Peggy Watt displaying her instructive shirts.
Editor’s note: Many League members may remember — and may have purchased — a T-shirt featuring the design above. The shirts were a promotional tactic the LWVWA used as it sought — and secured — adoption of its position on Local News & Democracy at the 2024 national convention in Washington, D.C., in 2024.
Skagit League member Peggy Watt, who is also a member of the Local News & Democracy team, has found value in wearing other similarly instructive shirts. Here's Watt's story:
I’ve learned that when teaching First Amendment issues to college students, it sometimes helps to dress the part.
I’ve taught Mass Media Law and Exploring the First Amendment at Western Washington University (my undergraduate alma mater) for 20 years, after a longer career in newsrooms. It is an especially important time for students — and communities — to understand First Amendment rights and journalistic responsibilities. One of the hardest concepts is that the First Amendment applies to everyone (even noncitizens and visitors, under the 14th Amendment) and that it covers even something you disagree with or would rather not hear.
For every class, I wear a T-shirt relevant to the day’s lesson. To introduce First Amendment history, there’s an “Enemy of the American People since 1791” T-shirt that commemorates the year the First Amendment was adopted and also draws observations about the 45th president’s views of the press.
The discussion of expressive speech features a “Try to Burn This” T-shirt featuring an American flag that belonged to my conservative father-in-law, who bequeathed me the T-shirt and a flask. Another shirt was a fundraiser for the Marion County Record when the Kansas newspaper was illegally invaded when a local politician was angry about its reporting.
And yes, I wear the League’s “Local News = Democracy” shirt and share about League priorities and activities.
The Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication recognized my T-shirt lessons in the international organization’s Law & Policy Division's 2026 Teaching Competition earlier this month in New Orleans, where I gave a presentation about my tactics.
