Saturday, July 19, 2008

Free speech’s price is too high to compromise

"At Monday night’s meeting, I couldn’t help but get the impression that those who opposed the proposed harassment policy were simply costing the taxpayers extra money. The School Board spent almost $10,000 on recent questionnaires that were also met with mixed reviews. Yet that amount wasn’t brought to light. How much more important is our right to free speech than sending out a survey to find out what radio talk show we listen to the most?"

Read the entire article here:

http://activepaper.olivesoftware.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=V0JETi8yMDA4LzA3LzE5I0FyMDA2MDE=&Mode=HTML&Locale=english-skin-custom

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Brian hit this nail right on the head. I say this over and over again. Harassment is NOT okay for ANYONE. We do not need to specify groups of ANY kind. We do not need to make sure that groups of people have the right to cry harassment over any issue just to shut down the opposition. We all have a right to opinion. Being offended by someone else's opinion on a subject is simply a part of life. Learning how to deal with that appropriately does not include telling others they simply cannot speak. The harassment policy shuts down free speech. Students will be afraid to say ANYTHING for fear of the "harassment cry." Is this what we want for our children in West Bend???

Very importantly, there continues to be NO PROVISION for parental notification or inclusion in disciplinary hearings concerning their children. PARENTS - I hope you are appropriately MORE THAN CONCERNED. Would you want to find out later on the down the road that your child was forced to sit in on a disciplinary hearing "alone", with a principal/vice principal, teacher and/or student - all without your knowledge? Guess what? That is ALREADY HAPPENING. It is up to YOU to vocalize your opposition to this harassment policy and ask for CHANGE.

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