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If you've heard the case of Brandi Levy, a former high school cheerleader in Mahanoy City, Pa., whose free speech case made it all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, you might wonder why the court felt it necessary to overwhelmingly rule in favor of a then 14-year-old who posted some vulgar words and images on social media from an off-campus site in a moment of frustration and anger, and then found herself suspended from the junior varsity cheer team.
Who cares, right?
You should.
Supreme Court justices, with the single exception of Justice Clarence Thomas, were absolutely right to rule the school violated the 14-year-old's First Amendment rights in this case, as the student posted her comments outside of the school's jurisdiction.
The justices did so not so much for her sake, but for the sake of every American.
It was a somewhat narrow ruling, and the justices said that school district officials had the power to punish items posted online or off campus if it can be proven that they would disrupt classroom study. Officials would certainly be justified in taking action against communications which were aimed at bullying or making threats against another student, for example.
Levy's frustration at being denied a spot on the varsity cheer squad did not fall into that category.
In the majority opinion, Justice Stephen G. Breyer said teaching students the principles of free speech is one of the most important responsibilities our schools have.
"America's public schools are the nurseries of democracy. Our representative democracy only works if we protect the 'marketplace of ideas,'" Breyer explained, according to the New York Times. "Schools have a strong interest in ensuring that future generations understand the workings in practice of the well-known aphorism, 'I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.'"
We might not agree with the manner in which Levy chose to express her disappointment in not making the cheering squad, but we all should be grateful to the court for reminding us she had every right to do so.