Another student newspaper fights back

Student reporters and editors for a high school newspaper in Kansas City, Missouri are suing their school for violating their First Amendment right to write and choose the articles for the paper. According to student reporter Rick Raven, “I think the school board is taking away our first amendment right.” This is not surprising considering the fact that most government schools try to take away all student rights.The students at the school specifically find it impossible to write about such topics as smoking and drugs due to a stubborn administrative process. We salute the efforts of those at the newspaper. Kandace Callwell, student reporter, says, “We have to stand up for our rights.” We specifically hope they have the same philosophy towards every attempt by the government to take away their rights.

Many times we are dismayed by people who want freedom for themselves but are reluctant to give it to other people. In an article about the Virginia Beach curfew, one teenager said, “If you’re just out walking down the Boardwalk, I don’t see why they should send you home. But a 14-year-old girl shouldn’t be out here, especially not by herself.”

This teenager doesn’t realize that he will not be free unless he guarantees the same freedoms to all people under 18. Our intolerant politicians suffer from the same hypocrisy. They support curfews for everyone but themselves. They don’t understand that if teen curfews are not stopped, eventually they and everyone else will have a curfew.