A Senior at Clovis North High School in Fresno, Maddie Mueller, is suing her school for banning her from wearing a MAGA to school. Mueller believes it is her first amendment right to be able to wear the hat. Mueller is a part of a Conservative activist group called The Valley Patriots, and the group wore their MAGA hats to school on February 20th, the day she got dress coded. She explains, “I don’t care if I offend anybody. I’m just showing support for the president and what I believe.” Mueller had been dress coded in the past as well, for wearing a “Build that wall” shirt.
Clovis Unified School District Chief Communication Officer Kelly Avants reasoned that the dress code is meant to allow kids to feel safe at school and free of distractions. The school claims to have no problems with Maddies politics, but do have an issue with the hat causing disruptions at school.
This issue relates to the rights of students at public school, and to what degree their freedom of speech can be limited while on school grounds. The First Amendment guarantees the freedom of speech, including conveying political messages. However, Avants argues that that right is not absolute, particularly students in public high school like Clovis North. Although it is understandable that it his her first amendment right to able to wear the hat to school, if the hat is causing disruptions and arguments on school grounds, does the school have the right to ban the hat?
Questions:
1)Do you believe Mueller should be able to wear her hat to school?
2)Does the school have a right to ban her from wearing the hat, even if she has the right to convey political messages in the First Amendment?
3)Do you believe Mueller will succeed in suing the school?
I don't necessarily agree that Mueller should have been able to wear the hat because I think that apparel such as that Mueller was wearing causes disruption at school. However, according to the law, Mueller had every right to wear a MAGA hat. In Tinker v. De Moines, student were granted the right to wear armbands in protest the Vietnam war. Mueller's situation mirror that of Tinker v. De Moines greatly. Although I may not agree that the student should be able to wear the political apparel since it may cause unrest at the school, legally speaking, Mueller cannot be stopped from wearing the hat at school.
ReplyDeleteMueller most definitely should have the right to wear her MAGA hat. Like Stefan, I don't agree with her views and I would personally not love seeing the hat, but she has every right to wear it. She truly is just using her first amendment right to voice her opinion. Unless the hat was causing a disruption in class, the school has no right to ban her from wearing it. What if it had been a Hillary hat? Would they still ban it? While students have restricted rights, they are still allowed to voice their political opinion. I think Mueller is going to succeed because there is nothing that actually says that she can't wear her hat.
ReplyDeleteThe only case that can be made against Mueller is that her hat (or t-shirt that said "build the wall") was offensive or distracting. It's definitely possible for her clothing to be interpreted that way--Clovis North high school is 23% Hispanic, and some people might see a shirt endorsing a wall or even just Trump as offensive to the Hispanic population. That being said, he is the president of our country, so even if he's done some questionable things and made some offensive remarks, it seems ridiculous that a school district could prevent students from supporting the president.
ReplyDeleteMueller has the right to wear the hat to school. This is political speech not far off that of the Tinker case, and should be treated the same. The only possible way this could be construed as unprotected by the first amendment is if someone considered her apparel to be fighting words, but I assume she wears them peacefully and does not engage with anyone. The school does not have the right to ban the hat. Banning something a group of students doesn't like simply isn't feasible. If a group of lower income students doesn't like someone wearing a designer outfit, they are free not to like it but that doesn't mean the school then has the right to outlaw expensive or in this case communicative clothing. Since the banning of the apparel is so ridiculous, I think Mueller will easily win and should receive compensation.
ReplyDeleteI believe Mueller should be able to wear her hat to school. Although I do not have similar views with Mueller, she is justifiably expressing her freedom of speech. Thus, the school does not have the right to ban her from wearing the hat unless it causes a disturbance within the classroom. After all, as previous commentators have mentioned, this case is very similar to Tinker v De Moines, and that case ended in favor of the student. Therefore, Mueller will most likely continue to be able to wear that hat and express her viewpoints unless it negatively affects the educational environment.
ReplyDeleteThere has been a lot of anti-Trump related protest in education institutions these days that goes so far as to reject anything that could even possibly be connected to Trump. Trump is clearly not everyone's cup of tea, which is understandable, but how can a red hat that says "Make America Great Again" cause so much outrage among students? It is because they don't care what the hat says, it could even be blank, but if it is connected to Trump then they still think it is perfectly acceptable to voice their free speech against Trump while the school, who may also disagree with Trump, instead of protecting the first amendment for everyone to have a fair say, they only protect the students who voiced free speech that was specifically anti-Trump. Maybe Mueller only feels safe at school when she is wearing Trump policy supporting clothing, but school district disregarded that possibility. Mueller will most likely succeed in suing the school because this is definitely an infringement of rights. This is similar to Tinker v De Moines which even went so far as to protect symbolic speech. It is simply unjust that a student can wear a "Feel the Bern" hat to school but not a "Make America Great Again" because students are unable to allow other views enter their peripheral vision without feeling the need to uproot the structure of society.
ReplyDeleteTo answer the first question, I think that the student has a right to wear the hat, because it is her expression of the first amendment. Although, I personally do not agree with what the hat represents, I don't think this hat would bring great amounts of distribution, mostly because she was not forcibly encouraging any distribution. However, I could understand that the school was trying to help the students that were feeling under comfortable with the hat and what it symbolizes. One of the exceptions to express the 1st amendment, is causing of disruption. From the information given, it does not seem that the school was disrupted to the point of not being able to function. I think, Mueller has a good chance to win if she sues the school, but the school environment would change.
ReplyDeleteThe student does have the right to wear the hat because her right to free speech should be defended because of the first amendment. I assume that the school is banning the hat because they view it as racist; however, that is not what the hat represents. She wears the hat because she supports the ideology of Trump and his policies, not necessarily that it is racist. I believe that she will win the lawsuit against the school because there just isn't any good reason to why her right to wear the hat could be banned. The only case where I would see the school winning the case would be if they have a distinct rule that bans political apparel, including democratic and pro-LGBTQ material.
ReplyDeleteI also agree in that she should be allowed to wear her hat to school because it is her right of free speech and should be allowed to express her beliefs. While her beliefs may be different from most people, she does have a right since she isn´t doing anything other than expressing her opinions on a clothing item. I think that as long as she does not physically do anything to anyone it should be allowed.
ReplyDeleteI think that if it is legal to burn a flag, that it should be legal for Mueller to wear a hat in support of the president. People did vote for him and thus have a right to express their beliefs. I believe it is an infringement on students first amendment rights to not allow them to express their beliefs and I could not understand how this could disrupt the academic process.
ReplyDeleteIt is legal for her to wear the hat. Although, it may anger some, it does allow her some freedom to choose what to wear. The school has no right to keep her from wearing her hat. That hat is for her to support the president and is a form of freedom of speech
ReplyDeleteIt is within Mueller's first amendment rights to have the freedom of speech in school, as long as it is not disruptive. From the information given, it does not seem that the hat was disruptive, so Mueller is completely within her rights to wear it to school. Whether or not we support what the hat means, we should not prevent it from being worn because that would be an infringement on Mueller's rights. As mentioned in many of the comments above, this is extremely similar to the Tinker v Des Moines Supreme Court case in which the Supreme Court rules that in order to justify the suppression of speech, the school officials must be able to prove that the conduct in question would "materially and substantially interfere" with the operation of the school. Since the hat doesn't interfere with the operation of the school, Mueller will most likely win her fight against the district. This situation is a very concerning indication that the environment in schools in unsafe for all opinions, and that needs to change on a national level.
ReplyDeleteShe should have the right to wear the hat in school, nothing provided in any of these articles demonstrates a clear reason why wearing it would cause a substantial disruption. If this case goes to trial and the full story provides some context, the schools actions could potentially be justified if they can show that that hat in particular has previously (or could be reasonably inferred) to cause a disruption in class. Tinker v Des Moines has already provided the precedent that unless there is an extenuating circumstance, schools can't deprive students of speech, even symbolic speech through clothing. At this point, there isn't enough context to conclude the outcome of the trial, it all depends on whether the school could provide reasonable evidence that the MAGA hat would cause substantial disruption.
ReplyDeleteAlthough not everyone might agree with her political affiliation, I think that as stated in the Constitution, it is Mueller's First Amendment right to wear it as a sign of symbolic speech. This situation mirrors the precedent set in Tinker v. Des Moines, which outlined that students were allowed to express their political beliefs through symbolic or verbal speech. Therefore, I believe that Mueller should be allowed to express her beliefs, as long as it does not cause a serious conflict that could cause disruption in the classroom. I think that in order to win this case, the school will have to prove that Mueller's apparel was an immense distraction and a root of conflict for its school environment.
ReplyDeleteBased on her first amendment rights, Mueller should be allowed to wear her MAGA hat as a form of freedom of expression. As established with precedent Supreme Court cases, as long as the hat does not cause a distraction at school, she can wear whatever she pleases. I think it is very telling about our country's political climate that a student's choice of attire can cause such a big ruckus and lead to such great controversy. I do understand the power of the hat, as Trump has made many groups feel unsafe and targeted, a feeling that can be transferred through public support of him via the hat. Regardless of making the student body feel uncomfortable, I do think she will be successful in suing the school because her legal rights are protected.
ReplyDeleteAs the comments stated above, I think that it is within her first amendment rights to wear the MAGA hat at school. It would be unfair for her to have to take something not directly offensive off just for the reason that it doesn't agree with the political beliefs of most students and faculty. However, I can understand how the hat may become a distraction as supporting such a controversial person can come with backlash from students against the president. But this fear remains a hypothetical and there are no grounds for them to prohibit her from wearing the hat.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the comments above that it would violate her first amendment right of freedom of speech and that Mueller should be allowed to wear her MAGA hat. While schools do have a specific dress code and can set rules on what students can or can not wear, I don't think this hat would disrupt a person's education. Moreover, by banning the hat is suppressing the student's political views. In the case of Tinker v Des Moines, there is the precedent that schools can not stop students from expressing their political views especially if it is nonviolent.
ReplyDeleteWith regards to upholding the First Amendment, Mueller should have the freedom to wear what she wants. The dress code has always been controversial and problematic, and Mueller's school was unjustified in prohibiting her from wearing the MAGA hat. Though I recognize that this hat can be offensive or triggering, it is not Mueller's concerns. If people that share the same or different views as Mueller are prohibited of expressing their political concerns, then it will only perpetuate the belief that young people do not care about politics and discourage civic engagement.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Mueller should have the right to wear the MAGA hat to school because of her freedom of speech as an American citizen. While I do not agree with her views and see her wearing the MAGA hat and "build that wall" shirt as offensive and slightly racist to minority students attending the school, if she were banned from wearing what she wants, they would be getting in the way of her rights. She should be able to express her political beliefs whether or not they are offense to other as long as she is not causing actual harm to other students.
ReplyDeleteIt is understandable that the MAGA merch could make students feel uncomfortable, as to many individuals, it serves as a symbol for oppression and marginalization. Regardless of this, it is a violation of Mueller's first amendment right to inhibit her right to wear this clothing. If, however, she became more vocal or aggressive in her behavior than it would be a different circumstance. As of now, however, her passive and peaceful attitude cannot and should not be punished.
ReplyDelete