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'BONG HITS' RULING FURTHER STRIPS STUDENTS' RIGHTS

As the executive director of Students for Sensible Drug Policy, or SSDP, at the University of Michigan, I was sad to see such a decision made by the U.S.  Supreme Court on June 25.  Joseph Frederick clearly should not have been suspended for displaying his "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" banner.

Fortunately, the new ruling "provides no support for any restriction of speech that can plausibly be interpreted as commenting on any political or social issue, including speech on issues such as 'the wisdom of the war on drugs or of legalizing marijuana for medicinal use,'" which was concurred by Justice Alito.

Sadly, I believe a lot of teachers and school administrators now will cross the line much more without understanding their restriction.

Nowadays, freedom of speech isn't the only human right not protected for high school students.  The First Amendment may be whittling away right now, but students have already lost their protection from unwarranted search and seizure as well as other rights of the accused.

Restricting the free speech of students causes more disruption to their education than the speech itself.

As Justice Stevens recognized in his dissent, "Even in high school, a rule that permits only one point of view to be expressed is less likely to produce correct answers than the open discussion of countervailing views."

CHRIS CHILES

U-M Director of SSDP