8

DIMENSIONS

DIMENSIONS 9

January 2015

1 ALL
amendment

for

the

SCARY
statistics

We asked 200 students

if they could explain
the First Amendment.
These are the results.

STUDENTS WHO
DO NOT KNOW
THE FIRST
AMENDMENT

37

63

Speaking Up
for students

STUDENTS WHO
KNOW THE FIRST
AMENDMENT

the

what FIRST AMENDMENT

does

mean to you?
People need to recognize that the
right to free speech isnt a free pass
to say whatever you want. When I
look at Occupy Wallstreet or the Ferguson protests, I see people fighting
to have a voice in politics. It makes
me happy I live in America.
Tori Currier, 9th

In many ways, I think the first

amendment isnt so much about
giving people freedom, but about
preserving the freedoms we have and
keeping our democracy. It is by far
the most meaningful right that
we hold.
Demi Bakatselos, 11th
It means exactly what it says. It
couldnt be any clearer. It means
were a nation; we arent tied
to any religion or whatever the
government says. We all speak for
this country. We change things, not
the government.
Valentino Gifford,11th

ls

Lucas Ramos
Editor-in-chief

For a generation that prides itself on the right to free speech,

an awful lot of students dont know their first amendment.
This liberty isnt just about stating an opinion. Its as though
teenagers have forgotten what the Constitution stands for. Or
worse, they never knew what it said to begin with.
What initially began as a quote-hunting task turned, to say
the least, into something eye-opening. Students were asked to
explain what the first amendment meant to them as students,
as a specific ethnicity, as a certain religious denomination or the
like. Only, it failed after the first five interviews. Very few actually knew what the first amendment was.
This is a case that capitalizes on our generations ignorance.
Granted, people know their right to free speech, but they leave
out the subtleties of the document and the ability to conjure it
at their will (that its point blank in the Bill of Rights, only some
people cant tell what differentiates the Bill of Rights from the
Constitution from the Declaration of Independence).
The first amendment isnt a free ride to say, as one anonymous student explained, Anything I want, and the government cant do anything about it.
Actually, the government can; its called clear and present
danger, and it can be used against you. In fact, there is an endless list of exceptions to this so-called absolute speech that
many students believe they have: advocacy of force, false facts,
unwarranted slander, obscenities and plagiarism.
Some of these are obvious exceptions, yet many people be-

lieve their right to speech is without consequences. Voices can

be silenced, but these instances are sparing and necessary.
How can someone know their rights if they can never define
them clearly? Its rather simple. They cant.
Rather than quote hunt, I decided on a different avenue:
just ask, What is the first amendment?
From a sample size of 200 students, 63% didnt know. Even
worse, few of those who raised their hands in confidence could
muster out three of the rights granted by it.
Out of fear or sheer misery, I surveyed a good representation of the school populace: freshmen to seniors, regular to
advanced placement courses, students at lunch and students in
the hallways. I hoped, in the back of my head, that the higherlevel scholars could reverse the bad conception made at the
thought of this generation voting.
Again, I was mistaken.
What was found? As one anonymous student explained, I
cant tell you the first amendment, but I can plead the fifth.
This is both humorous and disturbing on multiple levels.
While cleverly said, it is frightening to think that students
know their right to stay silent but not their right to speak up. It
seems as though when the right to speech is exercised, its used
ineffectively; that silence is in tandem with justice.
By school statute, all students must complete a semester of
government by the time of graduation. If graduates can pass
a government and economics course but not a simple survey

on the most famous amendment, theres something incredibly

wrong.
With recent global events, the first amendment for journalists has never been more important. The French satirical magazine Charlie Hedbo was recently terrorized by Jihadist extremists
in Paris. What ensued was the slaughter of 12 journalists (including a head editor and major cartoonists).
The cause? A tweet and cartoon of Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi,
leader of Islamic militant group of Isis.
The 1st amendment keeps you from enslavement.
Without it, you are a non-entity of the government, Advanced
Placement government teacher Mr. Gofus said. I think people
assume what they are able to do doesnt come with a price; that
its something given to them.
A student can be taught an amendment, but few will ever
exercise it or self-identify with its core principles. Students are
given the opportunity to learn, yet at least from this survey
they will never utilize or remember this education.
America is a republic, and Im fearful to ask a survey on
what that word means. But this isnt a reprove on the students
of Coral Springs High; this is a cry against ignorance of a student body that doesnt understand an inalienable right.
Citizens, whether teenagers or adults, should never be
dictated by a government; instead, and often forgotten, they
should be able to control it.

This section of The Chronicle is dedicated to the French journalists at Charlie Hebdo who died
upholding their right to free speech.