| The Case of �The Student Armbands� Mary Tinker and her brother John were opposed to the Vietnam War. They decided to wear black armbands to school as symbols of their objection. When school administrators learned of this, they adopted a policy of asking anyone wearing armbands to remove them. Students who refused would be suspended until they returned to school without the armbands. The Tinkers and three other students wore black armbands to school. Although some students argued the Vietnam issue in the halls, no violence occurred. Five protesting students were suspended from school until they came back without their armbands. Should wearing armbands be considered a form of expression protected by the Constitution? The Case of �Censorship of the School Newspaper� A high school principal deleted two pages from the year�s final issue of the school newspaper because these pages contained one story on student experiences with pregnancy and another about the impact of divorce on students. The principal believed that the stories had been written in such a way that the privacy rights of some students might be violated. He also believed the topics might offend some of the younger students at the school. The newspaper was written as part of the school�s advanced journalism class. Following the school�s regular practice, the journalism teacher had submitted the page proofs to the principal just before publication. The principal deleted the two pages on which the articles appeared. Those pages also contained several stories he did not object to. His reason for deleting the pages was that the school year was almost over, and he did not believe there would be enough time to rewrite the offensive stories. The existing school board policy said, �School sponsored student publications will not restrict free expression or diverse viewpoints within the rules of responsible journalism.� The student editors of the paper sued the principal and the school district, arguing that their First Amendment rights had been violated. 1. How is this case similar to Tinker? How is it different? 2. Did the principal violate the school�s policy? Explain. 3. Give one Constitutional argument for each side. |