GotZoom
Senior Member
WENATCHEE, Wash. -- A ban on wearing rosary beads at one north-central Washington school district has sparked debate among students, school administrators and members of the clergy.
The Lake Chelan School District, about 40 miles north of Wenatchee in the community of Chelan, banned rosary beads Monday after a training session with a police officer.
Wenatchee police Officer Gary Geiger told school officials that rosary beads worn around the neck can be a sign of gang activity, particularly among Latinos. The principal at Lake Chelan High School, Tim Berndt, asked a handful of students to remove the beads or tuck them into their shirts the next day.
One student complied, Berndt said, but two others refused and were threatened with a 10-day suspension.
"I could tell these kids weren't gang members, but I had to draw the line the same," he said. "I can't say yours are OK, but his are gang-related."
The school may have been too hasty in the way it implemented the ban, though students could put themselves in danger if they are mistakenly identified as gang members, said the Rev. Dan Dufner at St. Francis Catholic Church in Chelan, who received calls about the issue.
But the Rev. Francisco Higuera at Holy Apostles Catholic Church in East Wenatchee said members of the Hispanic community often wear rosary beads around their necks.
"I'm very proud of the family who has done that, for standing up for their faith," he said in a telephone interview with The Wenatchee World on Wednesday. "This is a religious issue, and everybody has the right to live their religion."
Berndt met with one of the mothers of the two students who refused to comply with his order Tuesday, and the students removed the beads and returned to class.
School Superintendent Jim Busey said what started as a disagreement over a new dress policy became an issue of insubordination when the students refused to comply. But he also said the district should have made more effort to communicate the new rules to parents and students before enforcing them.
Busey said his primary concern is student safety, but he said he also understands that wearing the beads is an important expression of faith.
"I think we're going to get it resolved," he said.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/6420AP_WA_Rosary_Debate.html
The Lake Chelan School District, about 40 miles north of Wenatchee in the community of Chelan, banned rosary beads Monday after a training session with a police officer.
Wenatchee police Officer Gary Geiger told school officials that rosary beads worn around the neck can be a sign of gang activity, particularly among Latinos. The principal at Lake Chelan High School, Tim Berndt, asked a handful of students to remove the beads or tuck them into their shirts the next day.
One student complied, Berndt said, but two others refused and were threatened with a 10-day suspension.
"I could tell these kids weren't gang members, but I had to draw the line the same," he said. "I can't say yours are OK, but his are gang-related."
The school may have been too hasty in the way it implemented the ban, though students could put themselves in danger if they are mistakenly identified as gang members, said the Rev. Dan Dufner at St. Francis Catholic Church in Chelan, who received calls about the issue.
But the Rev. Francisco Higuera at Holy Apostles Catholic Church in East Wenatchee said members of the Hispanic community often wear rosary beads around their necks.
"I'm very proud of the family who has done that, for standing up for their faith," he said in a telephone interview with The Wenatchee World on Wednesday. "This is a religious issue, and everybody has the right to live their religion."
Berndt met with one of the mothers of the two students who refused to comply with his order Tuesday, and the students removed the beads and returned to class.
School Superintendent Jim Busey said what started as a disagreement over a new dress policy became an issue of insubordination when the students refused to comply. But he also said the district should have made more effort to communicate the new rules to parents and students before enforcing them.
Busey said his primary concern is student safety, but he said he also understands that wearing the beads is an important expression of faith.
"I think we're going to get it resolved," he said.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/6420AP_WA_Rosary_Debate.html
