On April 25, administration canceled CreatorScape, an art fair organized by One Long Story (OLS) and Youth Arts Movement (YAM), two chartered clubs on campus. Administration canceled the event due to security concerns, as five vendors planned to donate a portion of their proceeds to a humanitarian aid organization called Care for Gaza. Administration allowed the clubs to reschedule their event on campus as long as there was no fundraising for or mention of Gaza.
We, The Union, believe administration violated students’ rights to free speech. According to the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) of California, free speech is generally protected for students in public K-12 schools if it does not incite “a clear and present danger of unlawful acts on school premises, violations of school regulations, or the substantial disruption of the orderly operation of the school.” Based on the OAG’s guidance, we believe that administration should not have canceled CreatorScape, as they failed to provide evidence of a clear and present danger, and instead based its decision on a hypothetical fear: that a fundraiser for Gaza could lead to an unsafe environment on campus. Clearly, such speculative concerns are not a valid reason to restrict student speech.
Furthermore, in the past, clubs have raised money for humanitarian organizations linked to political issues, such as Environmental Society’s book drive for the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund. This event proceeded without security threats – and there is no reason to believe that the original CreatorScape would have been any different. Although we recognize administration’s duty to protect students is paramount, pure speculation does not warrant shutting down an event.
We also recognize the national context has changed since Environmental Society’s event, due to recent unrest on college campuses over the Israel-Palestine conflict. However, there is no reason to believe that similar unrest may have occurred on our campus; vendors were simply fundraising for humanitarian aid in Gaza, not making a political statement or calling for any action. By hosting vendors that donate their own proceeds to an aid organization, students are not aligning the school or district with a side in the Israel-Palestine conflict or calling for action; they merely want to help desperate people in war-torn communities – a cause that clearly would not incite violence or a disruption.
Canceling CreatorScape also sets an egregious precedent for future fundraisers and events, creating ambiguity about what organizations and causes students can support. Can students no longer fundraise for any cause connected to a political topic, even if it’s a humanitarian issue? Can students participate in True Color’s National Coming Out Day event? Can students, and the district, proclaim that Black Lives Matter? While there may be a consensus of support for these causes in our community, there is likely a minority who are offended by these causes. Should students’ voices be silenced because of a hypothetical fear of conflict or retaliation? In the future, students may be discouraged from helping those in need or supporting causes due to a fear of potentially facing administrative repercussions. This suppression of student voice creates an environment where students are afraid to be active members of the community.
Schools should create concerned and compassionate students, and by canceling CreatorScape, administration has deprived students of the opportunity to develop as citizens and exercise their rights to free speech.