Posted on 11/05/2003 1:37:01 PM PST by Fundamentally Fair
Religious Message Prohibited in Senior Photo
IRONIA VALLEY – To prepare for their class picture on the bleachers, 13 Ironia Valley High School seniors made T-shirts, arrived early and staked out the front row.
But when Vice Principal Ted Reid saw the shirts spelling out "Allah is the way" and "Allah (heart) U" flanked by crescent, he asked the students to rearrange themselves or turn the shirts around.
After five minutes of negotiations with Reid, 11 of the students walked out of the picture.
"We weren't telling people to love Allah," senior Hammed Hussein, 17, said. "We weren't telling people, 'Our religion's better than yours.' We were just standing up for what we believe in."
Now, parents of those students are asking the school to reassemble the 650 seniors to re-shoot the photo with their kids and shirts included.
The parents formally made the request at a recent school board meeting, saying the school violated the students' freedom of expression. One parent also contacted the Pacific Justice Institute, a nonprofit legal defense group specializing in religious freedom.
The Institute has sent a letter to the Huntington Beach Union High School District, demanding that a new photo be taken.
"The expression of students must be protected. Otherwise, we are allowing government to play a role that the constitution and the equal-access act had no intent to play," said Brad Dacus, president of Pacific Justice Institute in a phone interview Tuesday.
School district officials said they are consulting attorneys about how to respond.
The Oct. 21 incident has triggered a debate about students' rights and the school's responsibility for religious neutrality. Under federal laws and guidelines, public schools are prohibited from promoting or advocating for any particular religion. However, schools cannot prohibit religious expression, such as prayer groups on campus, and may allow religion courses to be taught.
"An individual student has the right to express his or her beliefs," district Assistant Superintendent Carol Osbrink said. "The distinction is the students who were lined up in a row were proselytizing or preaching. The school would then be endorsing that message. That goes beyond what schools can do."
Reid and Principal Connie Mayhugh declined to comment.
School officials did not specify rules for students posing in the senior class photo, which is traditionally displayed across two pages in the yearbook.
The only reference to religious clothing in the school's dress code reads, "Clothing and/or accessories that show prejudice because of ethnicity, sexual orientation or religion are not allowed."
The 13 students split up into two groups for the picture. Four of the students spelled out "Allah is the way" with one word taped on alternating yellow and green shirts.
Seven others painted one letter or symbol on light red shirts to spell out "Allah (heart) U." Two students on either side of the message drew crescents on their shirts.
All of the students who wore the shirts are members of the campus club Brothers and Sisters in Allah or BASIA. About 20 other seniors in the club - including the president - were not involved in the T-shirt plan.
Hussein said he and his friends don't understand why other students were allowed to wear shirts promoting their clubs, teams and cliques. The Muslim T-shirt message was no different than religious pieces worn by Jewish and Christian students, he said.
Those religious clothes are allowed, Osbrink said, because they are individual expressions required by the faith.
"Some students were allowed to leave their message in and other students were not," said Judy Ryan, whose daughter also walked out of the photo. "We're dealing with high school seniors who need some guidance."
Parents also noted that several students quoted Koran passages or referred to Allah in homecoming king and queen campaign statements, which were circulated among the student body in October.
Behmar Wasahbi - who wrote "Allah Loves You" in his homecoming statement - understands how that could be seen as different from putting a message in the senior class photo.
"I personally think if you're going to spread your faith, it should be on a more personal level," said Wasahbi, 17. "It was a very tough call for the school. They should make guidelines for next time."
Mike Poff, a journalism and English teacher, said he has always supported student expression and the forming of religious and political clubs at school. But in this case, Poff agrees with administrators.
"Nobody gets to hold up signs (in the photo) that are at all political or religious," Poff said. "What if it was the 'God is dead' club? What if it was the Communists or the young Nazis? The picture isn't for that. It's for everybody."
Was he Kramer or Jerry in that episode?
What should the reaction be?
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