On Disparaging Tweets

November doesn't seem like a good month to be a Tweeter in a certain state to the west.

This week, regional media was abuzz over a tweet sent by Emma Sullivan, a senior at Shawnee Mission East High School, making a disparaging comment about Kansas Governor Sam Brownback as he was speaking to her school's Youth in Government during a field trip to the state capitol in Topeka. She and her supporters say the tweet (complete with "#heblowsalot") was a joke, but the Governor's office is certainly not laughing, as their complaint to administrators at East has resulted in the school requiring Sullivan to write a letter of apology to Brownback.

While this certainly tests the lines on freedom of expression within the confines of our schools, especially when it comes to social media and politics, I'm only dumbstruck by the lack of decorum exhibited by both parties. While students should not "check their First Amendment rights at the door", as famously phrased in Tinker vs. United States, it was disrespectful of Sullivan to make that Tweet as the governor was speaking to her school group. She certainly had the right to make those comments, but the manner in which it was done lacked tact (and, if such a policy exists, likely goes against the school's code on mobile phone use during class or similar school function).

The governor's office isn't looking any better on this. Sullivan's Twitter feed, prior to this week's row, only had fewer than 100 followers. It was public and open for anyone to find and search. Including Brownback's director of communications, who informed the school about the tweet. Plenty of Brownback detractors are calling the action and mere existence of saved searches scouring the web for anything mention the governor's name as akin to the thought police. While it's unclear whether the governor's office demanded the apology or school administrators suggested the idea, it's a blatant over-reaction.

If Brownback (or more appropriately his staffers) are worried about a singular insult from an 18-year-old, self-identified Democrat who plans on going to college in a different state, how the heck are they going to handle proper criticism from a serious political challenger? And if the school's administration have taken it upon themselves to mandate this letter, complete with talking points, how exactly is this a student making a sincere apology for an act of disrespect and not administrators in Kansas' second-largest school district begging Brownback to not take out his disapproval (or disdain for dissenting opinions) on their funding?

Then again, if Brownback would cut funding or demand apologies because of Tweets that lack all sense of decorum, KU's "Missouri forfeits a century-old rivalry. We win." three weeks ago should bring about a similar action, especially if today's game results in Mizzou claiming a lop-sided win on their way to the SEC East.