Posted on 11/10/2006 8:44:34 AM PST by FreedomNeocon
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Student leaders at a California college have touched off a furor by banning the Pledge of Allegiance at their meetings, saying they see no reason to publicly swear loyalty to God and the U.S. government.
The move by Orange Coast College student trustees, the latest clash over patriotism and religion in American schools, has infuriated some of their classmates -- prompting one young woman to loudly recite the pledge in front of the board on Wednesday night in defiance of the rule.
"America is the one thing I'm passionate about and I can't let them take that away from me," 18-year-old political science major Christine Zoldos told Reuters.
"The fact that they have enough power to ban one of the most valued traditions in America is just horrible," Zoldos said, adding she would attend every board meeting to salute the flag.
The move was lead by three recently elected student trustees, who ran for office wearing revolutionary-style berets and said they do not believe in publicly swearing an oath to the American flag and government at their school. One student trustee voted against the measure, which does not apply to other student groups or campus meetings.
The ban follows a 2002 ruling by a federal appeals court in San Francisco that said forcing school children to recite the pledge was unconstitutional because of the phrase "under God." The U.S. Supreme Court struck down the ruling on procedural grounds but left the door open for another challenge.
"That ('under God') part is sort of offensive to me," student trustee Jason Bell, who proposed the ban, told Reuters. "I am an atheist and a socialist, and if you know your history, you know that 'under God' was inserted during the McCarthy era and was directly designed to destroy my ideology."
Bell said the ban largely came about because the trustees didn't want to publicly vow loyalty to the American government before their meetings. "Loyalty ought to be something the government earns through performance, not through reciting a pledge," he said.
Martha Parham, a spokeswoman for the Coast Community College District, said her office had no standing on the student board and took no position on the flag salute ban.
"If their personal belief is that they don't want to say the Pledge of Allegiance, the district certainly isn't going to dictate what they do," she said.
More than 28,000 students attend the community college, located in conservative Orange County, California, south of Los Angeles.
More free-floating mines. The Ds won't be able to get a rowboat between them.
I hope their parents are proud......
We will, in the end, need the services of a General Pinochet to reclaim our country.
Vegas should start taking bets on that - it's a winner.
Odds are they are or don't care. Ten to one. Maybe 100 to 1
I'd love to send the whole boatload of these people to North Korea for a year.
Unless some students wished to form a College Republican group. Then I suppose the district would have to step in.
Make them pay the full cost of their education, rather than the typical 1/4 to 1/3 that tuition covers at state and community colleges. Then they might see a reason.
It's terrifying what's happening on College campuses these days. Based on the voting numbers from 2006, it would appear that this next generation is starting to look an awful lot like the crowd from the late 1960's and early 1970's. And as well all very well know, that generation has very nearly destroyed this nation.
The brave student who insisted on reciting the pledge is Christine Zoldos, 18 years old. Give her all the support you can. Anyone in Caleefornia should try to get her messages of support and appreciation. If you own a business, offer her a good job after graduation. It you live nearby, offer to carry her books for her. Anything you can do for her is worthwhile.
As for the others, why should we pay for their collage at all?
Led by students "wearing revolutionary-style berets"...maybe they are all suffering from Patty Hearst Syndrome. Most of these communist wannabees are probably paying for their schooling with the help of U.S. Grants. They should be told they can lead their little revolution without the help of the American taxpayer at a non-U.S.A. school.
Absolutely!!!!! Stop all funding!!!!!Leave them to themselves and they will cannabalize themselves!!!!
They are full of s***! Thank you for serving the greatest country in the world, and "Happy Veteran's Day" sir.
The pain of realization has not yet sunk in.... The liberals taxpayers fund the liberal institutions for their liberal children. It's a viscious cycle.
Immediately end all taxpayer funding of this college. Really. Do it now.
My thoughts, exactly, as well.
What do you expect after spending most of their lives in public schools being taught that America and capitalism are responsible for most of the evil in the world.
Of course these same assholes would have no problems swearing allegiance to Karl Marx, Che Guevera, Chairman Mao, or you name it. Sick.
The left really does want the end of the United States.
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