US News "Douchebag" blog post costs senior her student council seat

[The Helper]

Calling someone a douchebag on the Internet usually doesn't result in much in the way of major consequences. That is unless, of course, you're in high school and the douchebag in question is a school official. In the case of Lewis S. Mills High School senior Avery Doninger, the use of the d-word on her blog resulted in her losing her position as class secretary—something that she and her mother believe is unfair and a violation of her First Amendment rights. Unfortunately for the Doningers, the courts have thus far sided with the school's decision. The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld a lower court decision yesterday, saying that while it was sympathetic to Avery's plight, the school did not violate her constitutional rights.

Read the whole story here.

 

[C-Death]

Thats bullshit. One of the great things about being an American is that we are born with our freedom of speech. Right there, she is having that right violated and that's just wrong.

 

[The Helper]

Freedom of Speech only counts for the US Government and it making laws. Schools are part of the School District and that government entity is not covered by the Constitution if I don't believe.

 

[Fragglez]

Freedom of Speech only counts for the US Government and it making laws. Schools are part of the School District and that government entity is not covered by the Constitution if I don't believe.

Unfortunately, this is almost 100% true.

 

[WolSHaman]

Freedom of Speech only counts for the US Government and it making laws. Schools are part of the School District and that government entity is not covered by the Constitution if I don't believe.

No freedom of speech applies in schools to, as they're publically owned, and an amendment was passed which applied the rights given by the constitution down to the states. I can't remember which one it was, but if this is a public school, she is still protected by freedom of speech.

 

[Akatsuki]

Maybe this is just my school but usually when you enter school club or group. You usually sign something like an expectation sheet. It's very possible that there was something like respecting school officials was on it. But I really wouldn't know because I didn't get to read the article because the link doesn't work for me.

 

[Dakho]

I think it's because she's probably under 18 that the ruling is so, otherwise the first ammendment would be valid.

 

[The Helper]

Well, they did not stop her from saying it. She said it. She paid the price. Free speech does not give you a pass the reaction to your statements - just says you can say it.

 

[BlargIAmDead]

Thats bullshit. One of the great things about being an American is that we are born with our freedom of speech. Right there, she is having that right violated and that's just wrong.

Um...no she isn't.

The Court of Appeals noted that adults may have a constitutional right to use vulgar or offensive speech in order to make a point, but that it "may legitimately give rise to disciplinary action by a school" if a school is responsible for "teaching students the boundaries of socially appropriate behavior." Although Avery made her statements off school grounds and outside of school hours, they were related to school activities and ultimately caused some level of disruption within the school setting. The court also noted that if Avery had distributed her comments in the form of a flier on school grounds, offensive forms of expression "may be prohibited." Avery's position as secretary was also considered a "privilege" that could be rescinded at any point, the court said, especially since her actions apparently undermined the values of the student government as an extracurricular activity.

Minors don't have freedom of speech on school grounds, and even if they did that freedom wouldn't extend to throwing childish insults around, and even if it did "class secretary" is a puppet position which the school can revoke at any time. Miss Doniger acted like a douchebag, and now she's being sent to her room without supper. What's so controversial about this?

 

[Ghan]

She was not prevented from saying it, therefore, her rights were not violated.
They took action as a result of her saying it. They were quite within their rights to do so. She does not have a RIGHT to be on the Student Council.

 

[esb]

It's the same as cursing on school grounds. She insulted someone of the School, school took actions.

It's like saying "I have a bomb!" on an airplane. Sure you can scream it all you want, but there will be consequences.

 

[DDRtists]

Guys, when the "Freedom of Speech" was written, people were polite. People were nice, and respectful. When they wrote it, it wasn't meant to mean "You can call someone a douchebag and get away with it", it was meant to mean "You can recommend and propose any laws or things related to the government". This is the idea of democracy. In todays society, we have no respect, most people aren't nice. It's the "Its all about me" attitude 90% of the time. The Freedom of Speech wasn't written so you could stand out and call gays names in the street, or your anti-race propaganda.

I just thought I'd point that out. I'm for the school on this one.

 

[WolSHaman]

She was not prevented from saying it, therefore, her rights were not violated.
They took action as a result of her saying it. They were quite within their rights to do so. She does not have a RIGHT to be on the Student Council.

You can't prevent someone from saying something a lot of the time. For example, if I was in China and I went to Tienamen Square and yelled "The CCP is corrupt!" and other things against the CCP, they couldn't PREVENT me from saying it, unless they foresaw me yelling it and shot me. Instead, they'd detain me and punish me for what I said. Freedom of speech means you can say something without fear of punishment, because it can be very hard to actually stop someone saying something before they say it.