Freethought & Rationalism Archive

01-14-2003, 12:56 AM

Quote:

Religiously themed ceramic tiles never will adorn the walls of Columbine High School.

That was the final word Monday when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal by the families of two students killed in the April 20, 1999, massacre.

"It's a dark day for anybody who's concerned about their own free-speech rights in a public school," said the families' lawyer, Jim Rouse.

Article

RufusAtticus · 01-14-2003, 01:44 AM

Fleming v. Jefferson County School District R-1

Quote:

We conclude by noting that the Hazelwood analysis does not give schools unbridled discretion over school-sponsored speech. A number of constitutional restraints continue to operate on public schools' actions, such as the Establishment Clause, the Free Exercise Clause, the Equal Protection Clause, and substantive due process. In this case, the wisdom of the Supreme Court in Hazelwood of fashioning a separate analysis for school sponsored speech is obvious. If the District were required to be viewpoint neutral in this matter, the District would be required to post tiles with inflammatory and divisive statements, such as "God is Hate," once it allows tiles that say "God is Love." When posed with such a choice, schools may very well elect to not sponsor speech at all, thereby limiting speech instead of increasing it.(17) The District could be forced to provide an opportunity for potentially thousands of participants to repaint their tiles without any meaningful restrictions by the District, leading to a potentially disruptive atmosphere in which to try to educate the students of Columbine High School.

We REVERSE the judgment of the district court on the Plaintiffs' claim under the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment, and find that the District's restrictions on the tile project were reasonably related to legitimate pedagogical concerns. Therefore, we VACATE the district court's injunction ordering the District to (1) provide an opportunity for the Flemings to paint the tiles they wished to paint but were precluded from painting and (2) mount the tiles painted by the Petrones and Rohrboughs. We REMAND this case for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

Feather · 01-14-2003, 05:53 AM

Yay! Score One for Us.

01-14-2003, 06:04 AM

I saw the tiles on the news, and they were really obnoxious. One said "Jesus is LORD!!!" and another said something like "The Day of Judgment Cometh!!!"

That kind of crap does not belong in public school hallways.

dangin · 01-14-2003, 06:13 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Feather
Yay! Score One for Us.

No, score one for all. The supreme irony in this is that those fighting to maintain the wall are fighting to protect the christbots who want a theocracy as well. The churchies are simply to ignorant to see the big picture.

Shake · 01-14-2003, 10:28 AM

Quote:

Religiously themed ceramic tiles never will adorn the walls of Columbine High School.

That was the final word Monday when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal by the families of two students killed in the April 20, 1999, massacre.

"It's a dark day for anybody who's concerned about their own free-speech rights in a public school," said the families' lawyer, Jim Rouse.

First, I'd like to say:

Next, to those who are upset over this ruling:[list=1][*]Last I knew, Columbine is a public school[*]to quote my dad about rights, "A person's rights end where the next guys' begin."[/list=1] So Mr. Rouse, I think you know what you can do with that, "dark day" crap!

Derec · 01-14-2003, 11:52 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by atheist_in_foxhole
I saw the tiles on the news, and they were really obnoxious. One said "Jesus is LORD!!!" and another said something like "The Day of Judgment Cometh!!!"

I bet Harris and Klebold thought something similar before walking in that day. How ironic!

Quote:

That kind of crap does not belong in public school hallways.

ACK.

UMoC

01-14-2003, 12:43 PM

They were dicussing this case moments ago on CNN's Talkback Live, and the fundies were foaming at the mouth (as expected). They said that "god" was being expelled from the classroom and even repeated the lie about how one of the Columbine victims was killed because she was a Christian. Others said that the school was promoting atheism because it wanted to be neutral when it comes to religion.

But it's over. We win.

Splat · 01-14-2003, 01:42 PM

It's a pathetic victory though. I can't imagine anything worse than having one's children murdered. My heart goes out to those parents, and my gut-level inclination is to let them do whatever they thought would best memorialize their slain children.

But reading that the controversy was over a tile with "a Biblical passage promising damnation for the wicked" and another with 13 crosses slaps that impulse right in the face and sticks it back in the closet where it belongs.

RufusAtticus · 01-14-2003, 02:32 PM

What they won't tell the fundies,

Quote:

The tiles were reviewed again, and approximately eighty to ninety tiles that were inconsistent with the guidelines were removed, out of a total of 2,100 tiles that had been put on the walls. These tiles included ones with crosses, gang graffiti, an anarchy symbol, a "Jewish star," angels, the blue Columbine ribbon, a skull dripping with blood, the art teacher's name on the tile she painted, the date 4-20, and a mural containing red colors that were disturbing to some people.

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01-14-2003, 05:53 AM	#3
Feather Veteran Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Gainesville, FL Posts: 1,827	Yay! Score One for Us.

01-14-2003, 06:04 AM	#4
atheist_in_foxhole Guest Posts: n/a	I saw the tiles on the news, and they were really obnoxious. One said "Jesus is LORD!!!" and another said something like "The Day of Judgment Cometh!!!" That kind of crap does not belong in public school hallways.

01-14-2003, 12:43 PM	#8
atheist_in_foxhole Guest Posts: n/a	They were dicussing this case moments ago on CNN's Talkback Live, and the fundies were foaming at the mouth (as expected). They said that "god" was being expelled from the classroom and even repeated the lie about how one of the Columbine victims was killed because she was a Christian. Others said that the school was promoting atheism because it wanted to be neutral when it comes to religion. But it's over. We win.

01-14-2003, 01:42 PM	#9
Splat Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Hell, PA Posts: 599	It's a pathetic victory though. I can't imagine anything worse than having one's children murdered. My heart goes out to those parents, and my gut-level inclination is to let them do whatever they thought would best memorialize their slain children. But reading that the controversy was over a tile with "a Biblical passage promising damnation for the wicked" and another with 13 crosses slaps that impulse right in the face and sticks it back in the closet where it belongs.

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