Right to Free Expression, Right to Bear Arms, Right to be an Idiot

Quite a few smart people including Andy Grove of Intel and Bill Gates have expressed concern about the education of students in the country. The biggest chunk of responsibility lies with the parents of students.

The following two incidents in Pennsylvania involved students who created fake online profiles of their school principals. Rather than beating the *%$# out of their kids, the parents are supporting the actions of their babies and suing the schools. If the parents are common-sense deprived, what hope is there for their offspring?

Free Speech in Question When Talking Out of School - WSJ.com: "In one of the Pennsylvania cases, a three-judge panel sided with the student, Justin Layshock of Hickory High School, who had created a phony profile of his principal on MySpace. The court ruled that by punishing Mr. Layshock, the school violated the student's right to free expression. The student had created the profile at his grandmother's house in December, 2005, according to court papers. MySpace is owned by News Corporation, which also owns The Wall Street Journal.

'He didn't do it in school,' said his father, Donald Layshock. 'We should have been the ones to punish him.'

The high school and its school district, Hermitage, had argued that they needed disciplinary power to keep order when activities off-campus affect school life. 'It's not where you throw the grenade, it's where the grenade lands,' said Anthony Sanchez, a lawyer who represented Hermitage school district. Eric Trosch, then Hickory High School's principal, declined to comment as the case is continuing.

In the other Pennsylvania case, a different three-judge panel decided that Blue Mountain Middle School did not violate the constitutional rights of one of its students when it suspended her for creating a fake online profile of her principal, also on MySpace, in 2007. The school's principal declined to comment and the student, identified as J.S. in court filings, declined to comment, according to her lawyer, Witold Walczak, legal director of the state's ACLU.

Mr. Walczak, who represented both students, said that ignoring the boundary between on- and off-campus activities gave schools too much power to reach into home lives of students.RIght