Article Contributed on: 10/31/2007 2:07:33 PM
What are we allowed to say in front of our peers?
Morse vs. Frederick, or the "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" case, is not the only lawsuit concerning free speech that high school students have dealt with recently.
Erica Corder, a 2006 graduate from Lewis-Palmer High School, understands the limitations of students' freedom of expression all too well.
Corder was one of fifteen valedictorians allowed a 30 second speech at her graduation ceremony. Instead of following the speech she had prepared that had been pre-approved by the administration, she decided to improvise. In its place, she talked to her fellow classmates about
Jesus Christ and encouraged them to get to know Him personally.
"I really felt God calling me to do this," Corder said to the
Rocky Mountains News.
Immediately following the speech, Corder was forced to meet with the Assistant Principal and was told that without a public apology being e-mailed to the entire school community, she would not be getting her diploma.
Fearing college complications, Corder obliged. But now, Corder is retaliating with a lawsuit: she believes that the decision made by the administration was in direct violation of her rights to freedom of speech.
While the outcome of the case has not yet been announced, Corder shares one thing in common with Rock Canyon's graduation speakers: just as her speech needed to be pre-approved, so does the speech of every student who wishes to address the student body at a graduation event.
"The simplest way to put it is that all speeches are selected and then approved by an adult in the building," said Assistant Principal
Greg Doan. "We want to make sure the speech is appropriate for the setting. We have to ask the question, is the language being used and the message being sent deemed appropriate?"
Last year, five students had the opportunity to speak - two at a Senior Banquet, one at an Awards Ceremony, and two more at the actual graduation ceremony.
These five students were chosen through careful deliberation. Originally, eight students auditioned their speeches to a faculty committee. They were given no theme or direction. From there, the faculty members, who had originally been told to choose three speakers - one for each event - ended up picking five, and then helped each student clarify and hone his or her message.
"The process was more to sort through the volume of material rather than to censor it," said
Megan Brown, the 2007 class sponsor and a member of the faculty committee. "It wasn't anything sinister - we weren't just policing the process, we were just helping kids make their ideas more complete."
Thus far, Rock Canyon hasn't experienced any problems with censorship regarding graduation speeches.
Wes Eggett '07, who spoke at graduation, ended up changing his pre-approved speech slightly, an impromptu decision made mere seconds before.
The slight variation didn't raise any eyebrows or receive any sort of ramification.
"The process (the speakers) went through wasn't strict," he said. "It was more of an audition than an approval."
Neither Brown nor Doan know if this pre-approval process will be repeated for graduation this year, as many details about the ceremony are still being revised, according to Student Council.
Editor's note: This article was printed in the Sept. 1, 2007 issue of The Rock, Rock Canyon High School's student newspaper. Susie Typher is a RCHS senior and executive editor of The Rock.
Click here to read an article about Rock Canyon's school newspaper winning a national award.