First Amendment Controversy at Local High School

Andrea Puksta
COM 365 -001
January 22, 2007


First Amendment Controversy at Local High School

“If there is a God, she would end the war in Iraq.” This statement was emblazoned on a t-shirt worn by Colleen Urban, a sophomore at nearby Alan Alda High School. The statement, and reactions to it, has sparked a local controversy. According to Urban’s parents, their daughter was suspended from school this past Friday, January 19, 2007, for wearing what the school principal, Mike Bauer, considered an offensive t-shirt.

It was a normal day for Urban until she reached her fifth period U.S. History class where her teacher, Jan Gorlin, purportedly made several comments to the class about Urban’s t-shirt. Gorlin allegedly said “I only teach students who really value what America stands for.” Also, as Gorlin was escorting Urban to principal Bauer’s office, Gorlin allegedly remarked to Urban “you brought this on yourself – this would be so much easier if you just let God into your heart.”

Upon arrival at principal Bauer’s office, vice principal Maureen Reed demanded that Urban change her shirt immediately. According to Urban, Reed tossed a t-shirt with the school’s logo on it, hitting Urban in the face. When Urban refused to change, Bauer called her parents to tell them their daughter had been suspended for “disrupting the educational environment.” Upon the suspension, a security guard escorted Urban to the front entrance outdoors to wait for her parents, despite the fact that the temperature Friday was extremely frigid.

“She is not in a great frame of mind right now, but she really wasn’t trying to disrupt anything – she just wanted to state her opinion about the war,” says Colleen’s mother, Rose Urban.

The controversy has shaken students, faculty and parents alike. It has also triggered Urban’s parents to file suit in the U.S. federal court in Philadelphia, arguing their daughter’s First Amendment right to free expression has been violated and that Gorlin’s comments violated the Establishment Clause of the Constitution.

“This is America, isn’t it? All of us – and that includes students – should be allowed to say what we want,” says Colleen’s father, Marty Urban.

According to Reed, the school district believes that Urban’s t-shirt interfered with the right of school officials to maintain discipline in the classroom. “We just wanted to ensure that Colleen’s actions didn’t get in the way of learning” says Reed. “We have every right to put a stop to potentially disruptive actions.”

As the suit has been filed, the Urban’s have hired attorney Sheila McGee of the Wilmington, Delaware firm Tinker, Evers and Chance. “The school district’s right to maintain order ends when a student hasn’t disrupted anything,” says McGee. “Students do not leave their opinions and their right to free expression at the schoolhouse gate.”