Without careful guidance, discussion of sexual activity and birth control with high school students may have the effect of encouraging them to have sex. Four out of one hundred students interviewed say that the content of the teen pregnancy article makes them uncomfortable. They fully support the decision to ban the article. The remaining ninety-six students indicated that they were comfortable with the content of the article. This illustrates the potential danger of the article. Fourteen-year-old freshmen do not yet have the ability to make independent judgments. They are easily swayed by the behaviors of the others around them. Discussion of sexual history and birth control of other students in a school newspaper gives them the impression that having sex is a social norm. Once they become “comfortable” with the idea of students having sex, the

The school has solid legal ground to ban the article. Although both the freedom of speech and of the press are guaranteed by the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States, the U.S. Supreme Court, the highest court of the U.S. charged with interpreting the Constitution, has on several occasions ruled that it is constitutional to limit speech under certain circumstances. The current circumstances warrant the ban on the article. The school paper is part of the education program for which the school is responsible. The school pays for the printing and distribution of the paper. The student journalists get class credit towards graduation for being on the staff of the newspaper. It is entirely within the school’s power to determine what is appropriate in the students’ education.

School-sponsored publication should not encourage students to have sex. Since the public schools are supported by taxpayers, many believe that the school should uphold the standard and the values of the taxpayers. Parents of Elmwood High School students are taxpayers. Therefore, our decision should reflect their standard and values, that is, not to encourage students to have sex. Our decisi

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