Poster Bill

Sponsored by LHS Student-Faculty Senate, passed on October 24, 2007

Recently by the same author:


Revised Senate Attendance Bill

Students and faculty may place posters for school or club related events and meetings on interior walls and on the end sections of lockers throughout the LHS campus. Such notices are to be hung with masking tape only. Posters may not be placed on glass, in stairwells, or on, or within five feet of, any egress door (all classroom exits, doors to halls, stairwells and the outside). Posters must be approved and initialed by the activity’s faculty advisor or a dean, who will ensure that not more than fifty posters will be hung. All posters must have a date of removal on them unless they refer to a specific event, and posterers are expected to remove posters immediately after the event or on the specified date. All possible efforts will be made to recycle the posters. It is the Climate Committee’s responsibility to identify and maintain an area or areas, approved by the Administration, including the current free postering area in Commons I, for posters not related to school activities. Posters may be placed in this area by students, faculty and staff, and need no faculty or dean’s signature or removal date. It is expected that the community will show good judgment in selecting the quantity and size of posters placed in this area so that all messages can be accommodated. In addition, the Climate Committee will promote good poster behavior throughout the school and communicate when possible with violators of this bill.

Rationale

  1. This bill modifies the 2004 Bill Billboard Bill in three ways. a. It specifies a maximum number of posters allowed in the halls and commons areas. There are twelve main halls in the school and two commons areas. Three or four posters per hall and in each of the commons areas are sufficient to guarantee that all students will see a poster often. Within this limit students may choose to spread their allotment of posters in a non-uniform manner. Generally fewer posters will be sufficient. b. It restricts placement of posters in conformance with fire code. c. It directs the Climate Committee take leadership in maintaining the provisions of this bill throughout the school, not just in the free postering areas.
  2. The 2004 Bill Billboard Bill was never inserted into the Student Handbook, although it was written by the Climate Committee in consultation with the principal and, in accordance with the Senate Constitution, approved by him as school policy. In spite of this oversight the current administration operates with the understanding that the Bill Billboard Bill is current school policy.
  3. The 2004 Bill Billboard Bill and this improved bill include certain student rights which the former policy does not, and these rights should be made manifest each year. We update here the rationale of the 2004 bill: “Postering is an important right of free speech which benefits the LHS community. This bill is intended to preserve that right to the greatest extent possible. It is expected that posters may be provocative and even offensive to some, but that no personal attacks or hate speech will be tolerated.”