Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, October 22, 1995 TAG: 9510230045
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Students should be able to take their religion to school and should not have to hide it, Robert Knepp says.
``Religion should be a part of every aspect of life for those who so choose,'' he said. ``It is wrong to tell students that they must leave their religion at home during the school year.''
Knepp, a candidate for the Craig County School Board, said that he would favor student-initiated, student-led prayer in schools, including prayer at graduation, if it could be done legally.
A majority of the school board candidates in Western Virginia who responded to a survey by The Roanoke Times agree with Knepp, but some oppose all school prayer except silent, individual prayers by students.
Most support the state's new guidelines on religious activities in schools, but a few say they are too restrictive.
``As for graduation ceremonies, if the students want to pray, I'll fight for them to have the right to pray,'' said Hunter Hale, a candidate in Bedford County.
``I favor Jewish, Islamic, Christian and all other student prayers when offered spontaneously by the person praying at graduation, sports events and other important gatherings,'' said Beth Nelson, a Pulaski County candidate.
Marie Mathis, a Floyd County candidate, supports prayer in school. ``Praying has never, nor will it ever, injure anyone,'' she said.
G.B. Washburn Jr., a candidate in Franklin County, sees a similarity between school prayer and sexual expression.
``If we allow freedom of sexual preference and sexual expression, we should definitely allow freedom of religion,'' Washburn said.
But James Klagge, a candidate in Montgomery County, sees it differently.
``There is more than enough opportunity to pray publicly outside of school,'' he said. ``Children should never have to feel uncomfortable in school or at school functions because of their beliefs about religion.''
David Sulzen, a Floyd County candidate, opposes prayer in school because he believes that ``open prayer alienates and offends those of religious beliefs other than the majority.''
Richard Edwards, a Montgomery County candidate, said there are too many legal hurdles to school prayer. ``Which prayer and by whom?'' he asks. ``This is too complex to even consider implementing.''
While the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that school-sanctioned, clergy-led prayer at graduations is unconstitutional, the issue of student-initiated, student-led prayer is unclear because of conflicting federal court rulings.
The 5th U.S. District Court of Appeals has ruled that the ban on school-sanctioned prayer does not apply to prayers planned and led by graduating seniors in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.
But the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, in a decision affecting nine Western states, said that student-led prayers at graduation also are unconstitutional.
``The school ultimately controls the event'' because seniors ``have authority to make decisions regarding graduation only because the school allows them to have it,'' the appeals court said.
The Supreme Court has lifted the ban on student-led prayers in the nine Western states because the case has become moot, but it has not ruled on the broad issue of whether student prayers are constitutional. Other graduation-prayer controversies are in the legal pipelines and could arrive for the court's current term.
In Virginia, the U.S. District Court in eastern Virginia has banned organized prayers at graduations, including prayer requested in a vote by the graduating class. The court ruled that the only permissible prayers at public commencements are those offered by a student speaker and not subject to school approval or review.
New federal guidelines on religious activities in schools say that students may read their Bibles or other Scriptures, say grace before meals and pray before tests.
Students also may pray and discuss their religious views in informal settings outside of class, such as in the cafeteria and hallways, according to Richard Riley, U.S. secretary of education.
He points out that under Supreme Court rulings, school officials may not organize graduation prayers or religious baccalaureate services.
But Riley makes no recommendation on whether students can organize prayers at their own commencement exercises.
John Reed, a candidate in Roanoke County, said he opposes prayers being broadcast over schools' public address systems, but supports student prayers at graduations.
``This has grown into a `silly' problem and could best be handled by individual schools using a little common sense,'' he said.
Next Sunday: where school board candidates stand on whether state taxes should be raised to provide more funding for education.
by CNB