Cobalt, it looks like the first amendment is only working in one direction here.
Article...
Censored Student Considers Suing School
By Lawrence Morahan
21 June, 1999
Nicholas Lassonde, an A student whose graduation speech at Amador Valley High School was censored by school authorities because he sought to urge his classmates to follow God, is considering suing the school on the grounds his right to free speech was violated.
The school district in Pleasanton, California, required Lassonde to remove religious references from his speech on Friday because they felt it would be a violation of the separation of church and state to allow him to talk about God.
Lassonde wanted to tell his classmates not to put their trust "in princes and mortal men who cannot even save themselves," but the school thought he was going too far.
"Our hope is in the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. The Lord sets prisoners free," were other Scriptural references the school felt could be considered "proselytizing for one specific philosophic goal or religious belief."
Avoiding confrontation, Lassonde hit on a compromise that allowed him to adhere to school rules and make his point at the same time. Each time he came to a portion of his speech his principals found objectionable, he told his audience that the school didn't feel that the passage was appropriate and invited them to get copies of the uncensored version that were handed out at the gate.
If stifling the message was the aim of the school, it didn't succeed. The incident has gained much attention in local and national media, and given the graduate more play than he would have received if he'd been allowed to give the speech.
"The point that seems to be lost in the clamor of news media attention is that this was an issue of separation of church and state," said Jerri Long, a spokeswoman for Amador Valley High School, in an interview with CNSNews.com.
"The specific point, however, that is constitutional and upheld by recent court cases, is the notion of the captive graduation audience and whether or not it is appropriate in that context to cross the line between stating his own faith and proselytizing for one specific philosophic goal or religious belief. This is the issue we were focusing on.
"We think that Nick Lassonde is a wonderful young man, and the faith that he has is truly exemplary. His speech could have been given in its entirety from a soapbox from any corner in America. It could have been given the previous Sunday at the parent and student organized baccalaureate services, which are optional for families to attend if they so desire.
"As a public school entity we must uphold the law - we don't pick and choose which laws to uphold. Certainly it might have been easier to just look the other way and ignore that the rights of some would be trampled to uphold the rights of others. That's not how we operate as a public school system. We believe very strongly that it is through public education that this nation's values are transmitted," Long said.
Steven H. Aden, a litigation counsel with the Rutherford Institute, a conservative legal organization which is suing the school on Lassonde's behalf, told CNSNews.com the school's censorship was a case of political correctness superceding an individual's rights.
"We tried to work it out with them, but were unable to," Aden told CNSNews.com. "We are planning to proceed to file suit against the school district for censoring the portion of the speech which [Lassonde] was not allowed to give.
"They censored his claims for free expression of his constitutional rights. And hopefully we will send a message that school districts cannot just censor students' speeches that contains religious references.
"This is so different from even a prayer at a graduation ceremony," Aden said. "A prayer in some respects is a group religious activity. But this is just censoring a speech. They didn't censor the other two students' speeches. They censored his because it contained religious references.
"His speech didn't require anyone to bow their head or close their eyes. It didn't even require anyone to say or do anything. They could agree or disagree in the sanctity of their own minds. But that wasn't enough for the school district," Aden said.
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