As a student in the American education system, I can boldly say I feel that I have fewer rights than I am entitled to. The Bill of Rights establishes my rights as a citizen of the United States. A school is like a mini government, so why shouldn’t it be run like one? Does being a teenager mean I shouldn’t have equal rights of those around me? For a country that boasts the democratic dream, it feels more like a dictatorship.
Students are expected to act as responsible adults but are treated like kids on a leash. We are not trusted to handle our rights responsibly or use them to the best of our abilities.
The first amendment guarantees the freedom of speech, the freedom of press, the freedom of assembly, the freedom of religion and the right to petition. At times I find myself scared to say what’s really on my mind because of the fear of suspension or other punishments.
As a journalism student, I’m faced with things I’m allowed to say in the paper and things I’m not supposed to say because it’s against school rules. There goes freedom of press right out the window. In the 1988 case Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier, the Supreme Court ruled that school officials could censor student media. Though administrators are not allowed unlimited censorship over student media without justification, this still proves to be a limitation of the voice of the students, because a principal can review the materials and declare it a disruption.
Students should have a say in the rules of the school and just how the school is run in general. While student safety should be number one, students shouldn’t dread coming to school because it feels more like a prison than a place to learn.
Another breached amendment is the fourth: protection from unreasonable search and seizure. This amendment states there must be probable cause for a search. A school only needs reasonable suspicion. So basically while a police officer must have hard evidence, a school does not need evidence, only a suspicion, making this amendment completely useless to students. This means while on school grounds, anything in your possession can be searched—a purse, backpack or car—it doesn’t really matter.
A student could easily tip off an administrator with no cause, just to do it. Then an innocent student would be searched and may not have the opportunity to face their accuser.
I understand that most of the rules that schools have are to protect students, but how far is too far? I feel schools are oppressing students to the point where they have no voice and are being shaped to be just like everyone else. It seems like too often the concerns of the students are not addressed.
In the future, we are not going to have such a restriction on our rights. How are we going to deal with a dose of freedom when we go to college or get a job if we are not trained to deal with them as kids? How can America claim to be land of the free when a good chunk of its population has no voice? I feel if students weren’t held on such a tight leash, we wouldn’t dread coming to school so much and become more responsible.
So why can’t I use my phone in the hallway, or state my opinion on the curriculum that we are taught, or even wear pajamas on a day that I’m tired. As long as I’m not hurting the people around me, why should my rights be violated?
–By Jessica Clayton