Justice Anthony Kennedy–“widely regarded as one of the court’s most vigilant defenders of First Amendment values,” according to The Times—spoke at Dalton late last month.
An account of his visit has yet to appear in the student newspaper, however, because his office insisted on approving anything written.
The Daltonian submitted a draft, which the Kennedy camp “tidied up,” explained the court’s public information officer, calling the move a “helpful” effort to ensure accuracy. But the paper decided not to run it, replacing the article with a short note about a “regrettable delay”:
The article itself, by Kristian Bailey, a Dalton senior and one of the paper’s editors in chief, is a straightforward account of Justice Kennedy’s biography and his wide-ranging remarks. The article is expected to be published in the paper’s next issue. . . .
At the assembly, Justice Kennedy discussed the separation of powers, federalism, Isaac Newton (“the poster boy for the Enlightenment”) and George Washington (“the poster boy for the Constitution”), according to the article. One student quoted in the article expressed disappointment that Justice Kennedy had not had time to answer the written questions students had been asked to submit.
Although a Daltonian staffer provided a copy of the article, The Times says that editors “either would not comment for this article or did not respond to requests for an interview.”
