First Amendment No Big Deal, Students Say

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Mon, 31 Jan 2005 08:33:23 -0800

Subject:[Zepps_News] #First Amendment No Big Deal, Students Say

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-4768430,00.html

 

*First Amendment No Big Deal, Students Say*

 

 

*Monday January 31, 2005 4:16 PM*

 

*By BEN FELLER*

 

*AP Education Writer*

 

WASHINGTON (AP) - The way many high school students see it, government

censorship of newspapers may not be a bad thing, and flag burning is

hardly protected free speech.

 

It turns out the First Amendment is a second-rate issue to many of those

nearing their own adult independence, according to a study of high

school attitudes released Monday.

 

The original amendment to the Constitution is the cornerstone of the way

of life in the United States, promising citizens the freedoms of

religion, speech, press and assembly.

 

Yet, when told of the exact text of the First Amendment, more than one

in three high school students said it goes ``too far'' in the rights it

guarantees. Only half of the students said newspapers should be allowed

to publish freely without government approval of stories.

 

``These results are not only disturbing; they are dangerous,'' said

Hodding Carter III, president of the John S. and James L. Knight

Foundation, which sponsored the $1 million study. ``Ignorance about the

basics of this free society is a danger to our nation's future.''

 

The students are even more restrictive in their views than their elders,

the study says.

 

When asked whether people should be allowed to express unpopular views,

97 percent of teachers and 99 percent of school principals said yes.

Only 83 percent of students did.

 

The results reflected indifference, with almost three in four students

saying they took the First Amendment for granted or didn't know how they

felt about it. It was also clear that many students do not understand

what is protected by the bedrock of the Bill of Rights.

 

Three in four students said flag burning is illegal. It's not. About

half the students said the government can restrict any indecent material

on the Internet. It can't.

 

``Schools don't do enough to teach the First Amendment. Students often

don't know the rights it protects,'' Linda Puntney, executive director

of the Journalism Education Association, said in the report. ``This all

comes at a time when there is decreasing passion for much of anything.

And, you have to be passionate about the First Amendment.''

 

The partners in the project, including organizations of newspaper

editors and radio and television news directors, share a clear advocacy

for First Amendment issues.

 

Federal and state officials, meanwhile, have bemoaned a lack of

knowledge of U.S. civics and history among young people. Sen. Robert

Byrd, D-W.Va., has even pushed through a mandate that schools must teach

about the Constitution on Sept. 17, the date it was signed in 1787.

 

The survey, conducted by researchers at the University of Connecticut,

is billed as the largest of its kind. More than 100,000 students, nearly

8,000 teachers and more than 500 administrators at 544 public and

private high schools took part in early 2004.

 

The study suggests that students embrace First Amendment freedoms if

they are taught about them and given a chance to practice them, but

schools don't make the matter a priority.

 

Students who take part in school media activities, such as a student

newspapers or TV production, are much more likely to support _expression

of unpopular views, for example.

 

About nine in 10 principals said it is important for all students to

learn some journalism skills, but most administrators say a lack of

money limits their media offerings.

 

More than one in five schools offer no student media opportunities; of

the high schools that do not offer student newspapers, 40 percent have

eliminated them in the last five years.

 

``The last 15 years have not been a golden era for student media,'' said

Warren Watson, director of the J-Ideas project at Ball State University

in Indiana. ``Programs are under siege or dying from neglect. Many

students do not get the opportunity to practice our basic freedoms.''

 

*^---*

 

On the Net:

 

Future of the First Amendment report: http://www.firstamendmentfuture.org/