Youth

Truly Free Speech Protects Kids From Bullying

By |2020-01-03T13:43:02-05:00July 29th, 2011|Blog|

Photo by rosipaw on Flicrk This week, Stephanie Mencimer at MotherJones.com reported on horrifying cases of harassment and suicides in the Anoka-Hennepin schools  of Minnesota, in Rep. Michelle Bachman’s district. The article, published within days of a suit filed against the district by the Southern Poverty Law Center, has further mobilized advocates calling for expanded anti-bullying policies and [...]

Hazelwood: A Student’s Perspective

By |2020-01-03T13:42:59-05:00July 15th, 2011|Blog|

Two years ago I sat upon the graduation stage to receive a diploma that would end my 13-year relationship with the public school I attended since kindergarten.  As a member of a class of 125 students, this day symbolized endless shared memories and a common identity between us.  Out of the five speeches given, the three student speakers [...]

Future Social Media Policy (and policy)

By |2020-01-05T23:15:54-05:00April 21st, 2011|Blog|

In his article "The Challenge of Developing Effective Public Policy on the Use of Social Media," John Palfrey, co-director of Harvard Law's Berkman Center for Internet & Society, discusses the problems that American youth face in the wake of increased online social media presence in his article. One of Palfrey's  concerns is balancing the desire to encourage “...digital-era youth media practices (for  instance, [...]

Can They Do That? Saggy Pants Edition

By |2019-03-15T15:27:26-04:00April 1st, 2011|Blog|

Perhaps you heard that the Arkansas State Legislature has banned students from wearing "clothing that exposes underwear, buttocks, or the breast of a female" at all school-related functions. So: Can they do that? Fire up the Free Speech Wayback Machine to 1969. In Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, the Supreme Court ruled that school authorities could not [...]

Announcing the 2010 YFEP film contest semifinalists!

By |2019-03-20T13:24:00-04:00November 18th, 2010|Blog|

This year we received more than 70 film contest submissions from youth all over the country in response to this year's theme: "I'm All For Free Speech, BUT..." After viewing all the entries, we chose the top ten films -- some personal, some provocative, some profound, some just plain fun! We congratulate the semifinalists and all our applicants for their [...]

Avoiding Controversy in Rowlett (AKA: Censorship)

By |2019-03-12T18:27:02-04:00December 16th, 2008|Blog|

Listening to: La Vie Boheme On December 12, the Dallas Morning News reported that Rowlett High School had canceled a production of the musical Rent after protest from some parents in the community. According to the article, the school’s theatre director made the decision in the interest of the students involved: “In light of everything that has happened, I need [...]

Teens Discuss Gay Marriage

By |2019-03-12T18:33:15-04:00November 3rd, 2008|Blog|

Shelbi Kepler - this year's 2nd place film contest winner - takes on our challenge to one more video response to this dramatic election. Here's her video on gay marriage:

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