On July 8, the 5th circuit heard arguments in Palmer v Waxahachie Independent School District, 08-10903. The issue is whether a public high school can prohibit a student from wearing a T-shirt to school that says “John Edwards ’08”. See this article.
The obvious — how about a T-shirt that says —
*Abolish Public Schools* (and all the related control freak brainwashing) ?
And the visiting friends/ family and resident staff ????
I suppose the school would rather have him wearing a t-shirt that supports “booze and drugs while driving??”
Are clothing items with brand names or symbols (Ed Hardy, Nike, Nautica) also prohibited?
My guess is that such brand-name clothes are not prohibited. After all, it is the role of public education to indoctrinate students to be good consumers. After all, America is not about capitalism, nor is it about socialism, but it is about consumerism.
#1 and 3 If you read the article, he was wearing a shirt that said “San Diego”. His parents brought the “John Edward ’08′” shirt for him to cover that up with.
If this is accurate, it sounds that school board’s policy is content neutral.
Would the school district also prohibit clothing with a brand-name logo, such as Ed Hardy, Nike, or Nautica?
My guess is that they would not prohibit such things. Promoting consumerism is a goal of most school districts, so therefore it would appear to be keeping within the policy set out by this district. America is based not on capitalism or socialism, but on consumerism.
I really do not see how a public school can get away with this, unless they can somehow prove that such statement was disruptive or violated the rights of other people.
#6 The parents were called to the school because their child wore a shirt advertising “San Diego”. The parents decided to make this a “political speech” issue by bringing the “Edwards” shirt to school.
#7 They don’t have to prove that a particular slogan would be disruptive to the education of students, but the general display of slogans was disruptive.
Read the article. The student in question word a “San Diego” shirt to school. The school called his parents to bring him more appropriate clothing, and they brought the “Edwards ’08′” T-shirt.
The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows.