Tolerance wins out over censorship
In September, 2007, Heather Farnham, a 16-year-old student at Spencer-Van Etten High School in New York, was sent home for wearing a T-shirt that read “gay? fine by me.” The principal thought the message would cause a disruption at school by prompting anti-gay responses. Most schools are aware of the Tinker standard for taking pre-emptive action against speech, but where to draw the line is often difficult to assess.
Photo from Edgeboston.com
Heather challenged the decision and in December, 2007 the school district admitted that Heather’s T-shirt was a form of protected expression. There was no hard evidence that on-campus disruption would result from the T-shirt’s message. The principal apologized to Heather and a statement was read over the school’s loudspeaker that the dress code does not prohibit students from displaying controversial or political messages.
