Report Card: Say Anything

From Black Arm Band to Black List: What are a Students' Rights to Free Speech?

A student wears a black arm-band to school to protest a government action; are they expressing their freedom of speech or are they disrupting the school environment? A student is across from a school holding up a banner which says “Bong Hits 4 Jesus” - an attempt at humor or a support for illegal drug use which impacts a schools ability to teach? A criticism of a classmate on Facebook; freedom of speech or cyber-bullying?

These are examples of questions raised in a thought-provoking, and C-SPAN Award-winning video, “Say Anything," produced by students Jake Palmer and Patrick Dillon. Inspired by 2009’s winning video, “Requiem for the Honeybee” created by Charlie Greene and Eliza McNitt of Greenwich High School, Palmer and Dillon’s "Say Anything" was the only submission from GHS. Last month, C-SPAN announced the film won an Honorable Mention as one of the top 20 videos out of over 1,100 submissions and scored a spot in a finalist group of only 75.

In under eight minutes, the two students clearly addressed the fine line that school administrators, parents, teachers, students and the U.S. Supreme Court must walk in determining when a student is expressing their freedom of speech versus when they have crossed the line and disrupted the learning environment at a school or even entered into a criminal act of cyber-bullying.

The video manages to pack together a series of examples and questions, comments and quotes presenting the struggle with this incredibly complicated issue. As described by Superintendent Dr. Sidney Freund, their work is “an impressive video on the intricacies of the Constitution's First Amendment - Freedom of Speech Rights, especially as it pertains to students. They have done an excellent job from a technical perspective with filming and editing, as well as in creating a thought-provoking piece, enticing the viewer to think about the complexities of the issue.”

In addition the technical accomplishment, Freund goes on to comment on the relevance of the issue given recent events. “The video also raises the issue of the additional complexity of using today's electronic forms of communication to express one's views, thoughts and ideas. I commend these students for a job well done and congratulate them on their recognition by C-SPAN."

The two juniors were brought together by Richard Detmer, a Greenwich High School media teacher who instructs several video production classes. Palmer, who took AP U.S. History as a sophomore, wanted to enter the Annual C-SPAN StudentCam Contest and asked Detmer for assistance in identifying a partner.  Detmer matched Palmer and Dillon, served as their "consultant" and suggested they use the music of fellow GHS student Isa Goldberg, who created the original music which adds to the film's impact and tone. Palmer said that not only did Detmer provide knowledge of the contest in the first place, his technical support and encouragement were invaluable.

Dillon was always intrigued and interested in First Amendment Rights and so the two embarked on their journalistic effort to bring some understanding to the issue as it pertains to students. They began their work last October and by December had enough footage to begin the daunting task of editing, which Palmer’s mother Lynda said took almost 40 hours alone. 

Palmer and Dillon provide a recap of the legal history of student free speech beginning in 1969 when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that students wearing black arm bands to school as a sign of protest against the Vietnam War were within their rights stating the action was not disruptive of the educational environment and was merely supportive of simple political views.

In a world where the wearing of clothing symbolizing one’s expression, be it an athlete donning an armband or the ubiquitous rubber bracelets worn to show support for causes, such a subtle and, by today’s standards, low-key means of expressing a view would hardly raise an eyebrow today.

Palmer and Dillon cite Morse v. Frederick, however, as having great impact on their thinking. The case involved a student who unfurled a banner across from a school with the words “Bong Hits 4 Jesus” during the 2002 Olympic Torch Relay. The school principal forced the student to remove the banner. The student, Joseph Frederick, claimed his First Amendment rights had been violated and the case ended up in Federal court and eventually in the U.S. Supreme Court. Chief Justice Roberts wrote the final opinion and concluded there was no violation based upon the incident happening at a school event, that the banner was promoting illegal drug use and that the principal was within her rights and responsibility to deter such activity. 

"Say Anything" manages to capture the inherent tensions resulting from the matter, further complicated in recent years with the advent of the internet which allows the mass dissemination of views, both positive and negative, about other people with a simple click of a mouse.

The students interviewed an impressive range of individuals including  U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, U.S. Rep. Jim Himes and State Sen. L. Scott Frantz, all of Greenwich. When asked if they were surprised by any of the responses they received from their interviewees, both boys were appreciative of the “helpful input” but were genuinely surprised at their ability to gain access to their famous contributors.

While it took a little persistence, the gentlemen were accommodating and were interviewed in local schools and Blumenthal atwhere Dillon’s Scout troop frequently meets. Frantz said that “Jake and Patrick’s video project is not only an excellent portrayal of the different ways of looking at the all important balance of students' rights and the use of good judgment in our everyday lives, it is also a very well thought out, high quality film in which I was honored to be a part”

When combined with the views of administrators, teachers and students the dialogue is rich in content and nuance. Hearing a student state that the police must always, no, must sometimes be brought into cases involving cyber-bullying gives a glimpse into the struggles each one has in defining the fine line between freedom and responsibility. Post film and post Smut List, Palmer and Dillon hope that students are more aware of consequences of using freedom of speech as a shield behind which to attack or comment on others.

Blumenthal, Connecticut's former attorney general and U.S. Attorney, explains that there are Supreme Court opinions that state very clearly that there can be restrictions on freedom of expression in schools.

Chris Winters, GHS Headmaster, explained that while the school system can prohibit the use of school equipment to be used in order to cyber-bully, it is more difficult when such acts are done outside of the school environment as they “don’t have jurisdiction there.”  Lorraine Termini, GHS Housemaster, however, states that while she questions “how much can I do? What rights do I have?” when facing such problems her litmus test is “is it affecting what is going on in school” and if so she will step in.

There are times when the issue does appear unfortunately clear-cut as in the cases cited of Phoebe Prince, a 15-year-old Irish immigrant, or Tyler Clemente, a Rutgers University student, both of whom committed suicide after facing persistent cyber-bullying. Students interviewed cite the need to have protection against being attacked online, of the need of someone to step in and of the joint role of the school and police can play in these instances.  But, as one student states “if you are criticizing someone, not slanderous, it should be fine” and, as the film narrates, “how do you not deny freedom of speech and expression when anything you say could be construed as offensive to someone?” 

Mark Epstein, a government and history teacher at GHS, sums up the importance of the issue when he asks “how do you have a democracy in which individual citizens are denied the free expression of their ideas? Why is the First Amendment so important? I don’t think you have a democratic republic without it.”

But, the counter-balancing questions remain for administrators, parents and students about how to protect themselves in an age where a hurtful words, gossip, and personal attacks suddenly become viral as was seen in the last few weeks with the Facebook Smut List incident.  While the video is short in length, it is weighty in its delivery of a thought-provoking, attention grabbing message.

Himes summed it up well by saying, “"I really enjoyed working with Jake and Patrick on 'Say Anything.'  They've tackled some really thorny constitutional issues in a provocative and thoughtful way." 

A job well done for any filmmaker, but so much more impressive from two high school students with a camera and two open minds. Both Palmer and Dillon said it was a “fun experience” and they would do it again, but both noted that it obviously involved a lot of work.

While the students were proud that C-SPAN recognized the quality of their work, Lynda Palmer added,  “I really have to credit the GHS faculty especially Richard Detmer as well as (Social Studies teachers) Mark Epstein, Aaron Hull and Steven Swidler. They do an exceptional job and Greenwich High School is quality public education.” And in case you are wondering, yes, Palmer and Dillon did earn A's for the class.