Ancillary: Morse persuasive letter
Morse Persuasive Letter
Through discussion with the students, determine the best recipient for a letter about the Morse decision—should it be administrators/school board? Judges? Someone else? Consider your publication’s needs as you make this decision.
- If the publication is or has already experienced legal issues with administrators, perhaps they should be the recipient of the letter.
- If the publication has not experienced legal issues, consider sending the letter to judges or legislators who could benefit from a better understanding of Morse’s original intention of only applying to illegal drug use.
Before starting the letter, discuss what the content should be:
- Disputing current rulings (judges/legislators)?
- Keeping administrators (or judges) from interpreting Morse broadly?
- Something else?
One group of junior staff members should research proper letter format and take care of the format, salutation and closing. Another group should develop the opening section for the letter (its purpose statement). A third group must present the information necessary for understanding Morse (the premise for the argument). The final group must write the brief argument itself.
Assign the editor-in-chief the task of turning the letter into a coherent piece with singular focus and style.