Patriot Act Debate: Security Vs. Freedom Essay

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forum #4: Civil liberties/Civil rights

One recent famous 't-shirt' case involving the civil liberties of a defendant was Guiles v. Marineau, in which a middle-schooler who wore a t-shirt openly critical of President George Bush was suspended from school for being disruptive. Zachary Guiles "was later allowed back in school, but he was told that he couldn't wear the T-shirt unless he taped over certain pictures on the T-shirt -- pictures of a martini glass, lines of cocaine, straws, and razor blades. The pictures were references to substance abuse problems President Bush is said to have had as a younger man. These problems were also described in words on the T-shirt" ("Student Free Speech Rights: Guiles v. Marineau: Issues). Although the Supreme Court ultimately declined to hear the case, the Second Circuit judges where the case was decided "determined that for speech that isn't vulgar…Schools may not regulate such student speech unless it would materially and substantially disrupt classwork and discipline in the schools" ("Student Free Speech Rights: Guiles v. Marineau: The Appeal").

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Given that Guiles had worn the t-shirt for a month before the school complained, clearly wearing the shirt was not disruptive. The shirt also had clear political content and was not designed to promote drug use but rather was intended to critique the contradiction between Bush's war on drugs and the President's own past drug use.

Allowing students' political messages to be censored is open to abuse by administrators, given that students who wear shirts advocating positions that the administration dislikes could be labeled 'disruptive' versus those who are ignored because they support more popular, conventional viewpoints. The school has a role to support education and encouraging young people to take an interest in current events is clearly a component of that mission.

The U.S. Patriot Act, however, has been criticized for limiting the ability of all Americans to have their civil liberties protected while they enjoy that most basic of rights: the right to read and to check books out….....

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