Story Published:
Nov 3, 2005 at 10:19 AM PST
Story Updated:
Aug 31, 2006 at 1:07 AM PST
WENATCHEE - 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.
