When you hear our first amendment what do you think? Is it freedom of speech? Freedom of religion? Freedom of press, assembly and petition? Do do you think of the millions abusing this amendment day by day? Or actually trying to persuade, inform, entertain and amuse your audience?

On April 26, 1983, Matthew Fraser, a high school senior at Bethel High school, gave a speech nominating classmate Jeff Kuhlman for his schools class vice president. The speech was filled with sexual innuendoes prompting disciplinary action from the administration. All though Matthew Fraser thought he was simply helping a friend out, There was much wrong with his profound speech. Does the 1st amendment prevent a school district from disciplining a high school student for giving a lewd speech at an assembly? According to ABC-CLIO When taken to court, the court upheld the school district by a 7-2 margin that officials acted within constitution. With that, Fraser was suspended for three days and his name was removed from the ballet to be selected as one of three to give a speech at graduation. Even though Fraser and family thought it was unfair, Chief Justice Burger delivered the opinion of the court and proved that he had in fact violated and abused the first amendment. While Fraser was giving his speech, school councilor observed the gestures and reactions the many peers of Fraser’s who attended. Some were hooting and cheering on his obscene speech, while many others were very uncomfortable and in complete shock with what was being said, as found on oyez.org. All though Fraser did have the right to give a speech for his friend, he did not have the write to say the things he said. Which is why the court ruled it constitutional and said the school gave and acted upon the situation in a reasonable way.

in my opinion i completely agree with the courts ruling. i am a strong advocate of sarcasm, jokes and messing around. of course like all things its acceptable to a limit and that limit was just completely passed. for instance, an example of how fraser really crossed boundaries "I know a man who is firm - he's firm in his pants, he's firm in his shirt, his character is firm - but most [of] all, his belief in you the students of Bethel, is firm. Jeff Kuhlman is a man who takes his point and pounds it in. If necessary, he'll take an issue and nail it to the wall." Imagine going to your schools prep-rally expecting your typical candidate speeches and getting an idea who you want to vote for. then to your dismay you hear this absurd speech. it wasn't even like it wasn't intentional and could be conceived in the wrong way. fraser’s speech was completely intended to be a sexual innuendo making majority of his peers uncomfortable, as well as teachers and principals. all though his friend did in fact win, there were other ways to go about promoting and getting people to vote for your friends. preferably not in such a vulgar way. theres a time and place for such talk. being with your friends and people you’re comfortable with and know wouldn't get offended from that kind of talk, surely go for it. but when you’re around adults and many classmates you hardly know the first name of or much about, it is classified as inappropriate and you shouldn't be surprised if there are consequences to face from it. as fraser and family were when they heard the schools final decisions. I agree with the repercussions that the school gave. Being suspended for three days and having his name removed from the ballet was enough of a punishment to definitely get the point across. I feel it was fair and not overdone. Had there been a weeks worth of suspension and being unable to walk the stage for graduation, I would have to disagree with the courts ruling 100% but I believe they did the appropriate thing. the first amendment may include freedom of speech, but never did it include freedom of vulgarity and immaturity. Now after hearing parts from Matthew Fraser’s speech itself, and hearing a little more about the courts views, what do you think of our first amendment? Hopefully you think Is it freedom of speech, Freedom of religion, Freedom of press, assembly and petition. And not using offensive language which can offend your classmates, teachers and school as a whole.

Bethel School District NO. 403 v. Fraser. The Oyez Project at llT Chicago- Kent College of Law. 08 october 2013