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Valedictorian Defies School District and Recites Lord's Prayer [W:618]

Should the school have banned the reading of the prayer by the student?

  • Yes

    Votes: 24 27.3%

  • No

    Votes: 60 68.2%

  • Undecided

    Votes: 4 4.5%
  • Total voters
    88
iacardsfan said:
They were forced to listen though.

The Justice Department:



His audience was captive: thus a violation....not rocket science.
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Sorry, this crowd at a voluntary event does not qualify as a "captive audience".
 
again no matter whether id be ok with it the facts wont change

The school has every right to limit and or sensor any speech that is being made at their function.
 
davidtaylorjr said:
Applauded? No, however, I wouldn't be making a huge deal of it.
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But apparently since it was a prayer to a Christian God then it is worth revering.


If it is what he wanted to say let him say it.
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Then why not allow all the students to have their say?
 
clownboy said:
Sorry, this crowd at a voluntary event does not qualify as a "captive audience".
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It's voluntary for a student to be at graduation... ok whatever you say. I suppose you never graduated then because mine was sure mandatory.
 
iacardsfan said:
It's voluntary for a student to be at graduation... ok whatever you say. I suppose you never graduated then because mine was sure mandatory.
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I know many people who haven't gone to their HS graduations. They aren't going to come pick you up and make you come.
 
clownboy said:
Maybe not, maybe so. Doesn't change that he wouldn't necessarily be wrong in doing so.
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He was wrong. He was in a position of privilege. There is a reason why schools have valedictorians submit their speeches for approval before giving them.
 
davidtaylorjr said:
I still don't see how one person getting up and expressing what they believe in, which they have a right to do, would do that. If anything, others listening should just find it interesting about what the person believes and move on. It is not forcing anyone into a religion.
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You do not have the right to do whatever you want whenever you want.

There are consequences for your actions.

Conversely, those of us who don't want to hear you praying, or preaching about your beliefs, or just talking about religion in general can speak out about it.

Some of us believe you can't just get down with religion any time you want.

I personally think a moment of silence in most situations is adequate and reasonable for all.
 
Geoist said:
But apparently since it was a prayer to a Christian God then it is worth revering.




Then why not allow all the students to have their say?
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They can, just not in that particular instance. It was a speech to be given by the Valedictorian. He earned the right to give the speech. Why does nobody make a big stink when the President references God?
 
Dragonfly said:
You do not have the right to do whatever you want whenever you want.

There are consequences for your actions.

Conversely, those of us who don't want to hear you praying, or preaching about your beliefs, or just talking about religion in general can speak out about it.

Some of us believe you can't just get down with religion any time you want.

I personally think a moment of silence in most situations is adequate and reasonable for all.
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He was referencing what he believed helped him in his success.
 
iacardsfan said:
It's voluntary for a student to be at graduation... ok whatever you say. I suppose you never graduated then because mine was sure mandatory.
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Graduation ceremonies are not mandatory in any state, never have been in the US. I graduated a year early, there was no ceremony for me. I could have gone to the one for the class before me, but again it's not mandatory, I was busy signing on to summer college courses.
 
davidtaylorjr said:
I know many people who haven't gone to their HS graduations. They aren't going to come pick you up and make you come.
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there are always circumstances where people do not attend, and obviously they will still graduate if they cannot be present, but in all reality it ois technically a mandatory event. And anyways they would think it to be a secular event, they had no way of knowing that there would be certain religions brought upon them.
 
clownboy said:
Graduation ceremonies are not mandatory in any state, never have been in the US. I graduated a year early, there was no ceremony for me. I could have gone to the one for the class before me, but again it's not mandatory, I was busy signing on to summer college courses.
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you have checked with every school in the US? Each school has different policies. There are no laws saying that but that doesn't mean the schools dont.
 
davidtaylorjr said:
It was a speech to be given by the Valedictorian. He earned the right to give the speech.
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Rights are inherent, not earned. The F student has as much of a right to freedom of speech as a valedictorian. The podium was a position of PRIVILEGE not a RIGHT. The school did not have to give it to him.
 
Geoist said:
He was wrong. He was in a position of privilege. There is a reason why schools have valedictorians submit their speeches for approval before giving them.
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No, I'm aware of the reasons the schools do that and it's their last grasp for the illusory control they have. The fact of the matter is there is absolutely nothing the school can do if the valedictorian goes off script (except perhaps shut off the mic).
 
iacardsfan said:
there are always circumstances where people do not attend, and obviously they will still graduate if they cannot be present, but in all reality it ois technically a mandatory event. And anyways they would think it to be a secular event, they had no way of knowing that there would be certain religions brought upon them.
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And why is it then ok for the President to do the same?
 
So long as it was the valedictorian of their own free will and the school administration was not involved, they can say just about anything they want to say. Separation of church and state only addresses a situation where the school, as a representative of the state, does such things.
 
iacardsfan said:
you have checked with every school in the US? Each school has different policies. There are no laws saying that but that doesn't mean the schools dont.
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Nice try, but your graduation certificate is in no way connected to the ceremony the school holds. It is connected soley to the educational requirements of each state for attaining that certificate.
 
Religion has no place in a public school, period. I suspect those who believe it was okay for this individual to break a school rule that they personally don't like would be incensed if the same individual had recited from the Quaran instead of the Bible.
 
iacardsfan said:
i honestly have no clue what that has to do with anything
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The point is, does the President or Supereme Court have more Free Speech Rights and Freedom of Religion Rights then the student does?
 
iacardsfan said:
Well yes, South Carolina is a place where racism and religious intolerance along with ignorance is quite common. I lived there for quite some time. Much happier up north. It explains why he got standing ovations, other places where ethnic diversity is not frowned upon might have been taken more seriously. Alas the kid might be looked at as a hero, and it might not have offended anybody at all, and if that's the case then by all means congrats and continue to spread the word of your God. This isn't that big of a story to get so worked up upon. I just don't want the freedom of religion to be trampled on by close minded people.
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You get "racism and religious intolerance" from the Lord's Prayer?
 
clownboy said:
Nice try, but your graduation certificate is in no way connected to the ceremony the school holds. It is connected soley to the educational requirements of each state for attaining that certificate.
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Let'd be honest here. If it was the way you are making it out to seem like there would be only a fraction of students attending. Those people had no idea what they were getting into when they showed up.
 
DiAnna said:
Religion has no place in a public school, period. I suspect those who believe it was okay for this individual to break a school rule that they personally don't like would be incensed if the same individual had recited from the Quaran instead of the Bible.
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And the same people condemning him would not be. ;)
 
clownboy said:
No, I'm aware of the reasons the schools do that and it's their last grasp for the illusory control they have. The fact of the matter is there is absolutely nothing the school can do if the valedictorian goes off script (except perhaps shut off the mic).
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Never said there was much the school could do once the student went off-script. Doesn't mean he was right to do so.
 
davidtaylorjr said:
The point is, does the President or Supereme Court have more Free Speech Rights and Freedom of Religion Rights then the student does?
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i dont think thats the point at all. plus all presidential speeches are CERTAINLY optional. President Obamas religion is known and it is possible to avoid his speeches. Much different than this situation.
 
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