Does every single school in this country have a political agenda? There is no way that this painting was "disrupting the school’s learning environment". It was up for two weeks! What do you bet one (or all) of the administrators is big obama fan and can't stand to see the awful truth about him displayed in front of God and everyone? I think the kid did a hell of a job. He captured the essence of obama perfectly. He couldn't have chosen a better background color...
From The Columbia Daily Tribune - Jodie Jackson Jr.
HALLSVILLE — Art teacher Brittany Williamson said her student simply wanted to “get a reaction” with his painting that depicted President Barack Obama with a hammer and sickle symbolizing communism.
“That’s the whole purpose of art — to get a reaction,” Williamson said.
Although Williamson thought the Hallsville High School sophomore’s painting was “an amazing piece,” it received not-so-amazing critiques from some school staff and visitors who complained to Williamson and Superintendent John Robertson. The painting was taken down Monday after being displayed for nearly two weeks.
Robertson said the piece was removed because it could have been construed to reflect an official position of the school district.
“The district really can’t express political views,” Robertson said, explaining that he talked to Williamson and the student about the issue. “I told him as an artist he certainly has the right to express his opinions but we didn’t have to hang it up.”
Williamson said she did not want the student to remove the artwork but that other teachers had asked her to take it down. The student has since taken the painting home.
Robertson said if the painting had been a part of a display that was politically themed, “that would be a whole, total different thing.”
“It was the only” political “piece that was up,” Williamson said, “so it made it look like the school felt that way.”
Williamson said the student artist — whom the school would not identify — “took it upon himself” to tape the painting to a window of the school’s copy room.
“No matter how I feel toward President Obama, it’s an amazing piece for a high school student,” she said. Williamson said her student “always seems to do something right on the edge.”
Supreme Court rulings seem to side with the school district on whether to abridge a student’s First Amendment right to freedom of expression.
Doug Abrams, an associate professor at the University of Missouri School of Law, said the courts have determined that students have First Amendment rights, “but if the administration believes that exercise of those rights would disrupt the school’s learning environment, then the administration can abridge the exercise of those rights.”
Abrams gave the example of national news reports about students being sent home from school for wearing jackets or T-shirts bearing the Confederate flag.
“Whether you agree with it or disagree with it, it’s fair to say it’s political speech,” Abrams said. “Yes, students have free speech, but it’s less than what people would have out on the street.”
Williamson has taught art at Hallsville High School for eight years. Even though she was disappointed that the painting was taken down, she said the issue served as “a good learning experience” for staff and students. Some students, she said, didn’t understand why the symbol was controversial.
“Everyone was like, ‘Why is it so wrong? Because it’s pink?’ ” Williamson said of the painting. “I think even some adults didn’t understand it.”
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