Bong Hits 4 Jesus
A Perfect Constitutional Storm in Alaska's Capital
Distributed for University of Alaska Press
In January 2002, for the first time, the Olympic Torch Relay visited Alaska on its way to the Winter Games. When the relay runner and accompanying camera cars passed Juneau-Douglas High School, senior Joseph Frederick and several friends unfurled a fourteen-foot banner reading "BONG HiTS 4 JESUS."
An in-depth look at student rights within a public high school, this book chronicles the events that followed: Frederick's suspension, the subsequent suit against the school district, and, ultimately, the escalation of a local conflict into a federal case. Brought to life through interviews with the principal figures in the case, Bong Hits 4 Jesus is a gripping tale of the boundaries of free speech in an American high school.
"Dangerous, disruptive, unprotected speech or a sophomoric grab for TV face time? Foster’s fascinating and comprehensive book about Morse v. Frederick walks readers through every stage of a case that resulted in the US Supreme Court establishing a ‘messy precedent’ that may deeply affect First Amendment speech rights for years to come. Sensitive in its portrayal of both students’ rights and school authority, Bong Hits 4 Jesus considers whether this recalibration of student speech rights is a major retreat.”
Introduction
Prologue: A Tale of Three Wars and Zero Tolerance
1. Harmonic Convergence in Juneau: [In]famous for Fifteen Minutes
2. The Tentative Tinker Rule
3. From Black Armbands to Colliding Tubas
4. A New Century, a Different Court
5. The Ninth Circuit Weighs In
6. Not-So-Brief Battles, Not Such Odd Bedfellows
7. "Up in Smoke at the High Court"
8. Five Takes on a Single Event
9. Lost Opportunities and Failure of Imagination
Endnotes
Works Cited
List of Interviews
Tables of Cases
Index
Law and Legal Studies: The Constitution and the Courts
Political Science: American Government and Politics
You may purchase this title at these fine bookstores. Outside the USA, see our international sales information.
