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So ironic it hurts. IT HURTS.
#29, that is bullshit. It applies to all people in the US (including minors and visitors), and if you decide that you want to fight it, you can take the school to court.
okay, listen, at first i was like, that's shitty. but then i read it a few more times trying to make better sense of it, and it really just seems like you wrote something inappropriate and are whining that they're censoring you for 'political' reasons (no, your speech was inappropriate) cause you were 'just trying to make a point' are you 13 or something? what constitutes 'political' here?
There's something very you must remember about any institution where the administration has a false sense of power. They can and will do away with any civil or human rights that they deem prudent, just because they can. It can be anything, from you can't go to the bathroom without permission, and as we've seen in news reports, students have been suspended or expelled for being unable to hold it through the hour long class. It can be your freedom of speech, freedom of expression, as far as free thought. But, that's the idea of the education system. Children must be trained on how to properly behave in society through any means necessary. I remember when I was in primary school (probably 2nd or 3rd grade), classes were several hours long, with only the occasional break to go to a specialized class (such as art, phys ed, etc). One student urinated himself in his seat after asking for two hours to use the restroom. Rather than just standing up and leaving, he had been well trained to be obedient. The training worked. The supervision failed to recognize that he was unable to restrain himself any further. In high school, dissatisfied with conditions I started my own student newspaper. The official student paper was full of teacher driven and edited drivel. Mine was student opinion about various items that were actually on the student's minds. ahhh, a newspaper running current events and opinions, imagine that. I wrote it, with my own articles, as well as articles by some other students. There was nothing slanderous, profane, or otherwise not printable in a newspaper. It was printed, photocopied, and distributed covertly among the student body for free. I was almost suspended over it. I asked about my first amendment rights. "Those don't apply in school." I asked "How would the ACLU feel about suspending a student for exercising their first amendment rights and expressing their opinion?" That made them think twice. It was embarrassing for them, especially when the local newspapers picked up the story. there were many valid points that needed to be addressed, that wouldn't be handled through any conventional channels. I changed schools very shortly after. My first day at the new school, I was invited to the principals office. Not ordered. Not escorted. Simply requested for an audience. He politely asked me not to run my own newspaper there too. I told him, I'm new to this school. I have no preconceptions of life here, and I have no grievances against your system. I could promise nothing, but as long as there was no reason for me to do it, I wouldn't. He told me that he has an open door policy. If I have a problem, come to him directly and it would be addressed. That was a reasonable compromise. I was placed on the student newspaper staff. All of my articles were edited for meaning and content. I managed to get them unedited before publication. I had no serious grievances that couldn't be addressed while I was at that school, so I did not run another copy of the paper. Now well into the grown world, I have grievances. I run my own news publication again. Now, its not about what are now petty things like schools or local governments (but sometimes they are). We run national and international issues. We are read by virtually every government and intelligence organization in the US and many world wide. The power of freedom of speech is huge. Be careful of what you say, you may gain a huge audience. Don't let them censor you. If your speech is being censored, print it out prefixed with a paragraph about how the school administration has censored this speech, but you wish to let your thoughts be known in their entirety. Make enough copies for every student, parent, and guest. Put each copy in an envelope that says "Please read this during the commencement speech." Give them to friends to hand out before and during the graduation ceremony. Be aware that these friends may have their copies seized, and they may be kicked out of the ceremony. Make sure copies get to any press (reports, photographers, anyone) who may be at the ceremony. Pre-mail copies to the local papers and televisions stations, so they'll arrive the same day as the ceremony. They'll threaten to refuse your diploma. Report this to the mainstream media also. Since you already got the word out to them, they'll already have reporters investigating the story. Free speech is a powerful thing. The media has the ability to sway the actions of oppressive leadership. But, free speech as a powerful tool, must be used carefully. Is your speech really offensive? Are the edits really that bad? Do they really change the meaning of what you're saying? While it may be fun to rock the boat, not every battle is worth fighting. Some battles are worth fighting with every ounce of energy you have. That decision is up to you, but consider your options and potential outcomes very very carefully.
I know this is two years later and you'll almost certainly never read this, but you are too awesome for words. Freedom of information is one of the most valuable things we can preserve.
Irony!
Keywords
That's what school is like. Everything has to be the status quo, bland and acceptable. I know your pain as I was almost suspended for a film project I did.
Political correctness is a crock of shit in the first place, necessitated only by the fact that we allow a bunch of annoying crybabies to make a scene every time someone says something they don't like. It's one thing to be offended by blatant racism. It's another thing to throw a fit because someone isn't conforming to the hypersensitivity USA has gotten up its own ass with. Only the most pathetic individual could be offended by "Merry Christmas."