Bob Editor, Editor of the Palisades High School Newspaper, Says

Essay

Bob Editor, editor of the Palisades High School newspaper, says on the paper's website that a school math teacher named Mr. Whiz is a "loser" who ought to be "got rid of in any way possible." Principal Book suspends Editor from school for two days for his "offensive" posting which the principal characterizes as a "true threat." The website is run by the school as part of a "New Media Class" taught by Lawrence Lenient, an English teacher. Principal Book calls his policy a reasonable regulation of a nonpublic forum. But the ACLU claims that Principal Book violated Editor's First Amendment rights by censoring political speech on a public forum. Citing Supreme Court cases, explain whether the online newspaper is (l) a public forum and whether Principal Book can punish Editor for (2) "offensive" speech that Book says is a (3) "true threat."