A refrigerator magnet in the CHS journalism office poignantly summarizes one of the Globe’s greatest obstacles as a high school publication: “Freedom of speech is not a license to be stupid.”

This advice becomes especially significant every spring when we writers enjoy our sole opportunity to poke fun at the Clayton community in the Gloob satire magazine.

But while it certainly was refreshing to report Mr. Rice’s permanent CHS residency and the CWO’s plans for world domination, pure satirical amusement wasn’t our only goal. In fact, the Gloob represents another, far more important privilege that CHS students often take for granted: the student body’s unique freedom of expression.

One of the most turbulent conflicts over student’s freedom of speech occurred exactly ten miles away and thirty years ago on the campus of Hazelwood East High School, 1983. The dispute was born on the pages The Spectrum, a student-run newspaper which was released every month and funded by the Hazelwood Board of Education.

As procedure dictated, the journalism staff advisor submitted a copy of The Spectrum to Hazelwood East principal Robert Reynolds before it went to press. However, Reynolds objected to several articles, one of which investigated teen pregnancy and birth control, a topic which Reynolds considered to be inappropriate for Hazelwood East’s younger students.

In response, several student editors sued the Hazelwood School District for infringing upon their constitutional freedom of speech. The resulting case, Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier, elevated to the Supreme Court, where the nation’s foremost judges ruled that administrators had the right to restrain student expression in school-related activities.

Despite this ruling, the CHS Globe Staff enjoys the freedom of expression in a degree that rarely permeates the walls of America’s public schools. This right was granted to the Clayton students by former superintendent Don Senti and the Board of Education.

In the simplest terms possible, the Globe reports and publishes exactly what the student editors deem appropriate, without the supervision of Principal Gutchewsky and the School Board. But, to quote America’s foremost arachnid crimefighter, “with great power comes great responsibility.”

When we, the Globe Staff, poke fun at Mr. Dunsker’s vocabulary or the budding Nicholas Cage club, we tread a fine line. Our goal is to celebrate the many quirks which make CHS an exciting place, not to bluntly criticize them.

So read on, parents and students, teachers and staff, to unveil Dr. Gutchewsky’s masked alter ego or discover the identity crisis threatening the Harry Potter club.

Revel in the rare opportunity to make a joke of yourself: it’s what makes Clayton, Clayton.