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| Frank D. LoMonte, Esq. Executive Director Student Press Law Center |
Speech that appears to promote violence against school personnel - even humorously- is unlikely to receive constitutional protection, so be careful what you joke about. This was one fact learned from the presentation given by Frank LoMonte, Esq., Executive Director of the Student Press Law Center (SPLC) Monday.
What could have been an unbearably dry and boring presentation on the First Amendment & censorship LoMonte made it an engaging learning experience. He used quick humor. His depth of knowledge was clearly evident. His applied experience enabled him to give us countless examples to bring to life the law as it applies in federal and state.
On the First Amendment we learned, it does not apply to provite schools, students have more rights than the teacher, and students must take ownership of their rights.
On copyright we learned that all borrowing is not created equal. You cannot defend yourself on ignorance. As far as fare use 100% of the graphic cover of a CD can be used to tell a story, where anything more than just a clip of music used could get you in trouble.
Denise Powell
Bok Technical High School
Philadelphia, PA
Honestly I was nervous to see the topic at hand lasting all morning as well but this was a very good presentation. With the stories and tidbits that our group shared with him it added to the presentation too. Personally I found your story about marketing very crucial to a lot of the items we deal with in our paper and advertising as well, so thank you for speaking up too!
ReplyDeleteHeather Jancoski
Desert Sands Middle School
Phoenix, AZ
I also was interested to realize that students have more rights than the teachers. I think when my students understand that, they will be more willing to fight for their stories. What a great lesson to learn in high school: You can fight for your ideas because you have the power to do it. They'll use that the rest of their lives.
ReplyDeleteI come from Pennsylvania like Denise and our state is unique because it has adopted a modified Hazelwood law. My principal exercises prior review for every publication. Advisors are not protected, but oftentimes, when my students want to write about something, I know how he will react. If I have the slightest hesitation about a story, I used to go to him but now I am going to send my students his way.
ReplyDeleteJackie Ludka
Pleasant Valley HS
Brodheadsville, PA