Religion. Speech. Press. Assembly. Petition. The First Amendment of the Constitution establishes these five fundamental freedoms which have become essential liberties in the United States of America. So in honor of Scholastic Journalism Week, we are participating in the 1 For All First Amendment Challenge to show you — the Monta Vista community — the importance and relevance of the crucial amendment at MVHS. Each day of this week, we will be publishing a short video highlighting one of the freedoms so by Friday night, we will have covered the entirety of the First Amendment.

Today we continue the challenge with the second freedom of the amendment: speech.

Whether it be through graffiti, song or even simply a question asked in class by a curious student, the freedom of speech is exercised thoroughly at MVHS. The real dilemma lies not in what is being communicated by students, but how it is — recognizing the boundary between advisable and inadvisable speech.

“You can’t slander, you can’t vilify people, but if it’s your own opinion about the government, or something like that, you can say it,” freshman Kingsley Wang said. “But the moment it’s someone else’s property — like the school’s — you shouldn’t be able to write whatever you want.”

Additional reporting by Claire Lu.
Homecoming talent show photos by Aditya Pimplaskar.