Public School Boards say Yes to Free Speech Concerning Sexual Preference--but No to Religious Messages?
According to the California-based Pacific Justice Institute, students and their parents packed a recent school board meeting at the Roseville Joint Unified School District in response to the suspensions received for peacefully expressing their first Amendment rights.
Numerous students of Slavic descent passed-out Christian literature and wore t-shirts that read, “Homosexuality is sin. Jesus can set you free.”
In addition to asking for their rights to speech and the free exercise of religion, these students and their parents asked the board to fulfill its obligations to protect students from threats, violence and other forms of harassment.
Viktor Lavor, a junior, told the board that Slavic Christian students, while leafleting, were threatened by hostile peers that they would get “beat up” after school.
Another pupil described how they went into the cafeteria wearing their shirts.
“While sitting in the cafeteria at breakfast, we had things like bottles, pieces of food and other objects thrown at us,” said Lyana Tagintsev. “I felt unprotected,” she said.
Taginstev told the board that “the school is suppose to protect us like any other students, but I didn’t see them try to do anything.”
Later that day, Lavor and Taginstev, along with 10 other students were summoned to the office by school officials. “We were given two options: either to take off the shirts and go back to class or keep the shirts on and face two days suspension. After praying, our group chose to keep the shirts on and stand up for what we knew was the truth. If we would take off our shirts we would be cowards,” Lavor said.
Nadia Militan, who did not wear the shirt that day saw the other students in the school office who were suspended.
Originally from the Ukraine, she told the board that “this kind of speech suppression makes me wonder if American schools follow the US Constitution.”
“Later I asked one of my friends if they had any more shirts. They did and I put it on in front of the office administration. They suspended me as well,” Militan told an attentive board.
In nearby San Juan Unified School District, parents and students plan to address that school board about similar hostility and suppression of speech targeting Slavic Christians. Students leafleted and wore the same t-shirts as their friends in Roseville.
“My review of the evidence so far indicates that the threats and actual violence against the students at San Juan is as bad if not worse than what is happening at Roseville,” said Kevin Snider who is an attorney representing the students from both districts.
“These students are pleading with the school boards to respect the rights of speech and to provide safe schools,” stated Brad Dacus, PJI president. “We are hopeful that the elected officials for these two districts will send a clear message on the rights of students to peacefully express themselves without fear of violence.”
As PJI and other parental rights groups noted recently, a number of public school districts in California and elsewhere also participated in a national day of silence to express the importance of understanding homosexuality.
Source: http://www.pacificjustice.org
Numerous students of Slavic descent passed-out Christian literature and wore t-shirts that read, “Homosexuality is sin. Jesus can set you free.”
In addition to asking for their rights to speech and the free exercise of religion, these students and their parents asked the board to fulfill its obligations to protect students from threats, violence and other forms of harassment.
Viktor Lavor, a junior, told the board that Slavic Christian students, while leafleting, were threatened by hostile peers that they would get “beat up” after school.
Another pupil described how they went into the cafeteria wearing their shirts.
“While sitting in the cafeteria at breakfast, we had things like bottles, pieces of food and other objects thrown at us,” said Lyana Tagintsev. “I felt unprotected,” she said.
Taginstev told the board that “the school is suppose to protect us like any other students, but I didn’t see them try to do anything.”
Later that day, Lavor and Taginstev, along with 10 other students were summoned to the office by school officials. “We were given two options: either to take off the shirts and go back to class or keep the shirts on and face two days suspension. After praying, our group chose to keep the shirts on and stand up for what we knew was the truth. If we would take off our shirts we would be cowards,” Lavor said.
Nadia Militan, who did not wear the shirt that day saw the other students in the school office who were suspended.
Originally from the Ukraine, she told the board that “this kind of speech suppression makes me wonder if American schools follow the US Constitution.”
“Later I asked one of my friends if they had any more shirts. They did and I put it on in front of the office administration. They suspended me as well,” Militan told an attentive board.
In nearby San Juan Unified School District, parents and students plan to address that school board about similar hostility and suppression of speech targeting Slavic Christians. Students leafleted and wore the same t-shirts as their friends in Roseville.
“My review of the evidence so far indicates that the threats and actual violence against the students at San Juan is as bad if not worse than what is happening at Roseville,” said Kevin Snider who is an attorney representing the students from both districts.
“These students are pleading with the school boards to respect the rights of speech and to provide safe schools,” stated Brad Dacus, PJI president. “We are hopeful that the elected officials for these two districts will send a clear message on the rights of students to peacefully express themselves without fear of violence.”
As PJI and other parental rights groups noted recently, a number of public school districts in California and elsewhere also participated in a national day of silence to express the importance of understanding homosexuality.
Source: http://www.pacificjustice.org
posted by Michael Burns at 9:40 PM
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