Posted on 03/03/2006 7:57:10 AM PST by LouAvul
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Three students and their parents sued their school district in federal court, claiming their free-speech rights are being denied by a ban on the Confederate battle flag at the students' high school.
The William Blount High School students, Derek Barr, Chris Nicole White and Roger Craig White, said they were threatened with suspension if they refused to cover or turn inside out shirts bearing the Confederate emblem.
The students complied but they and their parents sued, seeking a preliminary injunction to lift the ban.
"Out of all the T-shirts that are worn to school every day, a student cannot express pride in his Southern heritage at William Blount High School," said attorney Kirk Lyons of the Southern Legal Resource Center, a North Carolina organization that supports the lawsuit.
The lawsuit names Principal Steve Lafon, Schools Director Alvin Hord and the Blount County School Board.
"Our policy is that any type of clothing which has graphics, words or pictures that are distracting to the learning process of the school ... are not supposed to be worn," schools spokeswoman Alisa Teffeteller said.
(Excerpt) Read more at modbee.com ...
Government indoctrination centers (aka, schools ) need to get their act together.
On second thought, we need to shut down gubmnt schools. Period.
This kind of anti-PC action is great. I hope these kids get a full ride at college out of this.
Perhaps the schools spokeswoman can give examples of T-shirts, or other clothing, that were banned in the past other than T-shirts bearing the Confederate emblem?
If Malcolm X and other black hate is allowed then their rights are definitely being infringed upon.
Then again, my guess is they are white and will simply be labeled RACIST and told to shut up and sit down.
When I was in state-funded law school, the student leadership used school funds to throw a "red party", where everyone came dressed as their favorite communist. (BTW, I thought: why do people think this is any better than a "nazi party"?)
Yet, these people can't adorn themselves with a confederate flag? I would never wear that gaudy emblem, but what's the big deal...this is ridciculous!
A female student at Boston University wore a t-shirt that read "It's a Black thing. You wouldn't understand". So a White student had a t-shirt made saying the same for Whites. Banned!
Maybe it will be to Vanderbilt where than can live in Confederate Hall.
many of these places have seperate student body governments based on the SKIN COLOR ALONE of a person.
"black student governemnts" are just as racist as the KKK.
Waiting for the ACLU to jump in and defend free speech...waiting...still waiting...
"On second thought, we need to shut down gubmnt schools. Period."
Shut them down, bulldoze the buildings and neutral steer on the debris to crush it into dust.
Dixie ping!
I despise political correctness, but do children under 18 really have freedom of anything? There's nothing wrong with setting boundaries for children. What if the dress code said no hot pants, micro minis, saggy pants, tank tops, piercings, and no emblems or foul language on clothes. Would you still have a problem with it? Do any of us really have freedom of anything? If our employer says we can't wear the Confederate flag to work, then we can't. . .unless we want to be fired.
Dixie Ping!
I doubt you've even looked. The ACLU has defended the rights of people to wear and display the Confederate flag on many occasions.
Here's an example of a similar case in Georgia:
... No lawsuits have been filed in Georgia, but the state chapter of the ACLU has sent letters urging schools to lift the bans. Georgia ACLU legal director Gery Weber said the bans violate students' free-speech rights unless a school can show evidence that a shirt causes classroom disruptions.
"It is hard to say a Confederate flag on a T-shirt is going to create that when, until recently, the Georgia flag had that on it and was placed in all the schools,'' he said
http://www.freedomforum.org/templates/document.asp?documentID=13680&printerfriendly=1
.
My H.S. (The Rebels with flag too) is now the Patriots. The entire time I was there I never thought of it as racist and the symbol/name never made me act that way. If it does I feel for those who are now eagles and are mentally disturbed because they are not able to fly, or ............. use your imagination.
But the point was that other shirts with emblems were allowed, just not the Confederate flag.
A T-shirt with Che Guevara on it is not a distraction?
How about a T-shirt that says, "School District Boards are Emotionally Retarded".
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