JACKSON -- A Mississippi high school forced students to attend programs on campus where fellow students urged them to turn to Jesus for hope and eternal life, according to a group that has sued.
[forced students to attend? .... according to a group that has sued? Rubbish]
The district has denied assemblies were mandatory and says they were legal.
A lawsuit filed by the American Humanist Association asks a federal judge
[Why a federal judge when this done on a state level? Money, power, etc]
to bar the Rankin County School District from having religious assemblies. The suit also seeks to hold Northwest Rankin High School Principal Charles Frazier personally liable. Humanist Association attorney Bill Burgess said Frazier should have known better than to allow the gathering.
["should have known better"? Why not just write the letter and end it there? No, this is about money and people thinking their religious or non-religious beliefs being restrained, even though the gathering was not mandatory.]
The district has yet to respond to the lawsuit filed April 24 in U.S. District Court in Jackson, and administrators could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
It's the latest in a series of school prayer struggles in Mississippi. But although many of the cases have occurred in small towns, this one centers on a 1,600-student school in a fast-growing suburban area that is home to visible religious minorities including a Hindu temple. According to the Washington-based Humanist Association, some students there have no religious faith.
[How can the humanist association, which pushes it's own religious beliefs, stand up for so called students, who might be from a Hindu temple, who have no faith? Again, it's atheism against christianity or hinduism against christianity. Hindus are supposed to be peaceful?]
The suit was brought on behalf of a 16-year-old Northwest Rankin junior named only M.B. in the complaint.
[Common sense says, "The 16 year old should have taken their complaint to the students who shared their faith in Jesus and kept it between them. Would the christian students bring a lawsuit against the 16 year old now? Doubt it. Their belief is based on loving others.]
Rankin County Assistant Superintendent Richard Morrison, appointed by Gov. Phil Bryant to the state Board of Education last year,
said last month the assembly at Northwest Rankin High School wasn't explicitly religious.
"It was not based on any church or any religion," said Morrison, who was principal at Northwest Rankin before being promoted to assistant superintendent.
[The issue has been addressed already by an Assistant Superintendent, but the humanist association didn't want to hear it. They saw an opportunity for money. And the love of money is the root of this lawsuit.]
Video shows proceedings [no video was shown in the digital article]
But a cellphone video taken by a student and provided to AP by the atheist group shows otherwise. A group of students, described by Morrison as senior boys, discuss their history of personal problems. About seven minutes into the program, when talking about how they turned their lives around, one says "We find our hope in Jesus Christ."
One of program leaders also tells students: "We know it is not cool for us to stand up here and tell you that we follow Jesus. But that's OK. Because we care about you so much that there is no way that we could graduate from high school and have a hope that we believe is for eternity and not share it with you guys."
[Does that sound like hate speech? It's talk based on love.]
The lawsuit describes the students as representatives of Pinelake Church, the largest Southern Baptist church in Mississippi. The church's main campus is near the school.
The church's communications director, Kim Shirley, said last month no Pinelake representatives took part. "It wasn't something we put on," she said. Shirley declined to say if the students attend the 9,000-member church.
"Everyone seemed to know they at least attend the church," Burgess said, but indicated there was no evidence of official church involvement.
[Everyone seemed to know... why? Maybe because these students are learning something worth sharing... their faith.]
Student-led is legal
In this case, Morrison said students approached Frazier about holding the assemblies. He indicated they were legal in part because they were student-led.
"They're some courageous guys that want to make a difference in kids' lives," Morrison said. "We respect our state and federal guidelines. We know [what] our limits are. But we also know that students are leaders in our school."
[Morrison sounds like a practical person who cares for students]
Morrison said attendance was not mandatory, and students could have stayed in classrooms if they wanted.
The lawsuit claims otherwise, citing an email Frazier sent to teachers before the senior class assembly April 9.
[And what did the email say? What kind of journalism is this?]
It also says students were prevented by a school security officer from leaving.
[Really? So why isn't the humanistic association suing the security officer?]
Burgess said after the humanist group sent the district a letter complaining about the assemblies, officials may have allowed sophomores and freshmen to skip programs held later in April. But he said even a voluntary assembly was still an unconstitutional government endorsement of religion, because it took place on school property during school hours.
[Well, Mr Jeff Amy, where is your factual information of Burgess's statement here? Foolish writing. Not journalism, but opinion.]
Morrison said he understood Frazier had pre-screened the program, which could undercut claims that administrators didn't endorse its religious content.
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/05/01/4635799/group-sues-rankin-county-schools.html
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