We the undersigned feel that the actions taken by Region 10 authorities against Avery Doninger as described at
http://www.citmedialaw.org/threats/doninger-v-niehoff were excessive and unconstitutional. The comments were made outside of a school setting in a private posting to a blog. While Ms. Doninger's comments were crude and impolite, the reaction by the administration, in our view, overrides anything that Ms. Doninger may have done. Further, as friends and alumni of Lewis S. Mills High School, we refuse to see our alma mater to become a constitutional precedent on the wrong side of first amendment issues. We also feel that students should be allowed to speak their minds outside of the school setting and not have those comments be subject to punishment by the school. Comments made in a public or private setting are protected speech, and this case is equivalent to the school punishing a student for a comment overheard in a restaurant that are repeated to administrators. We demand that the reputation to our school and school district be repaired by settling with Ms. Doninger.