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Should Schools Be Allowed To Limit Students Online Speech?

Decent Essays

On the issue of whether or not schools should be allowed to limit students’ online speech, I firmly believe that they shouldn’t. Doing so directly infringes upon the student’s first amendment rights to the freedom of speech, and for what? Numerous surveys have shown that cyberbullying isn’t a huge problem. Further, one document affirms the conclusion that cyberbullying is just another phase in the long-running evolution of bullying. With this essay, I aim to convince you that schools should not limit their students’ online speech, using my vast knowledge as well as cold hard facts.

First off, limiting students’ online speech is unconstitutional. The first amendment clearly states, “Congress shall make no law...abridging the freedom of speech…” Which says that, for the most part, we can say whatever we want. In Gitlow v. New York the Supreme Court decided that first amendment applies to other levels of government, including public schools. What all this amounts too is that public schools are required by the constitution to protect their students’ freedom of speech. So, if a school was to limit any student’s online speech, the school is entirely abridging his/her rights. …show more content…

A random sample of 10-18 year olds from a large school district in the southern US showed that on average, 96.15% of students have never posted a mean or hurtful picture online, and 97.05% of students have never had a mean or hurtful picture posted about them. Also, a survey of British School Teachers showed that only 15.1% of them had ever been cyberbullied. All these percents are measly, and contribute to the proposition that cyberbullying isn’t as big a problem as we think, and only affects a sliver of the

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