Students Rights :: essays research papers

Students compensatesby Q.T.M. McConnell     Are you in the mood for some good reading? The other day I was in theGuidance Office looking for advocate when I saw an unassuming three page packet.Having nothing else to do, I picked one up and began reading. I learned thatthe name of this little manual is the Students Rights and Responsibilities Bill.I thought to myself, "my, what a great place is La Follette, that I can simplywalk into my guidance office and learn my rights as a student. But wait, whymust I pursue this entropy on my own? Why isnt this information in myhandy enchiridion issued to me at the beginning of the school day year? I ought toread this" So I read. Soon I realized why our School identity card may not wantstudents realizing what we be actually entitled to. Right away in the Preamble,it states "students have the responsibility to respect rights of all persons manifold in the educational process and exercise the highest degree of self-discipline in observing and adhering to legitimate rules." The prototypal thing Ithought was " screaming That sounds great The School Board really trusts me as a freethinking individual to respect people and be respected. I love thisschool" But wait. Before we all stage an "I love Cheryl Wilhoyte" love-fest,lets look at a look at what these "legitimate rules" are, particularly as they adjudge to freedom of speech, expression, and something they like to call"material disruption of the educational environment."     The first item on the list is literature, specifically a students rightto send out it. It reads "Students shall have the right to post any literature of anon-commercial genius without prior censorship or approval by the Administrationor School Board in any designated posting area, provided, nonetheless, thedesignated representative shall be accorded the right to remove posted materials/he considers obs cene, harmful or will cause material disruption to theeducational environment." Lets die and think a bit. I have the right to post whatever I want so long as my Administrators agree with it? Whose rights are wereally talking about here? Well, I began to think and it occurred to me that perchance my Administrators and School Board representatives arent so concernedthat I express myself however I like. But, I can see their point after all, Iprobably wouldnt want fifteen hundred students posting whatever they treasured toeither. They might start to see the world outside these walls.     I proceeded reading. The side by side(p) civil liberties violation I came acrossis stated as such "Students shall have the right to wear buttons.