test post theme 18oct2016
TPS and the First Amendment
Much ado about nothing. The Toledo Public School system has more important issues. This only became interesting to me when the Blade editorial board published an opinion about another TPS story. The timing of the opinion piece seemed interesting. Or maybe the two stories simply occurred at approximately the same time. Coincidence. I don't know.
Excerpts from the Oct 15, 2016 Blade story
“As a public school district, Toledo Public Schools respects the First Amendment rights of all students and supports those rights during the playing of the national anthem at sporting events,” the statement reads.
Excerpts from an Oct 18, 2016 Blade op-ed about a different TPS story:
When Waite High School students went to school in T-shirts honoring Cheyenne Rivera, 16, who died in May, Toledo Public Schools officials chose censorship over compassion.
It is hard to say which is worse, the violation of freedom of speech or the insensitivity shown to these students — and their lost loved one — by censoring their sorrow.
... when school officials claim discretion to distinguish between one message and another on whatever grounds they see fit, that’s an abuse of power and free speech.
[Deputy superintendent Brian Murphy] argued that the shirts were a distraction. It’s hard for a shirt to be as distracting as an administrator telling you to take it off.
And while schools are entitled to restrict speech that disrupts the learning environment, if any speech that might distract someone counted as disruptive, there would be no freedom of speech in schools at all.
Even putting aside the free-speech issue, when another person is honoring someone he has lost, the human reaction is to sympathize. The school’s reaction was to censor, to oppress, to forbid.
From the Ohio High School Athletic Association (pdf files) :
Excerpts:
In order to make today’s contest as enjoyable as possible, please represent your school and community in a positive and respectful manner. That means follow the rules speak and act responsibly, and show courtesy and respect for your fellow fans, the officials and coaches, the administrators and authority figures and, of course, your team and opponents.
I think that means fans need to be careful about their fanatical freedom of speech commentary because it might offend.
During rendition of the national anthem when the flag is displayed, all present except those in uniform should stand at attention facing the flag with the right hand over the heart.
Men not in uniform should remove their headdress with their right hand and hold it at the left shoulder, the hand being over the heart. Persons in uniform should render the military salute at the first note of the anthem and retain this position until the last note.
When the flag is not displayed, those present should face toward the music and act in the same manner they would if the flag were displayed there.
Too much bureaucracy.
The athletes competing wear uniforms. It seems that they are except from standing ;)