5th Grader Suspended For Anti-Obama Shirt

My Fox Colorado ^ | Monday, 22 Sep 2008 | My Fox Colorado

[Ultimatum]

AURORA (MyFOXColorado.com) - An 11-year-old in Aurora says his first amendment rights are being trampled after he was suspended for wearing a homemade shirt that reads "Obama is a terrorist's best friend."

The fifth grader at Aurora Frontier K-8 School wore it on a day when students were asked to wear red, white and blue to show their patriotism.

[Ultimatum]

"....for willful disobedience and defiance....".

Uh. Duh. He was refusing to allow you to infringe on his 1st amendment rights. Hello

[nathanbedford]

Theoretically, a parent has a right to withdraw his child and place him in a different school, or school them at home, but that means that parent must either expend money or time and effort to comply with the state's requirement that the child be educated. In effect, unless the parents are willing to pay a forfeit, the child must be in that environment seven hours a day five days a week. Why should the parents have to pay a forfeit for their child to exercise his First Amendment rights?

That is about one third of the child's life and about half of his waking life. That is a huge percentage of existence in which to deprive someone of free speech. And to what end? Is not a school a place where a child is is exposed to the benefits of our Constitution? Is the child to be taught that conformity and censorship are values to be exalted over our First Amendment rights of free speech? What is the educational value of stifling the independence of thought of this young child?

You say there is a school rule prohibiting such free expression and it is merely the enforcement of a rule. So we are to accept that free speech can be circumcised by the government merely because the government makes a rule? What purpose does the rule serve?

You might say that the exercise of free speech will be so discordant as to frustrate the purpose of the school which is to learn. I say it is the job of the administrators of the school to so control the environment that free speech can thrive and the students can still learn. What would the law say if the administrators held that no African-American kids can attend a school because their presence disrupts and makes learning impossible?

The courts would not listen to such an excuse for a minute. They would instruct those administrators to get in there and adjust the environment for the higher value of admitting African-American children. Why do we surrender our precious free speech rights without a struggle?

[Zevonismymuse]

Daxx's dad agrees with him and is encouraging his son to stand his ground. "The facts are his rights were violated. Period."

I don't think kids should be allowed to be disruptive, rather it is a left-inspired message or a right-inspired message. Kids don't vote. This kid is being used as a propaganda tool just like those Obama lovers with their kids wearing their peace sign shirts. Pathetic. This is not how good people behave.

[gracesdad]

“The boy’s father says he intends to pursue a lawsuit against the district.”

And dad will lose. The precedent for this is well-established.

[subterfuge]

What kind of dad lets his 11 year old kid put a bullseye on himself like that? Pathetic.

[Nathan _in_Arkansas]

But, if the kid had been wearing a “Bush lied-people died” or “No war for oil” shirt, this would have fell under the guidelines of freedom of expression.

[jalisco555]

Uh. Duh. He was refusing to allow you to infringe on his 1st amendment rights. Hello

Children don't have the same 1st ammendment rights that adults do. Schools routinely forbid wearing clothes with sexually suggestive messages, profanity, gang colors, etc. You can argue about political messages (this shirt was crude and ugly and should have been banned for aesthetics alone)but the school is within it's rights to ban certain types of clothing, provided the ban is equally applied.

[ohioman]

Good point. I would get someone to wear a “McCain is a terrorists best friend” shirt and see how the school reacts. That would be the eye-opening test.

[Ultimatum]

I have to disagree with you Z. The 1st amendment does not say that little kids cannot express their opinions. Just because they do not vote does not mean they cannot express their opinions. I do agree that this is most likely from his father beliefs, but if obama’s peace shirts are being brought in to schools, so can shirts depicting what a conservative believes as well.

[Zevonismymuse]

I completely agree with your interpretation of the First Amendment. Do you agree with my assertion that good people do not use their children for propaganda, even when the other side does it routinely? There are many tactics used by the left which I will never employ. I will continue to point out the misbehavior of the left and use my children as shining examples of what you get when you raise children with love and discipline.

My young adult children are all very conservative but I never would have allowed them to be disruptive at school. It would have undermined their chances of growing up to be the great people they are today. I did not want my children to be bitter victims of "unfairness". Life isn't fair.

[Redbob]

"The boy's father says he intends to pursue a lawsuit against the district."

And he'll win; it happens time after time.

[Anitius Severinus Boethius]

The district screwed up. If they had claimed that the boy was suspended because he created a disturbance, they would have won, no problem.

But suspended for “willful disobedience and defiance”?

When you willfully disobey an order that is unlawful, the law is on your side.

It would be like a police officer ordering you to let them into your house but they don’t have a warrent to show you.

If you refuse, they can’t charge you for defying them.

If the school district cannot show that they reserve the right to force any student to change any shirt they want, the school may very well lose this case.

[Zevonismymuse]

What kind of dad lets his 11 year old kid put a bullseye on himself like that? Pathetic.

A father who is so self-centered that he has lost sight of his responsibility as a parent. He is teaching his son to be a cry-baby and a tattle-tale. His child is now a victim on the national stage. I think he needs to switch parties.

[Right_Handed_Writer]

I was involved in a t-shirt case at my kids school, same age bracket (8th graders). Went all the way to the Supreme Court. It was decided in favor of the school administration, per precedents. Elementary level kids do not hold the same rights as older kids do. If the school says it is disruptive, and acts within established rules of the school, the dad won’t win this one.

[colorado tanker]

I come down on the other side of this. First, though, I want to be sure the rule is applied equally to all political views.

Kids don't get the same 1st Amendment rights in a school. The administrators have the right to keep order.

In this case, the T-Shirt was inflammatory and insulting of Obama supporters. If I'm a teacher, I don't want it in the classroom, as it would lead to disruptions, arguments and possibly fights. This is an elementary school - all kids at this age know is their parents' politics.

[Steve Van Doorn]

the kid is under age. I don’t see how he can win.

[OldNavyVet]

This matter involves the same mental process, and knee-jerk reaction, found in liberals damaging vehicles carrying McCain/Palin stickers.

[ExpatGator]

“Children don’t have the same 1st ammendment rights that adults do.”

My kids did and do have 1st Amendment rights. Then again, they are/were homeschooled and are not pawns or wards of the state.

Free your kids and the future follows.

[DustyMoment]

Lemmee see if I got this straight - a 5th grader is suspended for wearing an anti-Obama shirt in a public school system where teachers regularly speak out against conservatives with no disciplinary action, is that about it!!??

Shoot, I don’t see any bias or hypocrisy in that!!

/sarc

[colinhester]

Spot on. However, in your opinion, what if the son/dad can prove a pro-Obama t-shirt (or other campaign propaganda) had been allowed on school grounds during class hours? I think we will see a case of selective enforcement and the school will settle.....C