JUDGE: SCHOOL HAD RIGHT TO STRIKE "WHITE RABBIT" FROM BAND PLAYLIST

The way things are headed, the U.S. Supreme Court will be asked to decide
whether "White Rabbit," the Jefferson Airplane's 1960s anthem to drugs, is
suitable for play by the Fort Zumwalt North High School marching band.

On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Rodney W. Sippel said the Fort Zumwalt
School District has the right to ban the song and dismissed a suit that
sought to restore it to the playlist of the "Panther Pride" band of Fort
Zumwalt North, of O'Fallon, Mo.

Joseph L. Green, the lawyer who filed the suit for 14 band members, said he
will ask the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals here to reverse Sippel's
decision.

The task may be daunting. In Sippel's order dismissing the case, he cited a
1988 Supreme Court decision upholding the right of the Hazelwood School
District to ban an article about teen pregnancy from a high school
newspaper. In that decision, the court upheld an earlier 8th Circuit ruling.

Regardless, Green said other federal courts have taken narrower views of
how school authorities may treat student activities.

If the 8th Circuit rejects the "White Rabbit" appeal, perhaps the Supreme
Court may be willing to review its Hazelwood decision, Green said.

"Assuming the worst (in the 8th Circuit), we'll ask the U.S. Supreme Court
to take another look at the Hazelwood case," he said.

Sippel, in ruling in favor of Fort Zumwalt school officials, said the
district "has the authority and the responsibility to refuse to sponsor
student speech that might reasonably be perceived to advocate drug or
alcohol use or conduct otherwise inconsistent with the shared values of a
civilized order."

The dispute began in September, when district Superintendent Bernard DuBray
banned the Fort Zumwalt North band from performing "White Rabbit," one of
the most popular songs from the 1960s. DuBray said the song "sends a mixed
message about drugs."

"White Rabbit" had been part of the band's 1960s theme show, along with
"Nights in White Satin" and "Tuesday Afternoon" by the Moody Blues and
"Roundabout" by Yes.

Green pointed out Tuesday that band members never planned to sing "White
Rabbit's" lyrics, which begin, "One pill makes you larger, and one pill
makes you small, and the ones that mother gives you don't do anything at
all. Go ask Alice when she's 10 feet tall."

DuBray acted after Lisa Leake, a parent of a band member and a school board
member, complained that the 95-member band played "White Rabbit" at a high
school football game, Sippel noted.

Green, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union, questioned why the
district banned "White Rabbit" but allowed a student dance team to perform
at football games to a Beastie Boys song that includes references to
drinking, drug use and sexual activity. He accused the school district of
censoring the band and employing a "double standard."

Sippel's decision to dismiss the suit came six months after he rejected the
upset band members' request for an immediate order that would have allowed
the band to play "White Rabbitt" at Fort Zumwalt North's final home
football game last season.