class that day and told he was removed from the election. He appealed to the administration, then to the superintendent. He ended up being a write-in candidate and came in third.

Wolff, now fired up and treating this as a point of honor, and the district equally dug in, traded citations from the Educational Code. (And yes, smart alecks, Jeremy's father is an attorney.) Students, parents and teachers have gotten involved on both sides of the issue and Jeremy appeared before the school board during the public comment portion of a meeting before setting up an appointment as an agenda item for Monday.

It has certainly been educational -- for everyone. And now it will be interesting to see what the school board wants to do with this hot potato. Wolff says he just wants them to say that it was wrong to take him out of the election. He'd like an apology, but doubts that is going to happen. The Acalanes administration sees it as an issue of backing their authority.

"I've learned a lot about California state law," Wolff says, "which is something I have an interest in, so I guess this has turned into a positive thing."

Or at least the one thing he will remember from his high school education."

source

So, should he be allow to run the sign or not? Note that this happened like, last year, but we can still discuss it as the fight still continues.

Choices:
Yes, he should be allowed to run it.
No, he should not.
He should only be allowed to run the censored signs.

 

Error: You don't have that right, supposedly. Because you are not an actual citizen. You have to be 18 for that right.

I hate it how we have the freedom of speech, but then again we are censored. So much for our 1st amendment.



love is the one thing you can never do wrong

quote:

I love how they totally perverted my signature and used it as the topic of this thread in the newsletter.

What?

School elections are fairly ... pointless. Like most elections, they're popularity contests. The most qualified person is most often the least liked and therefore not chosen by a majority of the students. The funniest/prettiest/most popular person is always the winner of those elections, and sometimes they're qualified, but not always.

I love how they totally perverted my signature and used it as the topic of this thread in the newsletter.

quote:

When it comes to student body elections, I say let the most hilarious man win.

Damn. So THAT'S how I lost...

quote:

Originally posted by katalinacmnacha89:
I think you guys would potentially vote for these people for the wrong reason.

In all fairness, has anyone ever voted in a high school election for the right reasons?

When it comes to student body elections, I say let the most hilarious man win.

quote:

don't think I can get through a sentence in school without using the words "die" or "go kill yourself, repeatedly"

But you're also not as much of a rich brat. At least, that's what I get from you.

quote:

Originally posted by freedomordeath:
I don't agree with the brat's use of the word "destroy."

I don't think I can get through a sentence in school without using the words "die" or "go kill yourself, repeatedly"

Well no one can actually say if they would have voted for them becuase they don't know the competition.

I think you guys would potentially vote for these people for the wrong reason.

I would have voted for the "becuase the presedent won't die" becuase that's funny, you have to admit. It's not threatening anyone, which are the only grounds for censorship that I see.

I think both signs are hilarious. I would've voted for both of them. I guess because of the rise of school violence people get all nuts about threats.

I would've let it go unless a member of the student body was offended.

Am I the only one who finds anything funny about the "I will destroy you" line? I would vote for someone with that on their campaign poster.

Oh, it was a different poster altogether. Well then it sounds like their candidates are very corrupt either way. I didn't like either statement, but I do agree that the other comment ("or I will destroy you") was more extreme and should have been removed. But isn't it interesting that the article doesn't mention the censorship of the other one? It's only because the kid is a spoiled brat.

The "I will destroy you" was allowed up, I think, which I found more offensive than what they were actually mad about.

I don't agree with the brat's use of the word "destroy." He has a terrible sense of humor. I would be offended if someone running had campaign posters saying "I will destroy you" and I don't know how someone wouldn't be. This sounds like... hmmm... who was it saying he appealed a bunch of things because, he claims, administration thought he was fascist... I think it was reactionary...

Hehe...I can't believe they got all fired up about the "censoring" bit. This just further strengthens my hypothesis that all school administrators are required by law to have titanium rods inserted into their rectums before taking the position.

In other words, they all seem to have major sticks up the ***.

It's pathetic to censor something like that. The odds of the class president are very slim. This is clearly an issue of free speach and the student should be allowed it. His posters didn't target anyone and ran on the same typical humor you will find on comedy central.

People need to lighten up.