Media Law & Literacy Summer 2021

     In a decision that was announced this week, the Supreme Court ruled that a high school in Pennsylvania violated a sophomore’s right to free speech when they suspended her for using foul language on Snapchat. Back in 2017, Brandi Levy, who was disappointed when she didn’t make the varsity cheerleading squad, vented on Snapchat ““ F— school f— softball f— cheer f— everything,” the 14-year-old, frustrated at the prospect of another year on the junior-varsity team, wrote on her cellphone, posting a photo of herself and a friend extending middle fingers.” (Bravin, Supreme Court Rules for High-School Cheerleader Brandi Levy in Free-Speech Case Over Snapchat Post, 2021)      For the 8-1 decision, Justice Breyer wrote the majority opinion and in it he stressed that schools cannot censor the speech of students on or off campus as long as what they are saying is not “substantially disruptive.” (Sherman, 2021) This means that schools can still punish students for cyber-bullying or for maki

        After reading and thinking about the Eight Values of Free Expression, the one value that really stands out to me, the one that I think is so important, is the sixth one – Promote Tolerance. I think that just about everyone in today’s society could learn to be more tolerant of opinions that they do not necessarily agree with. I believe that most people find it is much easier to lash out at those who express opinions that they do not agree with on social media than it is in person.      When I scroll through social media these days, it seems like if someone posts something praising or thanking a police officer, then so many people comment on how racist police are and call for “defunding the police.” Ever since Derrick Chauvin caused the death of George Floyd last summer, many people have been calling anyone involved in law enforcement “racist pigs.” But 99% of these people who are judging an entire profession by the actions of one “bad apple” would never dream of saying something

    My most important take away  after watching these videos  is that the Supreme court remains the most powerful governing body today. The decisions of the Supreme Court tell the President, Congress, and the states what they may or may not do: The decisions of these nine justices become the law of the land. Something I learned from these videos is The Supreme Court receives about 100 cases a week and 7,000 cases a year but they only agree to hear about 100 cases a year.       One thing that I learned surprised me:   After hearing a case, all nine judges sit in a room and share their opinions, but one justice writes the opinion of the majority. This takes more time than anything else and revisions may go on for months.  All opinions and decisions are announced at the end of the term in Late June. I knew the Supreme Court was important but these videos really educated me on how the rulings of the Supreme Court can impact our everyday lives.   My own grandfather was lucky enoug

1. Snapchat Snapchat has been a very popular social media platform for quite some time now. Many teens like myself don't watch really watch news channels by choice so we normally get our news from social media. Snapchat has a few public "Stories" One of them is called "Daily Mail". This specific story consist of articles about your favorite celebrities, updates on Covid-19  procedures, and even politcal articles.  https://medium.com/inside-the-news-media/daily-mail-on-snapchat-222dce4b5204 2. Instagram  Instagram is obviously a huge social media platform that people of all ages use. Instagram isn't necessarily a news outlet but it is a great way to spread news or awarness because it posts can go viral and reach millions of people. I myself have come across a number of articles about the president or covid 19. This is my second favorite news platform other than snapchat because teens don't want to watch the news but they do go on instagram so bringing the