CRIER
dec . 17, 2021 volume 58 issue 5
munster high school 8808
columbia
ave. munster, IN
46321
CONGRESS SHALL MAKENOLAW...
PHOTOS BY ATARAH ISRAEL, EJ BOERSMA, ANTHONY YOUNG AND HENRY HOFFERTH
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS Students often have to balance using their First Amendment right to free speech online and in public, while also considering the cost it will have on their future. The five freedoms outlined in the First Amendment—freedom of religion, press, assembly, petition and speech—are visible everywhere.
... ABRIDGINGTHE FREEDOMOF SPEECH Students face the implications of political and personal online speech
ATARAH ISRAEL editor-in-chief
T
hough Grace Harris, sophomore, rarely used social media regularly, like any other teenager, she had the urge to check her Instagram at least once a day. This time around, however, the last thing she was expecting to see was a photo of her and her softball friends holding hands. The picture itself was not an anomaly, but the fact that the smiling trio was featured on @ mhscouples was a humorous surprise. “When they (the joke MHS Instagram accounts) first started, people were really upset about it,” Grace said.
“I think once people were able to realize that these are just joke accounts and it’s not meant to bring anyone down or harm anyone. I think it’s just all fun.” Though for some this trend of MHS account posts have been lighthearted ways to engage with the school, they have also sparked a larger conversation about students’ rights and online speech. Much has changed since 1969 when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Tinker V. Des Moines that students’ rights don’t end at the school gate. Amidst other major changes, for many students social media has a prime method of getting one’s voice heard. “Free speech (to me means) I have
the right to voice my opinion,” Tobin Thayer, senior, said. “Some things should not be said, but they are. You have your right. Honestly just be courteous with your amendments. The best part of it to me is the freedom of press. I enjoy the fact that the people can find out what the government’s doing, even if it causes them to get in trouble later on. It’s better for the people to know what’s happening.” With the rising popularity of exercising one’s First Amendment rights on social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram, there also comes the question of deciphering between the realm of social media and reali-
ty. Though this conflict was initially only a concern for professional media, the access almost anyone now has to
voice political speech online has raised questions about social media’s similar effects. “We determine in the media what’s important for the public to consider at any moment, to think about,” Mr. Christopher Benson, associate professor in Medill at Northwestern University and lawyer, said during a lecture about media responsibility. “We make those determinations. You can see now how we’re causing you to think in certain ways.”
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