Brave Student Objects to Public School’s Religious Graduation Ceremony

[Ian David]

Brave Student Objects to Public School’s Religious Graduation Ceremony

***Update***: The school issued a response regarding the religious ceremony:

1. The baccalaureate ceremony is a privately sponsored religious event. The Tamaqua Area School District is not and will not be involved in or associated with the baccalaureate ceremony and does not or will not endorse the ceremony in any way.

2. As a public school entity, the Tamaqua Area School District does not or will not require any student to attend the baccalaureate ceremony.

3. The Tamaqua Area School District may not and will not provide any information regarding the date, time, location or content of the baccalaureate ceremony to the students. Such information may be provided to parents, employees or public upon specific request.

4. In their official capacity, Tamaqua Area School District employees are prohibited from participating in the baccalaureate ceremony.

5. Tamaqua Area School District employees are not required to attend the baccalaureate ceremony and will not be required to attend the ceremony in the future.

…

What is it about the graduation season that makes high school administrators so ignorant of basic laws and high school seniors so courageous in response?

More:
http://friendlyatheist.com/2010/06/02/brave-student-objects-to-public-schools-religious-graduation-ceremony/

Hat-tip to: http://twitter.com/jazgar/status/15354359960

[lazarus]

1. a few years ago

I graduated from a small community college in southern Alabama. As part of the graduation rehearsal, I found out I was expected to removed my mortarboard cap during the prayer. I went immediately to the president's office to register a complaint. (This was just a year or two after a SCOTUS ruling that these things are unconstitutional.) He said he'd look into it. He immediately called in the heads of the various departments to warn them I might cause a scene and be disruptive at graduation.

Little did he know that I was friends with these people, so they immediately told me. I went back to his office and harangued him for a few minutes.

The prayer happened. My revenge? During the prayer, I stood and stared at him. The whole time. He kept glancing at me in fear, but I just stared him down.

This is in a small town, and he managed to avoid me for years afterwards, to the point of turning and walking the other way if we were in the same aisle of a store. Coward.