TexasCHLforum.com

The Annoyed Man wrote: Like I said, I understand the administrator's motivation, but he/she absolutely displayed an absolute lack of critical thinking skills.

Yeah. Although I don't support what the student did, it seems likle it was an administrative overreaction.

I, for one, am glad that speeches are approved, and I don't think the school did anything wrong. That doesn't mean the valedictorian didn't deserve to have a voice, but a graduation is not an event where people come to see the valedictorian. He is (technically) inserting himself into an event that only allows him to speak by tradition about the graduating class. It's possible his speech was too strident, or the approvers were too restrictive. Either way, he was asked not to do what he did. Frankly, I don't see it as much different from the Westboro Church people. The ultimate litmus test about _responsible_ application of the first amendment right is: Can your audience walk away/leave if they find what you talk about to be offensive?