March 18, 2003

Bretton Barber is a junior at Dearborn High School in Michigan. On February 17, he was wearing a T-shirt that had a picture of Bush on it and the words "International Terrorist." "At lunch, the vice principal came and said I had to turn it inside out or go home," Barber told The New York Times on Feb. 26. Barber went home--and called the ACLU.

"It's a gutsy thing for a high school student to take on a school administration in this way," said Kary Moss, Executive Director of the ACLU of Michigan, in a press release. "It's obvious that Bretton feels very strongly about this issue, and we want to make sure that his ability to express his political opinion isn't hindered in any way. I'm hoping that we can resolve this issue without going to court. However, if the school is unwilling to allow students the right to political expression, we'll have no choice."

Barber, a member of the ACLU, said, "The shirt was meant to emphasize the message 'no war,' and I feel that I've been successful in getting that message out," said Barber.

To see the T-shirt, go to internationalterrorist.com or kersplebedeb.com, which makes it.