While the Constitution guarantees freedom of speech and press under the First Amendment, student journalists are not guaranteed those same rights thanks to the Hazelwood v. Kulhmeier ruling.
Monday, Feb. 20
February 23, 2023
Today kicks off the first day of MacJournalism’s Student Press Freedom Week in honor of the 54th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court ruling in the Tinker v. Des Moines case this Friday, Feb. 24.
On Dec. 16, 1965, 13-year-old Mary Beth Tinker along with a group of students decided to wear black armbands to school in protest of the ongoing Vietnam War. When Tinker arrived at school, she was asked to remove her armband by school administration.
On Feb. 24, 1969 by a vote of 7-2, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Tinker, declaring that neither students nor teachers ‘shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.’
She was then suspended from school along with four other students including her brother John and his friend Chris Eckhardt. When the three returned to school, they did not return with black armbands but did wear black clothing for the rest of the school year in protest.
The Tinker family filed a free speech lawsuit against the Des Moines Independent Community School District that became a four-year court battle, culminating in a hearing with the Supreme Court. On Feb. 24, 1969 by a vote of 7-2, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Tinker, declaring that neither students nor teachers “shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.” The only exception to this ruling would be under the suspicion that the speech might disrupt the school environment.
This landmark verdict granted students the promise that their First Amendment rights would be protected. Due to a later 1988 ruling in Hazelwood vs. Kulhmeier, however, student presses are not granted the same protections afforded to students.
This week, MacJournalism will be posting detailed information about student press freedoms and the ongoing fight against student censorship. This Thursday, Feb. 23, you can show your support for student press freedom by picking up a black armband from room 134 to celebrate the fifth annual Student Press Freedom Day.