Imagine for a moment that everyone in America who favors censorship of one kind or another suddenly got their wish. Imagine they could clap their hands and cause any material that they objected to, for whatever reasons, to disappear . . . Virtually every film and television show would vanish . . . School textbooks would be so watered-down as to be meaningless. Newspapers would be forbidden to run controversial stories . . . . (American Voices 117)

The basis of American freedom is guaranteed in the Constitution's Bill of Rights by the First Amendment which states that "Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press . . ." (as quoted in Student 9).

The right of freedom of the press is clearly outlined and newspapers nation-wide covet their responsibility to be the "watchdog" of society. They were there when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. They were there when the Cuban Missile Crisis broke out. And they were there when the Supreme Court ruled on the Hazelwood court case. The professional journalists have set an example for high school students who also want to cover important events that are pertinent to their school and community.

Secondly, the decision has allowed school officials, who are in essence government officials, to have the power to censor any article as they see unfit. School officials have the right to censor a story but also to remove a possibly disruptive article or an article that opposes the school's educational mission. A federal court believed in the Butts vs. Dallas Independent School District that the Supreme Court "has declared a constitutional right which school authorities must nurture and protect, not extinguish, unless they find the circumstances allow them no practical alternative," (Student 29). But in order to censor a story the school official must have proof that this decision was made by a neutral viewpoint. One example was when a Texas student newspaper surveyed a number of students about something they wanted to change about their school. On one survey, a student said, "The principal." The quote was printed and the principal demanded prior review from that point on. The adviser, who was later fired, went to the school board and filed her complaint because of the act of censorship and the demand for prior reveiw. A hearing was held at which the principal revealed that "he had not actually censored the newspaper-it had been his wife," and the censored quote was upheld, (Student 47).The Supreme Court in the Hazelwood case let educators have greater control and let schools in its capacity as publisher of a school newspaper

987, the Tinker v. Des Moines (1968) case's ruling prevailed which appeared to reinforce the idea of high school students' right to free speech-as long as there was no "disruption of or material interference with school activities" according to the court (Essex 140). The case outlined two important aspects: Students in public school do not "shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech at the school house gate" but school officials have "comprehensive authority . . . to prescribe and control conduct in the schools;" and school authorities have the power to ban/punish speech that "materially and substantially interferes with requirements of appropriate discipline in the operation of the school" or speech which officials forecast will have such an effect.

Thompson, Jake. "Student Newspaper Ruling Is Deplored." The Kansas City Times. 14 January 1988: A8.

Robbins, Jan C. Student Press and the Hazelwood Decision. Bloomington: Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation, 1988.

Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier. 484 U.S. 260. 1988

But in 1983, Hazelwood East, a St. Louis high school, produced an in-depth spread covering divorce, sex and teen pregnancy. Before the newspaper ran, the principal called for prior review and censored the entire section. Leslie Smart and two other students took their school district to court. Smart and the other journalists at Hazelwood East felt that their freedom of press rights had been violated and as Smart pointed out, "It's right there in the Constitution. It doesn't have an age limit. Censorship is not legal in this country," (Thompson A8).

Some common words found in the essay are:
Supreme Court, Hazelwood East, Des Moines, Review Learning, Freedom Expression, Luois Mo, Lansing School, Court Hazelwood, Bill Rights, Jaguar Journal, student press, supreme court, kansas city, student journalists, kansas city star, press law, prior review, city star, law center, student press law, press law center, law center report, hazelwood east, amendment rights, inquiry school journalism,
Approximate Word count = 3074
Approximate Pages = 12 (250 words per page double spaced)