In light of the recent incident at Redwood High School in Visalia, debate has been sparked nationwide on what proper punishment would be for the students involved, with some arguing against punishment at all. 

On February 12th, 2026, high school seniors at Redwood High School gathered in their gym to take their senior class photo, with a row of students spelling out “Class of 2026 Always Legit” in t-shirts, front and center. After the photo was taken, students cleared out, yet 10 students with lettered shirts remained. They proceeded to rearrange themselves in a way that their shirts spelled out a hateful, homophobic slur, took a picture with big smiles on their faces, and called it a joke. Some were a part of ASB, some were student leaders, club presidents, friendly faces on campus, and all of them were friends.

Of course, social media took the incident by storm and demanded that the administration suspend, or even expel, the students for their actions. They called their actions hateful, prejudiced, and overall homophobic. Some even took it upon themselves to unblur their faces, expose their names and addresses, or any other private information, as an act of justice. On the other hand, there were people who defended the students’ actions under the guise of “free speech,” saying, “It is just a word, why are we even talking about this?”

Well, what is it then? Should these students be protected by their First Amendment right, or should they be punished for the harm they have caused?

While it’s true that we as a nation have the freedom of speech, that only applies to public areas in which the government can’t punish anyone for anything they say. However, since high schools aren’t public spaces, they don’t guarantee students freedom of speech, which is why any student can get into trouble at school for cursing or being rude. These students, therefore, should be punished for their hate speech, and not doing so only shows that this behavior is acceptable.

Several LGBTQ+ centers have come out with their own statements, including The Source LGBT+ Center and other Redwood students, all agreeing that if these students were to receive no punishment, then it would be a silent compliance with their actions, and normalize homophobia and other forms of hate in the community. Should these students not receive punishment, it sends a message that anyone can spew hate speech and serve no repercussion.

The fact is, whether or not these kids argue that it was a joke, it was still hateful and wrong. The word, the slur, is used to demean people for who they love, used to hurt people who are “different.” It has killed, and continues to kill to this day.

Let’s agree that hate speech is not free.  There is always a price to be paid.