Posted on 02/10/2005 8:44:36 AM PST by stevebowl
Conservative teens say school is biased against them By Peter Schworm, Globe Staff | February 10, 2005
Soft-spoken and casually dressed, Chris Bowler does not look the part of a political firebrand. But his new conservative club has ignited considerable controversy at Hudson High School.
To advertise the club's first meeting in December, Bowler put up a poster that included the website of a national organization for high school conservative clubs. The page includes links to videos of beheadings by Iraqi insurgents, saying the links are meant to show what terrorists can do.
The posters immediately drew administrators' ire. Within a few hours, the posters were removed and access to the Web page was blocked on school computers. An attempt to display the posters last month was also squelched.
"The material was way beyond what I believe the school should be advertising," said principal John Stapelfeld. "It seemed to be supporting violence more than supporting the conservative message."
Bowler and his supporters believe the response stems from a political bias in the school against conservatism. To them, it's ironic that students should be censored in a school that has won praise for innovative civics and community service programs.
"They pride themselves on giving everyone a chance to say what they feel, up until this," said Bowler, a senior at the school. "We just want people to hear both sides."
Mark Goodman, executive director of the Student Press Law Center in Arlington, Va., said schools in the United States can legally curb speech only if it will create a "substantial disruption" in the school. In this case, he said, the students appear to have the law on their side.
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
Here is a response to an email a buddy of mine sent to the school:
(History: I went to this school, graduated in the Seventies, my father spent many years on the School Board and left in the early 80's...my dad, a 30 year USN vet, would have never approved of this BS going on)
It's interesting what gets encouraged and what gets discouraged. Check out what this kid got an "A" for:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1340078/posts
He (Principal Stapelfeld) added that showing terrorist murders did not address the more central problem of growing anti-Americanism abroad.
"Unfortunately, we really haven't dealt with the fact that we're not well received in the world anywhere," he said. "That's the issue."
I guess Mr. Stapelfeld is going to take over the club and move it in a more conservative position.
I have heard, and I don't know if it is true, that students were loaned copies of Farenheit 911 to take home and watch.
Can anyone confirm this?
If so, the vitriolic content of that is far more objectionable than links to websites with beheadings and such, and has the additional drawback of being patently false.
Instead of handing out Farenheit 9/11, they should hand out the documentary of that day produced by the Naudet brothers, simply called "9/11'. I watched it recently, and it brought back vividly every single emotion I felt that day. And it has the advantage of being a completely and totally unvarnished truth of the horror of that day.
The beheading clips are classified as obscene and they are, but it is the truth. We should all face the truth in these matters.
Denny Crane: "There are two places to find the truth. First God and then Fox News."
On that we can certainly agree. This is not stuff to show to kids.
But, the point I make, is Farenheit 9/11 better in these respects? It may not be as gruesome or horrifying, but as propaganda may be equally as damaging.
I guess that is the end of the discussion.
So what?
It was not at the same school, or even in the same state.
Change this headline to read "_________________(place adjective here) teens say school is biased against them". I never met a teen that didn't think this.
I think his point is that this is what passes for creativity and independent thinking in many schools today. Not only that, it is aided, abetted and encouraged by many of the educators who are charged with teaching, but instead, indoctrinate. I am not saying it is pervasive, but I am saying it exists.
Actually, the principal at this particular school has backed this kid in letting him run the Conservative students club with a free hand - except for this poster incident where he insisted on having a link to the gruesome videos. Recently , the school approved the club holding an assembly for students which featured a speaker who is a politically incorrect pro-life/anti-abortion advocate. Before we all jump on the bandwagon condemning this beleaguered school principal, maybe a few of us oughta give him a phone call and hear him out. Anything else is just playing into the media's crass publicity mongering.
Ya. It's that right-wing Boston Globe that's to blame.
LOL!
You nailed it.
Your kid goes to this same school?
Check out how these high school students fought back.
http://hq.protestwarrior.com/?page=/featured/PHS/PHS.php
I guess you didn't quite catch the irony.
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