Word worries.

Byline: The Register-Guard

Timing is a crucial element of stagecraft. Misjudging the right moment to speak can disrupt the dialogue in a play, creating unintended distractions.

Elmira High School Principal Karen McKenzie probably wishes she had spoken up sooner with her concerns about harsh language in Arthur Miller's acclaimed play "All My Sons." Drama students were already well into rehearsals preparing for tonight's opening performance when McKenzie ordered the words "hell" and "damn" removed from the script.

McKenzie sent a letter late last month to drama coach Sarah Etherton following up on a conversation in which she'd asked Etherton to omit four occurrences of "goddamn it" from the play. The letter said the only profanity that could remain was the word "helluva."

"I realize removing profanity will have impact on the delivery of the play, however, other words could be substituted for the profanity in an acceptable manner and keep the play in line with expectations of our student handbook," McKenzie wrote. The principal's current concerns come in the wake of criticism of last fall's student performance of a comedy called "Unhealthy to be Unpleasant." Elmira High School received two letters and a handful of comments complaining about "cussing" in that play.

The positive impact McKenzie hopes to have on the student performers and audiences of "All My Sons" comes at a price: Accusations of censorship and infringement of students' First Amendment rights have flared in the community.

Those are not trivial concerns. Cases stemming from similar controversies have made it all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Student free speech is protected, but courts have given schools discretion to limit speech if they can reasonably forecast that it would cause a substantial disruption of school activities or invade the rights of others.

That's a high enough standard to signal caution to school officials contemplating decisions to curtail student expression. McKenzie's argument - that school productions should use language consistent with student handbook guidelines - makes sense only if it's applied consistently and not selectively in response to isolated complaints. Has the Fern Ridge School District analyzed all required reading materials, films and instructional media to make sure they comply with student handbook language expectations?

We hope not. There's no need to engage in an Orwellian quest to expunge every potentially offensive word from curriculum materials.

A better option exists, and Mc- Kenzie has already suggested it: Provide plenty of advance warning to students, parents and the public, in the form of informational fliers, that a student production contains potentially offensive material. The fliers could offer context to help parents understand historical and artistic significance, as well as explain how and why exceptions are made to school language policies.