According to a published article by Star-Telegram, written by Mitch Mitchell, a sexually charged relationship between a 31-year-old junior high school teacher, Sean Arlis Williams, and a 13-year-old female junior high student took place through 688 text messages over a 6-day period. Their “sexting” included discussion of sexual preferences, fantasies and future plans for the two after the student’s graduation and a photo of the student in a bra. On Feb. 10 the case was dismissed in the name of the First Amendment right to free speech.

While the average citizen would probably consider Williams’ behavior inappropriate, it is not a question of morality, but one of legality at stake. While I do not condone his behavior, he did not break the law; he never touched or met with the student alone.

In a similar case, a 2005 statute which made sexually explicit online communication between an adult and minor illegal was ruled unconstitutional because of the right to free speech. Many concerned citizens are grouchy about this court decision.

As far as I’m concerned, they could have been having educational sex discussions. No physical exchanges or pornographic photos were involved.  Teachers and students have the right to communicate with each other. If there was no harassment, invasion of privacy or forcefulness in the situation, I don’t see a big problem with it.  While as a country we don’t consider the student old enough to consent to sex, shouldn’t we at least consider her old enough to speak about sex, or in this case text?

Growing up in a sheltered, religious home, I have seen a lot of suppression of anything and everything related to sex. While teaching morality is admirable, there’s a line where protection crosses into ignorance. It’s the absence of knowledge about the subject that has led to such high rates in teenage pregnancies and STDs.

While this is just one side of the argument, it’s one that needs to be addressed and is often ignored: the side of the individual student. There were no complaints or feelings of violation on her part. The full list of details is unknown, but nothing about the case implies this electronic exchange was not consensual.

Take a minute to think back to when you were 13 years old. The big, scary world is slowly, coming into focus. In case hitting puberty isn’t bad enough, no one wants to have the awkward “birds and bees” conversation with you. Maybe the idea of sex scares you a little bit. You should have the freedom to speak about it.

This is only one case. Its happenings are far away from where we’re sitting right now, and it is always easier to judge from afar. Let’s stop judging. After all, this is America, the land of the free. We should be working toward having fewer restrictions placed on our expression, not more.