As Reported in Crosswalk.com - Religion Today News Summaries for June 2, 2005
Liberty Counsel Clears Way for 'Jesus' in Valedictorian's Address
Allie Martin and Jody Brown, Agape Press
A valedictorian at one Wisconsin high school did not have to hide her faith in Christ when it came to her recent graduation speech. When Miriam Cattanach, valedictorian of the Class of 2005 of Spencer High School, submitted her graduation speech to school officials, they said any reference to religion, God, or Jesus must go. Miriam, a committed Christian, said in her speech that Christ is the hope for the future. But when administrators censored her speech, her family contacted Liberty Counsel. After the legal group got involved, the school changed its tune, says Liberty Counsel president Mat Staver. "We wrote a letter to the school authorities and talked to them about what the Constitution says. We simply said that if they insist on censoring this religious message of her graduation speech, that it would be unconstitutional -- and we would have to file suit in court," Staver reports. "After considering this, they changed their mind." That permitted Miriam to share her testimony during her speech on May 21 -- which was presented free of censorship. Staver explains that students and invited guests do not lose their constitutional rights when they step behind a podium -- a fact evidently lost on some school administrators.
Posted by Valerie at June 2, 2005 11:59 AM