Quotes

(this) Silence

I watched a shattered world fall
All the tongues tied to their jaws
Heard all screams without a sound
People blindly looking round.

Seen corruption at its best
Good men slaughtered at the chest
A world's destruction found-
In people's selfish crowns

Bridge:
How can you wish the world to change, when your lips are sealed and your fingers lay unraised?
And all that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.

Chorus:
Is this silence,
The way that hell was born?
Is it through silence,
That sadists scorn?

I've watched bombs fall around
Pretty girls looking at the ground
Wondering if they'll be
Praying they'll still breathe

I've heard the cry of the young
Asking for a savior to come
The leaders of the nations rise
All they bring is not suprise-ing

Bridge
Chorus

I've been weeping for a world,
That's all to familiar with silence

And I've been weeping for a time
That's suffocating under its tyrants

Repeat

Chorus
Chorus
Bridge

Prom Admittance

Both of us come from schools within Ohio; however, are schools are quite different, especially when it comes to the issue of public individuality and prom.

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My school was in a small town in the southern part of Ohio, right along the border of West Virginia. It was definitely the typical "hick" school- funding, attention, and praise always went to the sports teams and Christianity was twisted to be used in what I believe was a not so Christian method. This small town seemed (to me) deprived of arts. Of course you had those few angels who taught a variety of arts excellently and fought to bring culture to the town, but the battle was quite one sided.

Diversity in the town was at a minimum. Within the school cliques and prejudice were quite apparent. I considered myself lucky; I have always been extremely outspoken and for that reason nobody messed with me. But I believe most everyone else within the school was not as lucky as I. Name calling and labeling were a constant, and the term "gay" was used as a put down along with many other quite vulgar terms. Homosexuality was defiantly suppressed in the school - in fact there was only one openly homosexual person in the school. For privacy sake, I'll call him "Bob."

Bob was a senior when I was a freshman. I played on the soccer team and performed decently so I was lucky enough to go to prom with an upper class man. Bob had invited his boyfriend to the prom; his boyfriend, however was from a different school. When you bring someone from a different school to the prom you must sign them in. The stipulation was they had to be of the opposite gender because you could not just bring a "friend" that had to be a "date" and my school being ridiculous would not allow Bob's boyfriends entrance.Bob and his boyfriend ended up sneaking in and getting away with it, but the fact that they faced such problems just trying to attend prom is completely ridiculous. My school is a public school and therefore should not be able to use their moral reasoning (even though they said it was not for moral reasons but because they did not want "friends" from other schools over crowding the prom) to selectively choose admittance. Bob had been more than bothered enough throughout the high school; the added drama was not needed.

I think my town and their "hick" sense of Christianity also gives the religion a slightly bad name. There was alot of hypocrisy and I found many children did not believe in a religious manner but rather in a "this is what my parents say and therefore that's how it is" kind of mindset. It is quite sad for me because I hate to see something so special and valuable as religion be brought to such a superficial level.Bob ended up being fine. I'm not sure where he is now, but I think he moved to a bigger city. My old school is still what it used to be; what's funny is that "political" or "sport" position can defy almost anything there and yield any exception which is often unfair to the rest of the student body. This contrasts NCSA directly, considering that I would guesstimate at least 35% of the population at our prom are homosexual.

-Michael

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In contrast to most high schools mine did not discriminate. Anybody was allowed to go to prom no matter what. Given that they were upperclassmen. In my school we even had someone come in drag. I went to an arts school in Cincinnati, Ohio and everyone was very open when it came to sexual preference. When tony came in Drag nobody thought any less of him and he was treated exactly the same as any other student who went to prom. Schools that limit who can come to events and who can not are spurring discrimination in their own students. Schools should have no right to limit attendance at a dance simply by someones sexual preference.

-Rebecca

Prom & Diversity

Both of us come from schools within Ohio; however, are schools are quite different, especially when it comes to the issue of public individuality and prom.

Michael - My school was in a small town in the southern part of Ohio, right along the border of West Virginia. It was definitely the typical "hick" school- funding, attention, and praise always went to the sports teams and Christianity was twisted to be used in what I believe was a not so Christian method. This small town seemed (to me) deprived of arts. Of course you had those few angels who taught a variety of arts excellently and fought to bring culture to the town, but the battle was quite one sided.
Diversity in the town was at a minimum. Within the school cliques and prejudice were quite apparent. I considered myself lucky; I have always been extremely outspoken and for that reason nobody messed with me. But I believe most everyone else within the school was not as lucky as I. Name calling and labeling were a constant, and the term "gay" was used as a put down along with many other quite vulgar terms. Homosexuality was defiantly suppressed in the school - in fact there was only one openly homosexual person in the school. For privacy sake, I'll call him "Bob."
Bob was a senior when I was a freshman. I played on the soccer team and performed decently so I was lucky enough to go to prom with an upper class man. Bob had invited his boyfriend to the prom; his boyfriend, however was from a different school. When you bring someone from a different school to the prom you must sign them in. The stipulation was they had to be of the opposite gender because you could not just bring a "friend" that had to be a "date" and my school being ridiculous would not allow Bob's boyfriends entrance.
Bob and his boyfriend ended up sneaking in and getting away with it, but the fact that they faced such problems just trying to attend prom is completely ridiculous. My school is a public school and therefore should not be able to use their moral reasoning (even though they said it was not for moral reasons but because they did not want "friends" from other schools over crowding the prom) to selectively choose admittance. Bob had been more than bothered enough throughout the high school; the added drama was not needed.
I think my town and their "hick" sense of Christianity also gives the religion a slightly bad name. There was alot of hypocrisy and I found many children did not believe in a religious manner but rather in a "this is what my parents say and therefore that's how it is" kind of mindset. It is quite sad for me because I hate to see something so special and valuable as religion be brought to such a superficial level.
Bob ended up being fine. I'm not sure where he is now, but I think he moved to a bigger city. My old school is still what it used to be; what's funny is that "political" or "sport" position can defy almost anything there and yield any exception which is often unfair to the rest of the student body. This contrasts NCSA directly, considering that I would guesstimate at least 35% of the population at our prom are homosexual.

Day Without Civil Liberties

Bound by the chains that surround us. Running with no where to go. They follow you everywhere. Whispering in your ear, telling you what to do, how to behave. The silence of the people is deafening; suffocating you to no end. The strength of these unspoken words dies. Slowly siphoning all hope from your body. The restrictions they enforce will leave you with nothing. Nothing except the empty shell of what they want you to be.

Freedom of the Press

One way the government restricts the freedom of the press is through Prior Restraint. Prior Restraint is the government's action to keep information from reaching the public; in our country and usually has to do with military actions, secrets, etc. On one side this restraint is very useful: for example, in 1945 when the first atomic bomb to be used in World War II. Before it was dropped in Hiroshima, the press had this information concealed from them and even those trying to gain insight in the plan were not allowed to report it to the public for fear of national safety and the attack's success.









The first important case in which the Supreme Court dealt with Prior Restraint was in Near V. Minnesota. In this case the Supreme Court ruled Prior Restraint to be unconstitutional except within extreme cases, such as things dealing with national security. In this case a local newspaper ran countless stories on Minneapolis's elected officials unmoral behaviors. Though this paper was considered what is now basically a tabloid paper, the court ruled that the government had no power/right to stop their freedom of print.

Though the press won in that case, often the press comes out the defeated. During wartime, restrictions on the press become particularly high. It is somewhat difficult to find examples of when the press is restricted for Prior Restraint because their loss signifies some kind of secrecy which the government is quick to keep from gaining national attention.

First Amendment Test

The test was interesting- we scored 25/30 and 27/30, so I would say we did decently. To learn the correct answer and reasons we got some of the questions wrong was very enlightening; though the First Amendment is quite short the various decisions that have been built off of the amendment are quite complex. We are blessed to have such a wonderful amendment.



"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."