It's pretty clear that the school district is violating her civil rights to freedom of expression and freedom of association, and that the either judge and school board lawyer doesn't understand either anarchy or anarchism or the Constitution, or that if they do understand them they don't like them, though it's not clear whether the kid understands anarchy or just likes black t-shirts and dislikes war and has a problem with school district arbitrary censorship. On the other hand, the idea that anarchists need an officially-supported club at a government-run school is a bit silly - she and her friends could just as well get together at the local coffee shop, or the mall, or hang out by the Coke machine. It's definitely nice to see parents sticking up for their kid.
At 10:06 PM 11/2/01 -0800, Eric Cordian wrote:
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A judge ruled Thursday that a 15-year-old sophomore cannot form an anarchy club or wear T-shirts opposing the U.S. bombing of Afghanistan because it would disrupt school. Katie Sierra was suspended from Sissonville High School for three days for promoting the club. .... Circuit Court Judge James Stucky agreed that free speech is "sacred" but he found that such rights are "tempered by the limitations that they ... not disrupt the educational process." ... James Withrow, lawyer for the Kanawha County Board of Education, argued that an anarchy club was inappropriate because students "do not feel that their school is a safe place anymore." "Anarchy is the antithesis of what we believe should be in schools," Withrow said.