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WKLQ 94.5, a Grand Rapids, Mich., radio station, passed out more than 400 Korn T-shirts to Zeeland High School students after school on Thursday, joining the growing First Amendment controversy surrounding the western Michigan high school.| The school has suspended students for wearing T-shirts with names of bands the administration finds offensive.
Steve Brancik, promotions director for WKLQ, told JAMTV more than 600 people mobbed the station's van while they gave away free shirts donated by the group. The Ottawa County Sheriff's police helped the station distribute the shirts as students chanted anti-censorship slogans; three area TV stations were on hand to report on the event. Later that afternoon, Korn frontman Jonathan Davis spoke on the air with WKLQ DJ Andy O'Riley about the T-shirt controversy.
"It's been a really shocking experience for us to hear something as ridiculous as [the T-shirt censorship]," Davis proclaimed. "We'll stick up for our fans. They should be able to wear our shirts wherever they want."
As JAMTV recently reported, Zeeland High School student Eric VanHoven was suspended twice in two weeks for wearing a T-shirt that simply said "Korn." Zeeland High vice principal Gretchen Plewes suspended VanHoven because she felt Korn's lyrics are "obscene" and that wearing a Korn shirt violated the school's policy against "any clothing or items that imply obscenity, violence, drugs, alcohol, or sexual innuendo." Students protested, and local free speech advocates became involved, as did Korn.
"It's stupid for a vice principal to spend her time trying to silence kids who support a band that does charity work and speaks out against child abuse," Korn's manager, Jeff Kwatinetz, told JAMTV on Thursday. "This is a good illustration of the failure of our educational system."
At a Monday evening Zeeland School Board meeting, which drew a
record crowd of nearly 200 students and community members, the
board decided to postpone discussion of Zeeland High's dress code
until May 4. Kary Love, attorney for VanHoven,
told JAMTV he plans to
propose a new policy at the meeting that will protect students'
First Amendment rights. (Seth Hindin)