STUDENTS AT A California high school ran a photo of a student burning a flag on the cover of their final issue of the year.Then the school principal threatened to shut down the newspaper - which is called the Volcano.
"The paper's done," said the principal. "There is not going to be a school newspaper next year."
A student editor convinced school district officials that the newspaper deserves a second chance.
What is the right decision? Read the reader's comments at the bottom of the linked pages before you make up your mind.
5 comments:
Well i think the principal shouldn't shut down the newspaper. If the issue was already printed he can't do anything about it and use it against the paper--it says so in the constitution but then again burning an american flag is a federal crime
Flag burning is an issue that repeatedly pops up in the Supreme Court.
I believe the last case was about 20 years ago. The court voted that burning a flag is considered making a statement and therefore protected by the first amendment's freedom of speech.
So, at this point in time, flag burning is not actually a federal crime.
- George (the teacher)
The fact that this is a school paper makes the First Ammendment issue irrelevant. Consider this: if I owned a newspaper and you wrote an article I didn't like and I fired you, I wouldn't be violating your Consitutional right to free expression, would I? Just because you have the right to do something doesn't mean that someone (whether it be the school, gov, or a private citizen) must help you. Saying that shutting down the paper is unconstitutional also means that the government must make signs for anti-war protesters. The government must allow dissent, but not provide a printing press for it. However, I think the responsible thing to do would be to allow the paper to continue because it is doing a good job of being provocative.
I do not think the principal should shut down the newspaper. I do understand why the principal would be upset about this because it is considered a federal crime. I do believe the newspaper should get a second chance though and this time ask the principal to look over the paper before publishing if he feels so strongly about what is shown in the school newspaper.
so i just read the comments above. I had no idea that flag burning is not a crime. Then the newspaper should definitely have a second chance.
Post a Comment