Touro Hosts Civic Education Program for Long Island High Schoolers

Touro Law Center, in partnership with Project PATCH, the Law and Civic Education Program of the Northport-East Northport School District, will host a program entitled “Icons of Freedom” on Friday, November 30 from 9:30 am -12:30 pm. Approximately 400 students from 11 districts throughout Long Island will be attending. The program will also be live streamed for schools throughout the state. Featured speakers include Mary Beth Tinker and Cathy Kuhlmeier Frey.

“We are delighted to host this program” stated Dean Harry Ballan. “It’s an unparalleled opportunity for high school students to learn from ‘icons of freedom.’ I hope students will be inspired to become active, socially responsible citizens.”

David Scott, Project PATCH Coordinator and Social Studies teacher in the Northport-East Northport School District and graduate of Touro stated, “This program promises to inspire those in attendance and those watching live stream from their classrooms. Both speakers have important stories to tell and do so in a way that is engaging and inspirational. I am proud to be offering the event in partnership with Touro.”

Tinker was one of the lead plaintiffs in the landmark Supreme Court case Tinker v. Des Moines. As a public school student during the Vietnam era, as a matter of conscience, Mary Beth Tinker wore a black armband to school to mourn for the dead on both sides of the conflict and express her wish for peace. This act of self-expression resulted in her suspension from school. The case was ultimately decided by the Supreme Court of the United States which ruled in favor of the students, holding that students do not “shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate”. This landmark holding is one basis for students’ First Amendment rights in schools today.

As a student at Hazelwood East High School in Missouri, Cathy Kuhlmeier Frey served as the student editor of the school newspaper, The Spectrum. The paper was an integral part of the curriculum for the Journalism II course at Hazelwood East High School. In the spring of 1983, with the support of her teacher and faculty advisor, Kuhlmeier sought to publish articles on teen pregnancy and divorce in The Spectrum. The school principal removed the stories from the paper. Believing this censorship violated students' rights to Free Speech and Free Press under the First Amendment, Kuhlmeier filed a lawsuit against her school which eventually made its way to the Supreme Court of the United States. In the landmark case Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier the Supreme Court ruled against Kuhlmeier finding schools have the power to censor "school sponsored" student expression if the censorship relates to legitimate pedagogical concerns. This decision remains controversial. Ten states (and the District of Columbia) have passed "Anti-Hazelwood" laws or regulations that extend additional protections to student journalists. Today, Cathy Kuhlmeier Frey continues to work as an advocate for students' rights and freedom of the press.

Touro Law Center and Project PATCH expanded their partnership earlier this year. The program will provide training for K-12 teachers throughout the state, presentations and information sessions at statewide teaching conferences as well as educational programs and mock trial competitions for students.

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Patti Desrochers

Director of Communications

pattid@tourolaw.edu

(631) 761-7062