Fox News Forgets Fact in Christian Graduation Speech Story

[Ed Brayton]

AAsch at aol.com wrote:

> I much appreciate the kind words (particularly coming from the author 
> of the conlaw book I still use and have been using since law school).
>  
> There was actually another interesting fact about the Erica Corder 
> case in Monument, CO that wasn't in the Fox News story. Erica 
> Corder's father is on the board of directors of James Dobson's Focus 
> on the Family which is based near there (the father's connection to 
> FoF is reported in the Colorado Springs Gazette). If anyone's 
> interested, I took my argument to the Colorado Springs Gazette online 
> forum in more extended written form at: 
> http://forums.gazette.com/gazette/viewtopic.php?t=345&start=30 
> <http://forums.gazette.com/gazette/viewtopic.php?t=345&start=30>
>  
> What I'm having difficulty figuring out, however, is exactly where to 
> draw the line in graduation speech preapproval cases. Does anyone have 
> any good citations (or opinions) on when preapproval of a message 
> becomes endorsement? Also, how do high schools fashion preapproval 
> policies so they are not arbitrary or discriminatory?

I would argue that if the graduation speaker is chosen according to some 
objective criteria, as when the valedictorian automatically is invited 
to speak, then the school should not exercise any control over the 
content of their speech at all. Then the speech is purely their own, 
there is no message of endorsement, and the student can say whatever 
they want. Free speech preserved, establishment clause problem 
eliminated, everyone hapy.

Ed Brayton
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