78 PART oNE • THE AMERiCAN sYsTEM
or within the hearing of, a person
other than the defamed party. If
one person calls another dishon-
est, manipulative, and incompe-
tent to his or her face when no
one else is around, that does not
constitute slander. If, however, a
third party accidentally overhears
defamatory statements, the courts
have generally held that this con-
stitutes a public uttering and
therefore slander.student speech
In recent years, high school and
university students at public insti-
tutions have faced a variety of
free speech challenges. Court rul-
ings on these issues have varied
by the level of school involved.
Elementary schools, in particular,
have great latitude in determining
what kinds of speech are appropri-
ate for their students. High school
students have more free speech
rights than do elementary stu-
dents, and college students have the most speech rights of all.Rights of Public school students. High schools can impose restrictions on speech
that would not be allowed in a college setting or in the general society. For example, high
school officials may censor publications such as newspapers and yearbooks produced by
the school’s students. Courts have argued that a school newspaper is an extension of the
school’s educational mission, and thus subject to control by the school administration.
One of the most striking rulings to illustrate the power of school officials was handed
down by the United States Supreme Court in 2007. An Alaska high school student had
displayed a banner reading “Bong Hits 4 Jesus” on private property across from the
school as students on the school grounds watched the Winter Olympics torch relay.
The school principal crossed the street, seized the banner, and suspended the student
from school. The Supreme Court later held that the school had an “important—indeed,
perhaps compelling—interest” in combating drug use that allowed it to suppress the
banner.^26 The Court’s decision was widely criticized.College student Activity Fees. Should a college student have to subsidize, through
student activity fees, organizations that promote causes that the student finds objection-
able? In 2000, this question came before the United States Supreme Court in a case
brought by several University of Wisconsin students. The students argued that their man-- Morse v. Frederick, 551 U.S. 393 (2007).
A librarian at a middle school in Durham, North Carolina, holds up The Lorax
by Dr. Suess. Some people demanded that the book be removed from school libraries
because it allegedly portrays the foresting industry in a negative way. Why do some
believe that it is appropriate to limit what public school students can read? (AP Photo/
The Herald-Sun, Bernard Thomas)9781285436388_04_ch04_066-091.indd 78 10/15/13 8:56 AM
Copyright 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.