Students from Islip High School, accompanied by teacher Melissa LiPetri, recently participated in the “Icons of Freedom V: Student Speech and Press in American Democracy” symposium at the Touro Law Center in Central Islip. The program, presented by Touro in partnership with Project PATCH, the Northport-East Northport School District’s law and civic education program, featured guest speakers Cathy Kuhlmeir Frey and Mary Beth Tinker, both hailed as “icons of freedom.” Kuhlmeier Frey was the lead litigant in “Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier,” the Supreme Court’s landmark decision on student free press rights in a school setting, while Tinker was a lead litigant in another landmark Supreme Court case, “Tinker v. Des Moines,” which set the authoritative precedent on the free speech rights of students under the 1st Amendment.