Students on a mock city council said there should be no filters on public computers.
Lawyer Kyle Guelcher speaks at Law Day event at Central HighSPRINGFIELD –The Massachusetts Bar Association’s Law Day Initiative brought a program on “Freedom of Speech on the Internet” to Central High School on Tuesday.
District Court Judge Philip Contant and attorney Kyle Guelcher were the speakers at the Law Day program at Central.
Other speakers go to Renaissance School and the High School of Commerce on Wednesday and Thursday.
Students were asked to deliberate whether, and to what degree, there should be limits on children’s use of computers in public schools and libraries.
Contant divided a class into two groups, one to come up with reasons there should be filters on Internet use in public schools and libraries. He called those students the “concerned parents.”
The other group, who worked with Guelcher, were to come up with reasons filters went against constitutional rights.
“There’s certainly room for vigorous argument today,” Contant said.
Nashira Navarro, in the latter group, said freedom of speech protects the right to read what you want.
Five students were chosen to act as city councilors, hearing from the audience on both sides and voting on whether to put filters on the public computers.
Shamarr Minto, one of the “councilors,” said filters should be put on computers and parents should teach their children about any issues they will face as they grow up.
Tylia Cole, who voted in the majority of three against putting in filters, said even if filters were put in children could learn inappropriate things from “random people” with whom they come in contact.
The session ended with Contant telling the students to beware what they chose to put on their social network page.
He said “it does so much damage to you” when “you put that crazy stuff up” when you are younger then find prospective colleges or employers find it and use it to decide if you are the kind of person they want to have represent them.
