Student mulls lawsuit after being kicked off campus for wearing Edwards t-shirt
A Texas high school student is considering a lawsuit after being kicked off campus for wearing a t-shirt supporting Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards.
Sophomore Pete Palmer, who attends Waxahachie High School just outside of Dallas, is not allowed to wear the Edwards shirt because of a strict policy prohibiting shirts carrying messages enforced by the Waxahachie Independent School District (WISD).
The dress code, available at the WISD website , states that "T-shirts, other than WISD clubs, organizations, sports, or spirit t-shirts, college or
university t-shirts, or solid-colored t-shirts, are prohibited."
The following video is from Fox Dallas Fort Worth News, broadcast on October 2, 2007. (story continues below)
Palmer's father, however, who is an attorney, thinks there is a clear-cut free speech issue involved.
He cites a Supreme Court decision earlier this year which held that a Vermont middle school had violated a student's rights by not allowing him to wear an t-shirt critical of President Bush, although the shirt in that case also featured drug imagery.
“It’s a First Amendment constitutional right that people have fought and died for and I don’t know why he should give it up just because Waxahachie thinks it would be okay," the senior Palmer said.
"It had nothing to do with trying to stifle anyone's free speech," WISD District Superintendent Thomas Collins, told Fox's Dallas-Fort Worth affiliate. "It was an opportunity for us to continue to try and maintain a safe and orderly environment...the dress code gives us the tools to make a decision on what is right and what isn't."
A power point presentation , viewable at the school district's website, shows examples of other shirts deemed unacceptable under the code, including the jersey of baseball player Alex Rodriguez.
But Pete says he'll keep wearing his Edwards shirt, even if it means a trip to court.
"I just think they're wrong. I think this, what they're saying oversteps its bounds when it comes to this," he said, adding that "it's an incorrect policy and if by God, if they have to get a court ruling to do so, then it's important to do it."
A Sept. 24 post at John Edwards' official blog, purportedly authored by one of the boy's parents, said the incident "is the subject of a federal suit that [Palmer] anticipates filing next week, should the situation not be resolved to our satisfaction."
"We called the campaign to notify, but (understandably) had trouble getting through to anyone who might make the Senator aware of how deeply his supporters feel about his candidacy in Texas," the post continued.
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