Administrators at Riverton High School in Long Island, N.Y., suspended four students for imitating Tim Tebow’s game-time prayer ritual, aptly named “Tebowing.” The administration said the students were blocking off hallways, causing a distraction, but critics claim religious intolerance.

Last time I checked, I was in Chadron, not Las Vegas.

Which was why I was extremely surprised one night when I drove to campus and saw a great big, tacky LED sign smack dab in front of Memorial Hall.

This week, The Eagle’s opinion writers are taking on the suspension of several New York high school students who were suspended for “Tebowing” in their school’s hallways (see Page 6). Since this imitation of the football star’s sideline prayer falls neatly into the category of self-expression, The Eagle’s editorial board felt it prudent to discuss the legal realities of free speech for students in public schools.

Look at all the great leaders in our society; they all have one thing in common. They all have a history of failures in their past. While this may seem like a contradiction in logic, the leaders of our society are those that possess the courage to risk failure in order to achieve greatness. Show me a person that has never failed, and I will show you a person that has never accomplished anything significant.

“Sun bathing on top of the red room.”

—Chris Zimmer,
19, freshman,
Education major of Rapid City, S.D.

As a U.S. Marine veteran, I’m currently using my Post-9/11 G.I. Bill to attend CSC, but lately I’ve been unable to receive my benefits that are owed to me. I have no grievances with how the school has handled my benefits in the past, and I have personally verified that the problems are not with the system here at CSC. The problems are at the Veterans Affairs system at the Federal level. I’m not the only one who is affected.

Let’s not get sidetracked now, people. I know that the death of Joe Paterno struck an emotional chord in all who are knowledgeable about this man’s career, and for those of you who it didn’t, I pity you.

In his essay “Why I Am Not a Christian” Bertrand Russell wrote how the organized churches define morality as a “narrow set of rules of conduct which have nothing to do with human happiness.” He adds that when one argues that morals should be based on making people happy, the churches reply, “What has human happiness to do with morals? The object of morals is not to make people happy.”

I find it very interesting that most students approach education in terms of only the minimum requirements. If you were to buy a car, you would want the best car for your money, right? But when students pay thousands of dollars in tuition, they tend to ask only about the minimum requirements to pass the course or get a grade. How did society learn to approach education in this way?

“I hate it.”

—Danielle Shimp,
19, freshman,
Elementary Education major of Alliance