Since when did the first amendment apply to only people of a certain age?

One of the biggest beefs I have about school censorship is that it happens at all.

Is there a magic age that you suddenly have the right to be heard? Why are more children not outraged by this obvious exclusion from democracy?

It is my sincerest hope that schools will realize that they do more harm by trying to "protect" their students through censorship (whether it be a school-sponsored publication or otherwise) than they would by simply letting students speak out about issues that concern them.

Sheltering the young from the terrors of the real world is a thing of the past. Perhaps if we did more listening rather than squelching, we might learn something from those who live very much in the midst of the terrors.

Maybe if we all try to remember what we knew when we were younger (which is more than we know now, right?) :) we would have a better grasp of what we can do to work with--rather than against--our younger citizens.

Free speech for ALL.