COMMENTARY | According to ABC News, a high school senior in Durango, Colo., has become newsworthy in the aftermath of her school's rejection of her proposed senior yearbook photo. Sydney Spies feels that her freedom of expression is being denied and has, with her family, planned to retain an attorney.
She has little ground to stand on, I think.
First of all, a high school yearbook is under no obligation to publish one's freedom of expression. If you want your photo in the book you must submit one that conforms to expectations. If you refuse to do that, you can publish your photo elsewhere: Social media, blogs, fliers about town, or even make your own yearbook.
Secondly, the yearbook allowed Spies to submit a different photo for publication in the same section of the yearbook. Spies' original photo did not get her banned from the senior photo pages. She is not, therefore, being punished in any way -- no life, liberty or property was taken from her. She is still entitled to the same few square inches under Spies, Sydney that had been granted originally.
Third, the "racy" photo in question was not destroyed or confiscated. The yearbook is allowing that same photo to be published in the yearbook ... just not under the senior pictures section. Spies' expression, in the form of her original photo, is not being altered. Only the venue has been changed, and not in a drastic way. It is the equivalent of peaceful protesters being moved two blocks from their original protest location -- annoying, yes, but not necessarily unconstitutional.
Finally, there is good reason to disallow high school seniors from testing the waters in terms of their senior photo submissions: Letting a few "racy" or "revealing" photos slip through one year could mean a multitude of questionable photos the following autumn, with each rejection eliciting outrage. Angry students and parents would descend upon district offices in a collective huff.
And aside from creating an inevitable showdown with teens who wanted more "free" poses and outfits in their senior photos, a further conflict arises with teens and parents who want modest, conservative photos. Should a conservative, modest teen have to cringe every time he or she shows his or her yearbook to parents, grandparents, and other relatives, angry that the pages are strewn with wild, wacky, and near-inappropriate photos?
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