LOL J/K!!!1

Restraint of the Heartless will remain active. I just wanted an intersting segway into today's post.

Censorship.

The first amendment to the US Constitution gives all persons the right to Freedom of Expression. This is important. However, it is frequently being infinged, frequently by schools against students (there are many other examples, but this is the most prevalent and most highly accepted.

An important thing to point out is students have a right to free speech as granted by the First Amendment and upheld by the 1969 Tinker v. Des Moines Supreme Court case. While this right was later restricted by Morse v. Frederick in 2007 in regards to free speech condoning the use of illegal drugs, the right overall still stands.

Schools restrict freedom of expression in a multitude of ways. They may ban certain words that are considered "profane" or "offensive". They may prohibit the distribution of an unofficial school paper, or prohibit students from passing out leaflets. They may also institute a uniform or dress code, thus forcing the students themselves to become an outward sign of their homogeny, placing punishments on unapproved clothing, and putting unnecessary financial strain on families, forcing them to buy a second wardrobe for a student. There are also other violations such as bans on certain haircuts, or students forced to shave their eyebrows due to having shaved lines in them (allegedly a “gang sign”, which is what gets many things banned), students being suspended or expelled for drawings, or students being forced to attend therapy due to the use of a drug “look-alike” an anti-drug commercial, but these are far too numerous to go into.

Related to the Right to Speak is the Right to Listen. This is obviously frequently infringed upon, and I will go into this in more detail tomorrow.