Supreme Court Lets Stand Ruling That Gives Schools Right To Restrict T-Shirts

By Mark Walsh

Washington

The U.S. Supreme Court declined last week to hear the appeal of a high school student who was barred from wearing Marilyn Manson T-shirts to school.

The justices declined without comment to hear the appeal of Nicolas J. Boroff, who was a 17-year-old senior at Van Wert High School in Ohio in 1997 when he got into trouble for wearing T-shirts of the Gothic rock group, whose lead singer also performs under the name Marilyn Manson.

The high court's action in Boroff v. Van Wert City Board of Education (Case No. 00-1020) is not a ruling on the merits of the case. But it leaves in place a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit ( Boroff v. Van Wert City Board of Education ) in Cincinnati, that strongly backs the right of public school administrators to prohibit clothing they deem objectionable. The 6th Circuit covers Kentucky,...