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Who Thought This One Up?
By Dan Greenman

Thursday, February 27, 2003

Remember in December (link) when a high school student in Ohio was suspended for wearing a T-shirt that read "Not My President" with crosshairs over the face of George W. Bush? A similar thing happened in Dearborn, Mich. earlier this month when a student wore a shirt with the words "International Terrorist" and a picture of Bush. The student was told by school officials that he could either take off the shirt or go home. He chose to go home. (http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/story/0,1282,-2416851,00.html)

In my experience, schools have never been places where the Constitution bears much weight. However, even students have rights, including the right to wear controversial T-shirts. According to the ACLU Students Rights site (which can be found at http://www.aclu.org/StudentsRights/StudentsRightsMain.cfm), "teachers and administrators have a responsibility to provide a safe environment," but "they also have a responsibility to respect each student's individual rights."

Bretton Barber, the student in this story, was practicing his freedom of expression, and most likely wasn't putting his safety or anybody else's in jeopardy. He should be praised for doing this. In fact, Barber, who hopes to pursue a career in criminal law, has said that he hopes to organize a group of students to protest the banning of the T-shirt.

Email Dan dgreenm1@ithaca.edu