Albany Teens Suspended for Wearing Crucifixes (Oregon)

YouNewsTV™ Story Published: Feb 24, 2008 at 2:55 PM PST Story Updated: Feb 24, 2008 at 2:55 PM PST By Associated Press

ALBANY, Ore. (AP) - A pair of Albany teenagers were suspended from high school for a few days recently because they were wearing crucifixes that school officials called "gang-related behavior."

Fourteen-year-old Jaime Salazar and his friend, 16-year-old Marco Castro, say their mothers gave them the crucifixes - and they deny they're involved with any gangs.

But South Albany High School Principal Chris Equinoa is clear about the school district's position. He says religious items are not banned. But he reserves the right to ask a student to remove, or cover up, any item he feels could indicate gang affiliation - even a crucifix.

A spokesman for the Roman Catholic archdiocese of Portland says the archdiocese has no reports of gangs using crucifixes to identify themselves in Western Oregon.

I’ll look for that tomorrow since it’s late and I’m going to bed.

And I’ll take my misinformation and hot air with me :)

Does the First Amendment apply to high school students? Freedom of the press for high school newspapers? Hmmm, seems the high school newspapers fall under the moderator(teacher) and the school and not the Constitution. I know in my school, the principal has final say what’s printed in the school newspaper, and the moderator moreso (and both can nix anything and everything they choose for whatever reason), and the kids have absolutely no say in anything nor do they have any liability either, whereas the faculty moderator and principal are held accountable, But I’ll check on that tomorrow for you and also how many schools bother to follow any of the rules? :)

I thought it was ruled that students aren’t held accountable for what’s reported/printed in high school newspapers since they’re kids and not legal adults. They get screwed in many ways but they also don’t have accountability as adults do. It was a huge issue back in the early 80’s when I was in high school and an editor of the school newspaper. If I recall correctly, the moderator (faculty member) was responsible for editing the paper and had complete control over what was printed and what wasn’t since the kids couldn’t be held responsible.

Something to look into tomorrow for sure. Thanks.

Does the First Amendment apply to high school students?

Yes, to a degree. Restrictions on free speech are allowed for adults in limited circumstances; schools are able to apply greater restrictions on students than governments can on adult citizens.

Freedom of the press for high school newspapers? Hmmm, seems the high school newspapers fall under the moderator(teacher) and the school and not the Constitution.

Depends. (You didn't think a constitutional law question would have a simple yes/no answer, did you?) If the school paper is run my the faculty or administration as a classroom exercise for a journalism class, then the school controls it like any other classroom resource. But if by tradition and practice it's a forum run by and for students, with little interference by the administration, the school has much less control.

If the paper is entirely self-funded through ads and subscriptions, and doesn't receive school funding or use school equipment and computers, the only power the school has is to prevent distribution on campus.

I know in my school, the principal has final say what’s printed in the school newspaper, and the moderator moreso (and both can nix anything and everything they choose for whatever reason), and the kids have absolutely no say in anything nor do they have any liability either, whereas the faculty moderator and principal are held accountable,

At my school, the principal never reviewed the paper before publication. The faculty advisor looked over our shoulders, and nudged us away from stories that might raise a ruckus, but never vetoed a story outright. We made most of our operating money on subscriptions and ad sales, though we did use school space and computers.

In college, the only thing the administration ever did was set up a briefing from members of the university counsel's office on libel and copyright law. They did not interfere, and the staff advisor did a critique after the paper went to press. There was no prior review.

I wrote a column directly rebutting a commentary from the university president, and I never heard "boo" about it. It was a reasoned response, not a fire-breathing rant. We regularly took the administration to task for one thing or another, and their response wasn't to knuckle down on us, but to write a letter to the editor.

Some adult has to be at the end of the responsibility chain somewhere. In practical terms, libel is a civil tort, and the amount you can collect is going to depend on demonstrable damages. Not big bucks when you're talking about a high school paper.

Even in the most permissive high school newspapers, the faculty advisor is supposed to screen for things like libel, defamation and obscenity; the school would likely be on the hook for any successful tort claim. But from the cases I've seen, the disputes between school administrators and student newspapers aren't based on anything that might be libelous; they're based on articles an administrator believes are obscene, or inappropriate, or disruptive.

Both fully understood that they were operating in a hostile environment, filled with socialist parasites, liberal toe-sucking freaks, and queer activists - and were trained to behave adccordingly, while still maintaining their autonomy, freedom of thought and personal integrity. It was *NOT* easy, but, for us it worked.

That is because they had good parents who explained that to them. Most parents (exception on this site) are clueless as to what their kids should know before stepping foot in a public school. I understand about the costs and you are right the price has gone up unblievable. I guess because I never dealt with a public school, I can’t understand why this happens. Both catholic school and the military to me are both dictatorships. lol. Which probably explains my misunderstanding of this story.

It is made of baby blu plastic rosary bead with clear blue little beads in between.
A childs craft bead at best or like I said like we have made at teen Catholic camp.

It cost less than 5 bucks to make but it is special because his Mom gave it to him. Heck I bet she made it..

I believe you, but that doesn't mitigate the fact that rosaries are associated with gang membership - here's an excerpt from an article that profiles a gang member in Houston who, amongst other symbols, is described as wearing a blue crucifix to mark his membership in the Crips.

I'm not saying that all rosaries are gang related, but to deny they're gang symbols just to keep from offending people seems counter-productive.

Everyone’s comments are funny. Misleading story, misleading title. First off I am a Christian, my children attend this school, I know Jaime and I know he is a trouble maker. This isn’t his first suspension, he’s done much worse than wearing a cross to get himself in trouble. And he wasn’t suspended for wearing it, he was suspended for leaving school and bad behavior. I guess you didn’t read that part. My children wear religious objects (crosses and such) to school now and then and have never been questioned. Funny how we can’t have a Christmas Program or Easter Break, everyone is up in arms if there is a Christmas tree, but now all of a sudden we are mad about this and it wasn’t even about religion! Don’t believe everything the media tells you, usually they are giving it a slant or one-sided perspective just to sensationalize it.

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