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Christian kids ignore ACLU
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2014-12-11
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ACLU frustrated by kids in Michigan and Pennsylvania (7/94)
The following is from Christian Crusade Newspaper, P.O. Box 977,
Tulsa, OK 74102, in its 42nd year of publication. We can
be E-mailed on America On Line as Christcrew, on Compuserve
at 72204,541, and via the Internet as Christcrew@aol.com .
by Keith Wilkerson, editor
Graduating seniors at the Zeeland High School in the western
Michigan town of Zeeland turned a deaf ear to pleas from the
American Civil Liberties Union to be a plaintiff in a prayer-blocking
lawsuit. Instead they chose to "embrace their parents' religious
heritage and snub the ACLU by praying at their graduation
ceremony," according to United Press International.
The ACLU spent six months trying to find a student in the town
of 5,400 willing to be named on the suit against the school district.
No student came forward and an ACLU spokeswoman said the
lawsuit plan had been dropped.
Zeeland Superintendent Gary Feenstra said the ACLU decision
vindicated a district policy that lets students choose whether or not to
pray at graduation. "We feel good about it," Feenstra said. "We feel we
are on solid ground and are doing what's right for the kids."
Prayer opened the commencement for 190 graduating seniors.
Most of Zeeland's residents belong to local churches. "Zeeland High
has traditionally included prayer at graduation," reported UPI. "But last
year, after the ACLU objected for the first time, the school district
formed a committee of students, parents, and teachers to recommend
a policy for future graduations. A committee came up with a
recommendation that mirrored a Texas school's prayer policy upheld
last year by federal courts. It allowed student-initiated prayer, free of
input from faculty or administrators."
The ACLU responded by sending a letter to the local newspaper
editor to solicit for a plaintiff, saying it needed a student who thought
the prayer policy violated his or her civil rights.
Feenstra said in pressing the issue the ACLU had overlooked one
of the students' rights: The right to choose whether to pray at
graduation. "We truly believe students have a right to pray," he said.
In Clearfield, Pennsylvania, the ACLU also failed to stop students
from making any religious references during graduation ceremonies.
Clearfield Area School District officials refused the ACLU's demand for
written assurances that students would not make any religious
references at their commencement.
School district attorney Carl Beard said the ACLU wanted a written
guarantee that the students wouldn't spontaneously ad lib prayers or
public thanksgivings to Almighty God.
However, said Beard, "I don't know how to prevent that, short of
going up there and gagging them or pulling them off the stage."
WHAT IS CHRISTIAN CRUSADE NEWSPAPER?
Christian Crusade Newspaper is in its 42nd year, has
a worldwide circulation and is published by Christian
Crusade, P.O. Box 977, Tulsa, OK 74102.
It is mailed to subscribers without charge as a result
of the conviction of its founder not to put a price-tag on the
gospel. For a free subscription, just ask.
Although Dr. Hargis no longer travels, editor-in-chief
Keith Wilkerson accepts speaking invitations. Both can be
E-mailed on America On Line as Christcrew, on GEnie as
K.Wilkerson3, via the Internet as Christcrew@aol.com, and
on Compuserve at 72204,541.