5 Amendment Rules Essay

Censorship cases often bring about debates over students’ first amendment rights. Students’ first amendment rights are important to preserve so that students can not be excluded from meaningful works or literature. It is understandable for the government to design educational plans as a way to get its voice into classrooms, but “the truth-promoting function of the First Amendment provides no reason, however, to question the right of students to explore a variety of ideas and perspectives, and to form and express ideas of their own” (Brown, 1994, p. 30). Schools already place a restriction on religious material or material addressing current political controversy (Brown, 1994).

In his book, Unlearning Liberty (2014) Greg Lukianoff, President of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) asserts that violations of free speech— whether by students, faculty, or administration—will have devastating effects in greater society. Lukianoff supports his assertion by describing cases he has seen throughout his career at FIRE. From administration punishing students to professors getting fired for clearly protected speech. Lukianoff’s purpose is to point out the misguided lessons about freedom that are being taught on campus and to encourage his audience to stand up for freedom on campus. Lukianoff writes in an earnest tone to an audience who recognizes the importance of freedom in America society.

The First Amendment of the United States Constitution was designed to protect free speech, as well as to offer freedom of religion. These rights do not apply only to adults. Consequently, students have First Amendment rights in the classroom. They have the freedom to turn in papers that express their own views, even if those views are religious. Students also have the right to have their paper graded fairly, even when they turn in a religious assignment.

There are numerous news television and sites which display stories of people demanding, fighting, or proclaiming their rights. Yet, the question of what it means come into play and whether these people are understanding the First Amendment. Knowing the difference between civil liberties and civil rights contributes to the knowledge of power and seeking what is entitled to a person. This interconnects with the idea of being knowledgeable about the Ten Amendments to the Constitution, referred to as the Bill of Rights (We the People). It is of great importance to know the five aspects of the First Amendment because one can better understand what has been lawfully entitled them and what limits and affect their rights.

Countless Americans today don’t appreciate our nations bill of rights that our founding fathers included into our nation's constitution protects our own rights. Of all the 10 amendments in the bill of rights the 1st amendment protects our personal rights the most. The first amendment established the right for all Americans to have the freedom of religion, speech, and the press. This amendment essentially forbids the government from restricting an citizen from its own free exercise of religion, impeding one's right of freedom of speech, and to restrict the freedoms of the press. In this essay I will talk about why this amendment is so important to American citizens rights.

There are many elements of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution to address. The area of the Freedom of Speech applies to every aspect of our daily lives. An examination of this area shows us why there are protected and unprotected areas of speech: speeches and actions that have been debated throughout our nation’s history and why they are important and have such an impact on our individual lives and social activities today.

The United States of America was created to be a country of justice, liberty, and independence. While the Constitution was designed to establish a strong central government, it soon became evident that a Bill of Rights would be necessary to “prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers”, as said in the Bill’s preamble. Thus, 10 constitutional amendments were created and ratified, ensuring that the American people would always be granted certain rights. While all of these amendments work to protect the American way of life, there are three amendments which are most crucial for Americans to maintain their liberty. These rights remain as important to Americans today as they were to the founding fathers who enumerated them centuries ago.

The Bill of Rights are the first ten amendments in the Constitution. The first amendment explains the basic rights freedoms. They consist of, freedom to religion, freedom of speech, freedom of press, freedom of a peaceful assembly, and freedom of a petition of grievances. The freedoms are very self explanatory. There are also many ways that they can be abused. In this essay, ways the freedoms can be misused will be portrayed.

The First Amendment protects freedom of speech, freedom of religion and freedom of press. It also allows the freedom to petition, and freedom to peacefully assemble (2*). The First Amendment can be seen as the most important; something almost all American 's know as their true right, and it is still put to the test in daily life of the twenty-first century. Protecting one 's speech allows freedom of expression, and identity. It gives American 's the opportunity to be individualized, and unique. Freedom of religion has allowed over three-hundred different denominations to be practiced in this country, and the freedom of the press allows American 's to share their stories and opinions with the country.

Although the First Amendment protects citizens in many ways, there are some exceptions to these protected rights. A conflict arose in the Morse v. Frederick court case in 2007, when a student was seen with a banner promoting drug use at a school event. Deborah Morse, the principal, took the banner from the student and suspended the student from school. The student, Joseph Frederick, believed that the school violated his right to free speech. When the case was settled, it was decided that the students rights were not violated by the school (“Facts”). The court decided that “ Schools can regulate speech that conflicts with school anti-drug policies, or similar school policies, even if the speech doesn’t directly disrupt the educational process, such as at a school-sponsored event” (“Your 1st”). Although the First Amendment is the most important when it comes to civil rights, this case demonstrates that the protections guaranteed by the Bill of Rights are not

America’s Founding Fathers gave Americans certain rights when they established this great nation. These rights include life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, as well as other constitutional rights like freedom of religion, protection against self-incrimination, and the right to bear arms in defense. One of the most important of the freedoms bestowed upon American citizens by their inspired founding fathers is the freedom of speech. Americans have the right to speak their minds without the worry of punishment by the government. An example of this is the Tinker V. Des Moines Independent Community School District case in the years 1968-1969. In this Supreme Court case, the Tinker family was fighting for their right to symbolic speech at school. Another case regarding Freedom of Speech at a school is Hazelwood School District V. Kuhlmeier. This case is also concerning the right to free speech at school. Free speech in school greatly affects many people. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, “In fall 2016, about 50.4 million students will attend public elementary and secondary schools… In fall 2016, some 20.5 million students are expected to attend American colleges and universities” (A-Z). This means that these laws and related issues will affect about 70 million people.

Another right that should be extended to human beings is that of liberty. Liberty entails the freedom extended to individuals that enable them to make choices that they prefer in regards to how they live their life. Liberty involves individual choices being respected by the different stakeholders involved in the life of such an individual. As long as the choice does infringe on the rights of other citizens then individuals are free to decide on whatever is best for them. As such, the government should not interfere with the choices made by private citizens (Jefferson & Fink, 2002).

It is not by accident that five of the most basic rights guaranteed to every American are contained in the First Amendment. These five basic rights: the freedom of religion, the press, speech, right to assembly, and the right to petition provide the framework for American society's relationship with the government. It is the First Amendment that

A group of students had gathered in Des Moines to celebrate the truce of the Vietnam War. The children had chosen to wear black armbands and fast as well. However, the principals of the schools in Des Moines created a policy which stated that if the bands were not removed by the student, that student would then be suspended. After a few kids were sent home by the administration, the students had ended up suing the school district for not allowing them to express their “voices”. The act of the school administration had violated the First Amendment, which states that Congress may not prohibit “free speech”.

Freedom of speech is one of the most important parts of the First Amendment, and it applies to everyone-- even students. Every day, students come to school to learn about many things, including citizenship. In order to teach young people rights, they must have rights in the first place. Although students should have free speech rights, the school has a right to limit certain things that could hurt the students. In the past, cases have been brought to the Supreme Court involving student speech in school, and they have set the precedents used today. Today in schools, students have enough free speech rights, but their rights should include publishing in school newspapers.