George:

I write about two things.

First, dissent in Charlottesville schools. On Thursday, I received calls from students wanting to know what their First Amendment rights were. One student has wanted to put up a poster that read, ""Yee-ha is not a foreign policy." She was told that she had to get Principal Bobby Thompson's approval. I also saw the e-mail messages from Sue Herndon about her daughter Hope's conversations with the Buford principal, Tim Flynn.

So I spoke at the Thursday evening School Board meeting, reminding the Board of the principles of Tinker v. Des Moines School District, the case in 1969 that made it clear that students have an absolute right to wear armbands to protest wars. I had been able to speak with Mr. Thompson, who told me that he would establish a "free speech" area where folks can post signs about anything, with his approval. He expects that the only issue he will have will be with profanity. The caselaw is very clear -- in a school, the principal has the right to "censor" profanity. This response is perfect, both under First Amendment law and in light of the high spirits of high school students.

I checked into the CHS situation primarily because I have two children who attend CHS. I have no children who attend Buford, so I did not speak with Mr. Flynn (nor have I spoken with Sue or Hope Herndon), but made reference to "another school" in describing the threat supposedly made to suspend for 10 days anyone who walks out as a protest on the war. I also made clear in my comments that I did not know whether this allegation was true, but expressed the hope that it was not, because it would pose clear First Amendment problems. After I was done, Mr. Flynn whispered in my ear that I had been given incorrect information, and he invited me to call him. Suffice it to say that the School Board and the central administration is sensitive to the problem, and if anyone thinks that there is a problem, a call to Mr. Flynn or to Superintendent Ron Hutchinson would probably be in order.

Second, dissent in "wartime." First, I am offended that this is a "war." In this country, we have a war when it is declared by Congress. In this case, we have no declaration of war. And no, the resolution last fall does not count, and Security Council Resolution 1441 doesn't count either. A resolution threatening "serious consequences" in the future if various things don't happen is not the same thing as a formal declaration of war. There is no substitute, either in the Constitution or in the political focusing of attention, for having to vote on a "declaration of war." Once a majority of our elected representatives has voted for a "war," then we are at "war." Not until then. Once there has been a declaration of war, I have no problem saying that different rules may apply for dissent.

Second, regardless of what we call this (all the good names -- like police action, conflict or incursion -- have been taken), I can't believe Bob Gibson really means that we shouldn't criticize our President for having gotten us into this mess. Republicans certainly didn't hold off on their criticisms of FDR, and that was a true self-defense, declared war. They didn't hold off on their criticisms of LBJ for his conduct of the Vietnam conflict.

Actually, though, I have a compromise. I won't say anything bad about our President, if the Republicans -- every one of them, from Dick Cheney on down -- agree not to say anything good about him.

Lloyd Snook (electronic mail, March 23, 2003)

Editor's Note (1): Timothy Flynn's e-mail address is Timothy.Flynn@ccs.k12.va.us. The phone number at Buford is 245-2411.

See also, Sue Herndon's letter to Buford Middle School Principal Timothy Flynn and Lloyd Snook's comments on High School Protests and Free Speech.

Editor's Note (2):In his March 23rd column in The Daily Progress, Bob Gibson said, in part:

"... No matter what people think of American policy in Iraq, the debate is over on whether to invade or how and when to disarm Saddam Hussein.We are in, whether we like it or not. Bush is commanding troops in a war. Bashing any president during a war is perhaps the fastest and surest way to lower one's own IQ. Many disagree with the policy that took us to this war, but respect and support for the troops in a conflict outweighs all political considerations at the moment. Americans rarely choose to speak with one voice, which is part of our strength, but we can pray together. Expressing disagreement with government policy is every American's right and the American right's duty - except during war time. During war, civic and civil duty changes. Supporting the troops we all want to come home alive implies no bashing of their commander-in-chief. Protests and differences expressed respectfully, creatively, even humorously, speak louder than shouts ..." (Bob Gibson, The Daily Progress, March 23, 2003)

For more of Bob Gibson's column, see Two Voices.