ACLU Helps Restore Biblical Verse to Yearbook

FOXNews ^

[UCSC Republican]

STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. — The American Civil Liberties Union (search), perhaps better known for helping keep religion out of the classroom, came to the defense of a high school graduate whose yearbook entry was censored because it contained a biblical verse. The organization's Michigan chapter announced a settlement Tuesday with Utica Community Schools that restores Abby Moler's message to Stevenson High School's (search) 2001 yearbook. Moler, the class of 2001 valedictorian, was among a group of students asked by school officials to offer their thoughts for the yearbook. Her entry included the biblical verse, Jeremiah 29:11: "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."' The entry was deleted from the yearbook because of its religious nature, school officials told Moler at the time. She responded by asking the ACLU for help. "We wanted to shed some light on this issue in the public schools," Moler told the Detroit Free Press for a Wednesday story. "There just seemed to be a lot of confusion and misunderstanding surrounding this issue." Under the settlement, the school district agreed to place a sticker with Moler's original entry in copies of the yearbook on file at the high school; ordered current yearbook staff to not censor other religious or political speech; to train its staff on free speech (search) and religious freedom issues; and to write Moler a letter of regret. "The Supreme Court has said there can be school oversight in official publications, but the schools still have to honor the constitutional rights of their students," said Kary Moss, executive director of the ACLU of Michigan. "I'm thrilled," Moler said. "We got everything we asked for. I received a wonderful education from Utica schools and now that I'm entering the teaching profession, I wanted to do my part in maintaining the excellence in education." Utica school officials would not comment on the settlement, according to the Free Press and The Detroit News.

[TheSpottedOwl]

Pigs are flying?

[MineralMan]

Good for the ACLU. It's obvious that students should be free to write religions stuff if they're asked to write something.

The school was stupid in its actions.

[hchutch]

Did the Devil just have to put on a fur coat or something?

[HamiltonJay]

Guess even a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in a while.

[Christian4Bush]

"Pigs are flying?"

Actually, I was thinking about the next time that I cross the street.

It looks like the ATCLU had an aberration. In the long run, however, a terrorist (the T) that smiles ocassionally doesn't change the fact that he's a terrorist.

[jocon307]

"Did the Devil just have to put on a fur coat or something?"

Now that's a nice, witty, turn of phrase. I may borrow it someday!

[MineralMan]

The ACLU has defended personal religious expression in schools several times. This case is one of those. The ACLU often fights official or school-sponsored religious expression in schools, however.

But if your personal right of religious expression is challenged, the ACLU will back you up...as long as it doesn't intefere with others' rights.

In this case, the student expressed his religious feelings by a Biblical quote in the yearbook. That's obviously a 1st Amendment situation. The school has no right to restrict a student's religious expression (outside the classroom), so the ACLU fought for the student.

They'd fight just as hard for the student if he/she had included a quote from the Koran or from the Rig Veda. It's all the same issue.

[GrandEagle]

Pigs are flying?
No, every now and then they "Throw us a bone". Than way when the really big issues arise and they take their usual anti-Christian stance, they can point back and say "See there, we aren't really non Christian".

[Mr Ducklips]

I fully expected to read that the student was a Muslim, a Buddhist, a Wiccan or The Channeled Reverend Flip Wilson from "The Church of What's Happenin' Now". But a Christian? I'll just be dipped and fried...

[NJ_gent]

The ACLU does a lot of good work - it's just that their reputation as being ultra-liberal (and on some issues, they are) tends to overshadow this fact. More recently, their work with the American Conservative Union and Bob Barr has helped to popularize the movement against the PATRIOT ACT and more draconian potential follow-ups.

[Redbob]

What part of the Patriot Act do you feel is "draconian?"

The part where they now allow the CIA and FBI to talk to one another?

Or maybe the part allowing "wiretaps" (for want of a better word) on suspected terrorists' cellphone conversations?

[spetznaz]

The Patriot Act has much more in it than just allowing the 'CIA and the FBI to talk to each other.' Just wait until a Democrat administration takes over (and some election year ....hopefully far into the future LOL ...one will). There are some aspects of the Patriot Act that will come to bite us in the @$$.

[talleyman]

The ACLU does a lot of good work ...

No, they don't. They do one of these every few years so they can claim they're unbiased as they pursue their jihad against Christianity and their assistance to terrorists.
Yes, every now and then a tornado comes through and pigs do fly. But neither they nor the ACLU will ever have wings.

[jaykay]

The entry was deleted from the yearbook because of its religious nature, school officials told Moler at the time.

What the school actually said was "offensive religious nature," according to a local radio host in Detroit, who I have no reason to disbelieve.

[Kuksool]

The ACLU temporarily forget about its mission.

[Psycho_Bunny]

For the last week and a half I've been feeling like I woke up in Bizzaro World.

This article isn't helping dispel my suspicions.

[MaxPlus305]

The reason why the ACLU seems to go against Christianity more often than going for it is because fundamentalist Christians are the ones who are more often trying to intrude on the public sphere.

And before you call me a terrorist, I'm a born-again Christian.

[little jeremiah]

What do you mean by "intrude"? I am not a born again Christian (or at least wouldn't be considered so by those who consider themselves to be). The founders of this country considered the public sphere just the place for religious expression. Do you consider it intrusive to do just that?

[talleyman]

The reason why the ACLU seems to go against Christianity more often than going for it is because fundamentalist Christians are the ones who are more often trying to intrude on the public sphere.

Riiiight...have some more kool-aid...