STUDENTS HAVE RIGHT TO FREE SPEECH

When high school senior Joseph Frederick unveiled a poster reading
"Bong hits for Jesus" during the 2002 Winter Olympics Torch Relay in
a school-sponsored activity in Juneau, Alaska, the school principal
suspended him for a period of 10 days. Frederick sued in response to
what he believed to be unfair treatment by the school administration,
specifically principal Deborah Morse.

Since 2002, the case has gone before the district court, which ruled
in favor of Morse. The Ninth Circuit then reversed the district court
and ruled in favor of Fredrick, as they felt his right to free speech
had been denied. The Supreme Court recently heard the case on Monday
and has yet to make a ruling.

While it has been five years since Frederick revealed his banner, the
case is still drawing interest and controversy from proponents on
both sides of the issue. According to The Associated Press, "The
Bush administration, backing Morse, wants the court to adopt a broad
rule that could essentially give public schools the right to clamp
down on any speech with which it disagrees." The idea of giving
public school officials the authority to crack down on any students'
opinions they find disagreeable is ridiculous. At the same time, a
ruling in favor of Frederick begs for future students to go to
ridiculous lengths to test the school's limits.

The school's argument for suspending Frederick was that his banner
promoted the use of illegal substances and was promoting a pro-drug
message. In an article written by the AP, Frederick acknowledges
trying to incite a reaction from the school administration but
completely denies promoting drugs or anything other than free speech.
While the school system in Juneau does not promote drug-use, at the
time of the incident the 1975 Alaska Supreme Court decision in Ravin
v. State was still in effect, allowing adults the right to possess
small amounts of marijuana for personal use. However, recently House
Bill 149 was signed, re-criminalizing the possession of small amounts
of marijuana by adults in their home. The legality of this bill will
be questioned when it is expected to go before the Alaska Supreme
Court, in the spring of this year.

When it comes down to it, the case Morse v. Frederick, has very
little to do with drug use and everything to do with free speech,
despite the opinions of Morse's supporters. The question of whether
or not school officials have the right to punish a student for
speaking out about religion, or even drugs is being brought to the forefront.

While Frederick acknowledges creating his banner merely for a
reaction, even if he had meant his message, he still had the right to
say it. While his message was in fact utterly pointless and most
likely offensive to many, he has the right to express his opinion,
and it is not the school's right to prohibit him from doing so.

Frederick should not have been suspended for what the banner said,
but rather for causing a disturbance on school property. If anything,
his actions were more deserving of serving a school detention, not
escalating into legal trouble that has ultimately reached the Supreme Court.

It was not the school's place to restrict Frederick's right to free
speech and Morse should have known that she was not constitutionally
right. Previous Supreme Court decisions have established the
illegality of punishing someone based on their opinions towards drugs
and alcohol. The right to free speech is one of the most precious
civil liberties we have as Americans. While political correctness
has in a sense limited our ability to say whatever we want, whenever
we want, our basic fundamental right to free speech still exists. It
should be protected and valued above all else, more so than the
authority of a county school system. The Supreme Court's ruling on
the case of Morse v. Frederick should reflect the value and
importance of free speech guaranteed to us all by the Constitution.