Associated Press
July 14, 2002

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Sissonville High School was wrong to ban an anarchy club but was right to suspend the student who proposed it in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, a jury decided Friday.

The jury awarded student Katie Sierra $1 in damages. She was suspended for three days in October because she had fliers at her desk promoting her proposed club after administrators rejected it.

Principal Forrest Mann also ordered Sierra not to wear T-shirts with handwritten messages that included, "When I saw the dead and dying Afghani children on TV, I felt a newly recovered sense of national security. God Bless America."

The jury agreed with the school board's argument that such messages disrupted other students' education.

Kanawha County School Board lawyer Gary Pullin said the school became more polarized after the attacks and Sierra was a target of anger because of the club.

Sierra, 15, said she was happy with the verdict.

"I'm going back to Sissonville High School in the fall and start my club," she said.

School Superintendent Ron Duerring said, "We have a responsibility to maintain safe schools, and we see this ruling as another step in the process."

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