He died for you on a cross over 2,000 years ago, yet was resurrected and is living today in Heaven. His name is Jesus Christ. If you don't already know Him personally, I encourage you to find out more about the sacrifice He made for you, so that you now have the opportunity to live in eternity with Him.
And we also encourage you, now that we are all ready to encounter the biggest change in our lives thus far, the transition from childhood to adulthood, to leave with confidence and integrity. Congratulations class of 2006.
That was the brief speech made by Erica Corder at the 2006 graduation ceremonies of Lewis-Palmer High School in Monument, Colorado. She was one of 15 valedictorians who were given 30 seconds each to address the audience. But because of the religious nature of her remarks (high school officials seem to froth at the mouth whenever they hear the name, "Jesus"), Erica was unceremoniously led to the principal's office afterwards where she was criticized and promised that her diploma would be withheld...unless, that is, Erica would submit to sending a e-mail apology to the entire high school community." Fearing that the school really would deny her graduation and stop or at least delay her college plans, the girl did what was demanded.
Talk about the problem of bullies in the classroom -- we should be even more worried when bullies control the classrooms!
But as the Casper Star-Tribune reports:
Now Corder is fighting back.
In a lawsuit filed in federal court this week, Corder says the school violated her rights to free speech and equal protection. Corder's father, Steve, said Thursday the Corders are not seeking money, other than attorneys' fees. Rather, they want clarity on an area of the law that has caused problems for graduation speakers of strong faith across the country in recent years. "We don't want future speakers to run into the same thing," said Steve Corder, who works at Colorado Springs-based Focus on the Family.
The Lewis-Palmer School District released a statement Wednesday saying it intends to "vigorously defend the claims." "While we are disappointed that this matter has resulted in litigation, we are confident that all actions taken by school officials were constitutionally appropriate," the statement said.
Treating this matter, this editorial from Freedom Newspapers and published in the Clovis News Journal (New Mexico) makes some important points:
...That this statement might have made a few listeners squirm in their seats isn’t really relevant, since free speech rights aren’t contingent on the reaction they evoke in others — except in certain cases, such as yelling “fire” in a crowded theater. Corder’s use of the J-word sent no audience members rushing toward the exits.
Whatever their religious beliefs, or lack thereof, most audience members just endured the remarks stoically, as they do all the other commencement day rituals. No reasonable person would have construed these obviously personal remarks as an endorsement of religion by the state, which is what the establishment clause proscribes.
Corder’s detractors argue that she broke the rules and was in the wrong. Fair enough. But the issue is, are those rules reasonable, constitutional and just? And don’t we applaud those who challenge rules they believe are wrong or unconstitutional, such as Rosa Parks or Martin Luther King Jr.? They both broke rules; King wasn’t in the Birmingham jail for shoplifting. But they did it for the right reasons.
Constitutional questions aside, we think it sends young Americans a confusing message when we adults teach them in school that they live in a free country, where freedom of speech is protected, but then dictate what they can and cannot say at a commencement event.
Maintaining order, discipline and decorum in school is important. But it’s ludicrous, and taking the notion of church-state separation to ridiculous extremes, to tell students they can’t speak about matters of personal faith.
(Information for this post was obtained at the linked articles, One News Now and other sources.)
