Free speech appears to be alive and thriving on the Tufts campus, what with "The Vagina Monologues" having been performed (and discussed) on campus over the weekend, and the VOX-sponsored "Sex on the Hill" fair taking place in the campus center yesterday. But according to a comprehensive new study done by the University of Connecticut, the same can't be said of high school campuses across the U.S. In fact, as the Daily explores in this installment of "By the Numbers," the study suggests that many high school students display a lack of appreciation for-and understanding of-the rights guaranteed to them by the First Amendment.
36 Years since Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, the 1969 U.S. Supreme Court decision that granted students "the right to express their opinions on school grounds" so long as the way they express those opinions does not cause "material and substantial interference in the educational process"
1 in 3 High school students who think that the First Amendment "goes too far in the rights it guarantees"
97% High school teachers who think that the expression of "unpopular views" should be allowed
83% High school students who think so
1 in 2 High school students who think "newspapers should be allowed to publish freely without government approval of stories"
39% High school teachers who think so
20% High schools surveyed that have no student publications
40% Portion of that 20% that have gotten rid of their student publications within the past 5 years
$1 million Cost of the study
100,000 Students involved in the study
8,000 Teachers involved in the study
544 Private and public high schools involved in the study
371 Inquiries submitted to the Student Press Law Center "from student publishers and their faculty advisers nationwide" in 1985
2,796 Inquiries submitted in 2003
3 in 4 High school students who think flag-burning is illegal (which it isn't)
1 in 2 High school students who think "the government can restrict any indecent material on the Internet" (which it cannot)
The statistics cited above come from the Associated Press, the Seattle Times, the Press & Sun-Bulletin, the Daily Collegian, and the Chicago Sun-Times.
