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Cheerleader Signs Banned |
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Prayer-Soldier writes "
On 29 Sep 09, the timesfreepress.com reported that the Catoosa County School Superintendent, Denia Reese, decided to prohibit the Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe (LFO) High School cheerleaders from displaying banners that contain Biblical scripture. The banners created by the cheerleaders are the type which are displayed for the football players to burst through as they run out onto the field. The cheerleaders wrote inspirational Bible versus on the banner as a motivational gesture to the players.
According to emails and a phone record obtained by timesfreepress.com from the school, Donna Jackson of Paradyne Consulting Works raised the issue to Reese. In a 23 Sep 09 phone record written by Reese, she related that Jackson contacted her to inform her that that actions of the cheerleaders was a violation of federal law. Jackson, who reported herself to Reese as a Christian, made a request on 29 Sep 09 through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) for the school records in relation to the purchase of the the materials the cheerleaders used to construct the banners.
The FOIA request was apparently for the purpose of establishing the school's contribution for construction of the banners. During the email exchange, Jackson stated, “I hope you know that our conversation in no way was meant to cause problems. I....was just wanting to stave off a potential problem for kind hearted and hard working people.”
While Reese was forced to take action to protect the school district from the potential of legal action, many residents were not happy with the results. On 29 Sep 09, the timesfreepress.com reported that 500 people turned out for a rally in support of the cheerleaders. After the decision the banners could not be displayed in the stadium, a place outside the stadium was designated where signs could be placed.
According to the timesfreepress, the inspirational signs had a history of perhaps 15 years, but were related by some as appearing after the 11 Sep 09 terrorist attacks and became a tradition in 2003. The report related that one of the cheerleader coaches felt the signs were appreciated by the community. A senior cheerleader, Taylor Guinn was quoted as saying, “I’m sad and I’m angry about it, because we’re being silenced for what we believe in,” Miss Guinn said. “It was heartbreaking to know that our school system is just conforming to the nonbelievers and letting them have their way when there’s so many more people wanting the signs. Our freedom of speech and freedom of religion is being taken away.”
Supreme Court rulings, such as the 1968 Epperson v. Arkansas have held that the Establishment Clause prevents the government from advancing any religion. In the 2000 Santa Fe Independent School Dist. v. Doe decision, the Supreme Court held that student led prayer at a school sponsored football game was not protected free speech in that prayer held “on school property, at school-sponsored events, over the school’s public address system, by a speaker representing the student body, under the supervision of school faculty,” fell within the scope of the 1992 Lee v. Weisman decision which held that such events, “places subtle and indirect public and peer pressure on attending students...” In this case, the court held, “Since adolescents are often susceptible to peer pressure, especially in matters of social convention, the State may no more use social pressure to enforce orthodoxy than it may use direct means.”
In the majority opinion, the court stated, “The Establishment Clause was inspired by the lesson that in the hands of government what might begin as a tolerant expression of religious views may end in a policy to indoctrinate and coerce.” It, therefore, affirmed that “The principle that government may accommodate the free exercise of religion does not supersede the fundamental limitations imposed by the Establishment Clause, which guarantees at a minimum that a government may not coerce anyone to support or participate in religion or its exercise...”
While the Supreme Court has decided in favor of the protections of student free speech and their right to freedom of religion, the court has also ruled that student rights are limited within the school environment for various reasons. Such reasons include the student's relationship with the school as an institutional representative. While no legal action has been initiated against the school, it is likely that if the LFO events were brought before the court, it is likely the cheerleaders, by the nature of their uniforms and traditional position within the school structure, would be viewed as representatives of the school and, therefore, subject to the prohibitions contained in Santa Fe Independent School Dist. v. Doe Lee v. Weisman.
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Posted on Sunday, October 04 @ 22:46:12 MDT by admin
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