A controversy over free speech and political satire has found its way to El Camino Real High School in the Los Angeles suburb of Woodland Hills, California. Posters of President Bush with a Groucho Marx-style mustache and cigar were ordered taken down by Kenny Lee, the school's principal. The posters were to promote the school play, 'The Complete History of America (Abridged).'

Lee said he ordered the posters taken down because they advocated smoking and because they were 'endorsing one ideology over another. That's our take on the student speech and conduct,' Lee added.

The posters came to Lee's attention when one student complained to the principal that the posters were disrespectful toward Mr. Bush.

'We had one student who was very upset,' Lee said. 'If something is bothering a student on campus, we're going to address it.'

The drama students countered with posters supporting the First Amendment right to free speech. Jes Shah, a junior drama student told the Associated Press that he learned a valuable lesson from the incident. 'It taught us that the First Amendment certainly does not guarantee the right of free speech,' the 16-year-old Shah explained.

A compromise was reached. Follow-up posters were put up with the new designs featuring a silhouette of Bush and a burning cigar, along with inscriptions such as 'Free Expression for All (unless you are in high school)' and 'What First Amendment?'

'They're good,' Lee said. 'I like the follow-ups.'

Either way, the students are learning more from this real life situation than they ever could from a text book.