The Oregon high school student who was disciplined for wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with the logo “Donald J. Trump Border Wall Construction Co.” followed by “The Wall Just Got 10 Feet Taller” got an apology from his principal … along with twenty-five thousand bucks.
Addison Barnes had worn the shirt for a discussion in his “People and Politics” class. However, a Liberty High assistant principal soon informed him he’d have to cover the shirt up because “at least one other student” and a teacher said it had offended them.
Barnes refused, and a school resource officer ended up removing him from the class. He was informed he could be suspended for up to ten days.
Barnes sued the school, district, and his principal, and in May a judge sided with him asking of the defendants “So First Amendment protections vary from high school to high school?”
This past Tuesday, Barnes’ lawyers announced a settlement with the district and Principal Greg Timmons.
“I brought this case to stand up for myself and other students who might be afraid to express their right-of-center views,” Barnes said in a statement. “Everyone knows that if a student wears an anti-Trump shirt to school, the teachers won’t think twice about it. But when I wore a pro-Trump shirt, I got suspended. That’s not right.”
Barnes’ lawyers said the message on the shirt wasn’t the point of the case. High school students have the right to express their political views, they said.
“We brought the case to police the thought police,” attorney Brad Benbrook said.
School district officials said in a statement that courts have ruled differently in similar cases, leaving students’ First Amendment rights in school a “gray area.” They said they decided to settle the T-shirt case “given the cost and disruption of litigation.” …
School officials had defended their actions in court, saying the shirt would contribute to a “hostile learning environment” and would make students feel insecure in school, noting that about 33 percent of the high school’s students are of Hispanic descent. They also said the school had been the site of recent student walkouts and sit-ins to protest Trump’s immigration policies.
The district described increased racial tensions arising from racially charged language around immigration, school officials said.
Judge Michael W. Mosman said “the ‘thin’ court record offered little support for the district’s argument that the shirt could ‘substantially disrupt” the school.”
MORE: Judge rules student’s pro-Trump ‘Border Wall’ shirt allowed in school
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