totally agree. why are we spending billions overseas to stop that sort of restrictions when we have our own taliban here in america, the conservative christians. of course, not all conservative christians behave in that manner, but they would be the first to approve of the schools actions.

dave, you are ASSUMING the kid went there willingly. whos not to say tht his parents forced him to go there? as a child, i was forced (against my will) to attend catholic school. i had no choice in the matter. maybe tylers situation is the same.

and dave, free speech extends outside the school property. you obvviously have very little understanding on legal matters. sure, in the school the boy must adhere to the schools rules and regulations. howver, once outside that school, those rules and regulations have no merit.

plus, who signed the contract that he would adhere to the rules? if it was the boyt himself, then its null and void, as a minor CANNOT enter a legally binding contract.

your agruement is very weak.

How do you know he wasn't forced to attend, I do believe children go where their parents send them?? I don't think he should be suspend or prevented from his finals or graduation..This was a function outside of his school, where there should be no right by schools, churches, Govt. to restrict, a dance (prom) is a legal activity last time I checked???

Furthermore He has the right to experience life and make his own mind up about how he intends to follow in future beliefs. How does one know if they do not experience life what direction they want to go personally??

I say Good For Him! I would have gone too, it's nothing to do with his school, but rather his personal rights. For him to choose to forego his Graduation walk to take his girlfriend to the prom is certainly Not a sin. He will still get his diploma, legally, they have to give it to him because he has earned it. He stood on his own two feet and his parent's approved, that school rule is ridiculous if one lives in reality.

definately forced

Yeah, but we do have a choice in this country, whereas the Taliban wouldn't give him any choices. I do agree with his father, what he does on his own time, should be his choice.

Of course he was forced to go to that school. His parents thought it was best for him. We'll have to excuse the parents for not asking the peanut gallery on newsvine how they should raise their child and build the foundation for his future. After all, who knows better how to raise your own child and establish his social mores and foundation for his future than somebody else.

So after they made the decision on how to raise their child , and sent him to a private school, he decided he was grown up enough to rebel against the rules of the private school. And thats fine. That was Tylers adult decision to make. And he can face the consequences as an adult. Which means expulsion. Case closed, no more whining from you leftists that the parents did a poor job and didn't let the 14 year-old child decide where he would go to school.

I'm sure the public school system will transfer his credits and he will be able to graduate from the public school system just fine.

Man these Muslims are nuts... Wait, what?

How do they know he actually "HELD HANDS" or "DANCED TO THE ROCK MUSIC?" Did they spy on him?

What if, as a good Christian, Tyler went to the prom with his girlfriend, but only to look at her dancing? Is it also forbidden?

PS. If Tyler does not get the diploma, his parents should demend the their money (tuition) back - at least for the senior year.

While I strongly disagree with the policies of this (one step from snake handling) Baptist school no one forced this kid to attend it. I'm sure he knew the rules for quite some time and only disobeyed them when it suited his desires.If you know the rules and disobey them then expect to be punished.As for his stepfather taking legal action good luck with that.Expect to lose and pay court costs.

If you drink out side the football program you should be benched. Every program has it rules of conduct and if those rules are violated there are consequences. We have a school here that does not allow 10th graders to go to prom. Must be in 11 th or above. It there rules, don't like them party somewhere else.

I will say that I wouldn't be letting my children attend this school, but they do have the right to make their own rules of conduct.

The young man DID follow the rules!  The rules said that he must have a form signed by his principal if he intended to go to a prom at another school.  He took the form to the principal and the principal signed it.  The principal and the school administration then told the student that he could be punished if he goes to the prom AFTER they gave him consent to do so.

This school administration shows exactly what sort of values they wish to instill in their students:  Agree to something and then punish someone in violation of that agreement.  They have taught all of their students and the rest of the world the exact nature of their "Christian" values:  Lying is an acceptable thing to do.

This school will produce many fine politicians.

Has anyone seen my cat?

rules are rules, and the kid and parents knew the rules when he was enrolled.

Its time we just ban religion and get over it

dave, you are ASSUMING the kid went there willingly. whos not to say tht his parents forced him to go there? as a child, i was forced (against my will) to attend catholic school. i had no choice in the matter. maybe tylers situation is the same.

Mike From florida,

The kid is 17. He's still legally a minor and therefore under the jurisdiction of his parents. He goes to the school they send him to, plain and simple. I do agree that he should NOT be suspended, the school is wrong on this one. But don't try to lay that FORCED stuff down as a basis for anything, that's why they are the parents and he is the kid.

Those of you defending any school or organization from banning the act of dancing need to sit and think about what you're condoning. The idea is simply frightening.

well dave, YOU were the one who made the assumption that the kid went to the school willingly.

and i WAS forced to go to a catholic school because of several reasons. my parents were catholic and they believed the education i would receieve there would be better than public school. but i certainly didnt agree to be bombed by catholic teachings. where was my choice in the matter? so yes, that is forced admission into a school if the minor has no choice.

please come up with something more substantial for your agruement. so for, they have been weaker than watered down coffee. of all the posters on here, you have made the weakest agruement so far to support the school in this matter.

btw, you cant even get your OWN stories correct. here you posted this:

I do agree that he should NOT be suspended, the school is wrong on this one

but earlier on you said this:

They have a standard of conduct, and by attending that school he agreed to live by those standards

so in one case, you believe the school is right and another case, you think the student is correct. which is it? how can u make a valid agruement if you dont even know what you are argueing against?

ok dylan you just stated this

that's why they are the parents and he is the kid.

so u essentially admitted that the parents make the decisions involving the child. in this case, the step father made the decision that its ok for the child to go to the prom.

come up with something with more meat on it if you are attempting to disprove my point.

What? That is ridiculous. It is a private school. Maybe he shouldn't attend that school. Wow... What a novel idea. And I guarantee you that the rules are plainly stated in the student/parent hand book. My children attend PRIVATE school. You obide by their rules.

I understand that his parents have the right to let him go. But, the school has equal rights to enforce their rules that the parents VOLUNTARILY agreed to.

The Talibans would have killed him, so the comparison is very weak.

He should find another school where they are not so narrow-minded.

I know a guy who had to finish HS @ home, and p/u his diploma after graduation because he got his girlfriend pregnant halfway through his senior year. Fundamentalist Baptist, too.

Look, expel the kid, kick him out. If you claim to have "rules", enforce them. Letting him get his diploma, albeit not with his classmates, is akin to locking your retarded child in the basement, isn't it? Is it too shameful to let this kid, who did the work, celebrate his achievement in public, because he attended another school's dance?

If they'd have a way to check, they'd find out that every boy in the senior class masturbates 5x a week. I suspect that the uptight women of the church would have more trouble with the thought of that than children swinging their hips to the rhythm of music, at a supervised, chaperoned event at another institution.

LOL you people are unbelievable...how did I know that when i opened this I would see a bunch of liberals on here bashing christians. In any culture there will be sects of people who are extremely devout to their religion. The thing that kills me about liberals is that they seem to be fine with freedom of religion as long as it's not christianity. To lump all of Christianity into one broad group and label them as "religious fundamentalists" or "ultra right wing conservatives" is so ignorant i don't even know where to begin. Seriously people, get a life...

Either way, if he chose to go there or his folks, it was voluntary. The kid was going to a school that was a Private school. They can make the rules, they can enforce the rules. This is not a government agency! The step father should lose any legal action. If he wins that would be a crime.

THIS IS NOT THE TALIBAN! This is a private school, enforcing its rules. complaining about it would be about like complaining that weight watchers kicked some one out for bringing Crispy Cream to a meeting. It is their meeting, and their rules.

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mike from florida-535075

ok dylan you just stated this

that's why they are the parents and he is the kid.

so u essentially admitted that the parents make the decisions involving the child. in this case, the step father made the decision that its ok for the child to go to the prom.

come up with something with more meat on it if you are attempting to disprove my point.

so u essentially admitted that the parents make the decisions involving the child.

YES, YES, YES, that is EXACTLY what I am STATING, not ADMITTING, Parents make decisions involving the child, YES THEY DO if the child in question is under 18 and living at home.

Dude, listen, if you're a minor under the age of 18 and have not been emancipated by your parents, then you're under the guardianship of your parents until you are of the age of 18. That means they have the legal right to send you to school where they see fit regardless of what you at 17 might think, and as unfair as it might sound to a 17 year old, TOO BAD, that's the way it is. That's what I'm saying, nothing more and nothing less.

But I WILL SAY than from your prior posts, you're here for a fight because YOU HAVE ISSUES with being forced to go to a Catholic School. Take it up with your parents dude and don't be so hostile towards people merely trying to discuss something.

Good Grief dude, go drink a beer or take a Valium or something................GEEZ..............

if you're a minor under the age of 18 and have not been emancipated by your parents, then you're under the guardianship of your parents until you are of the age of 18.

I need to add here "UNLESS the child is a Ward of the Court"

Dude, I agree with half that... yes this is nutty, but it's a far cry fromt the Taliban and comparing them with those a*holes isn't fair. I mean they're not decapitating the kid for going dancing... if they were going to or had done so then you could compare the two groups but in this case there's no comparison.

Church related schools ARE NOT private schools, they are parochial schools and therein lies a certain difference too. In the other thread relating to this story (pre-prom story) people were talking about the school NOT taking tax dollars as the distinction. Private schools do get tax dollars, parochial schools usually don't, as direct disbursements to the schools, but they ALL get tax dollars indirectly through their "tax-exempt" status. NO CHURCH RELATED SCHOOL should have tax-exempt status, any more than their host churches should.

My child attended private school and the school received absolutely no public funding. Why do you think their school lunches cost $3.25 per day and an extra $1.50 for an extra slice of pizza? Why do you think we had to pay a $300.00 book fee for books we don't get to keep? All school sports were paid for by parents and fund raising events and ticket sales, etc. If your child attends private school then they have to abide by the rules, even if you don't agree with the rule. The reason most people send their kids to private schools is because rules are actually enforced and the kids are expected to obey the rules.

It's all about learning responsibility. I am sorry that he wasn't supposed to attend the prom. I don't see any harm in that. But he broke the rule and broken rules come with consequences.

Anti-trust proponent: That may be true about the tax part, but by my child attending private school the tax monies my husband and I paid still went to the public schools where it was unused by our child. So call it a wash.

Garys you have to consider one important aspect of this story before you go off the deep end bashing christianity! It is a private school with their own set of rules! While I personally think it was a crappy thing to do, he was warned by the school that if he chose to break the rules he would suffer the consequences.

It is a problem in our society, that we only obey the rules we like and then cry when we break a rule or law and get punished. Its time for america to grow a pair and start taking responsibility for our actions.

I agree that this church goes too far.  I also attended a school with a fundamentalist dogma as well.  Three children ended up being molested there.

And the school administration was also against dancing and rock and roll music...too bad they forgot to tell the faculty that raping a child in a sin. 

I am proud the young man stood up to this nonsense! 

Hey folks, what do you expect from a group who consider Rush Limbaugh their official "mouthpiece"! Does this really surprise anyone? I hope the kid got laid as well...

Religion is a joke.

garys said:

"And we are appalled by reports of religeous zealotry by the Taliban...Hah!...we have our own version over here...it's called ultra-conseervative religeous right. Give me a break!"

One has to believe that you are either joking or are simply spouting the party line and hoping that someone gullible will swallow. And amazingly as of this posting you found 33. NO thinking person would ever compare a school suspension with death by firing squad in the public square. I simply refuse to believe that anyone who has the brains to turn on their computer could come to that conclusion.

garys said:

"And we are appalled by reports of religeous zealotry by the Taliban...Hah!...we have our own version over here...it's called ultra-conseervative religeous right. Give me a break!"

One has to believe that you are either joking or are simply spouting the party line and hoping that someone gullible will swallow. And amazingly as of this posting you found 33. NO thinking person would ever compare a school suspension with death by firing squad in the public square. I simply refuse to believe that anyone who has the brains to turn on their computer could come to that conclusion.

" I always feel like.... the american taliban, is watching me"...............

They bought the ticket, they new what they were getting into. I say let 'em crash.

I must agree with you. My first thought when I read this story was "How Talibanish of them" Ah, religious tyranny alive and well. And people want vouchers for public money to pay for their kids to go to schools like this. The kis was OFF CAMPUS and ON HIS OWN TIME WITH HIS GIRLFRIEND.

I hope he had a wonderful time.

HRDawg:

Religion isn't a joke. THE ABUSE of it is. Do you think that Christ would have approved of racism or the Crusades or the Inquisition? Would he have banned music when the main commandment he gave was to,"Love the Lord", and "Love your neighbour as yourself"?

I'll put it this way. GWB screwed up the Middle East. Does that mean all Americans are bad? NO!!! Just because the Pope, or TBN, or pastors abuse their authority, become a hireling, and/or molest, does that mean religion itself is bad? NO!!! It is the ABUSE of religion.

Mankind's search for God (known as religion) used properly can unite the world. The abuse of it can divide the world.

Where is Kevin Bacon when you NEED him. I mean, he pops up everywhere all the time cept now!

Kevin...oh, Kevin!!!!

DavePeoria says that the boy chose to attend the school ... perhaps, perhaps not ... perhaps he's there as a result of the brain washing he's been subjected to ... if you're raised up being told one side of a story all of your life and you live in that encapsulated environment, and you're told/encouraged to go to that school - well, you probably go to that school ... one could easily conclude that his actions this past weekend might belie his agreement with all of their harshly enforced guidelines ... as several have mentioned, the ONLY difference between the American Christian Taliban and the Islamic Taliban is this: location.

Hangar#8 says that the Taliban would have killed him and that any comparison to them is weak ... God help us if these loonies ever gained enough support to enforce their kookie ideas on the rest of us ... they're kept under a lid right now but how do you think that they'd manifest their beliefs if they had the authority too? Christian Taliban = Islamic Taliban = totally intolerant. All of these abhorant mutants believe their religious way is the way and if you don't agree and follow their rules - they'll KILL you. Just ask the folks that work at abortion clinics. Again, if they had the power and authority to impose their beliefs - even to the point of killing violators - I don't doubt for a second what they'd be doing. Evil is what happens when good people remain silent. That's why we take issue with these lunatics in our posts - to, hopefully, help keep them under that lid!

He went to that school as per his parents. They wanted him to become educated and learn some values at the same time which he did. He learned that when not in school, his time was his own, but he is not bad mouthing anyone, but handling himself in a MATURE way. All part of learning in a structured environment.

Dylan923 - I think that you're right on when you say that it's the parents' decision as to where their kids go to get their training. After all, that's how society's moral principles are perpetuated. Bully for you Dylan for speaking the truth! Thank goodness your Nazi brethren had the right to send their kids to Hitler Youth programs for brainwashing - I'm sorry, training. It is after all, the parents decision in all cases - even when the parents are race baiting, homophobic, intolerant haters that would unleash all kinds of invective on you if they could get away with it. You're definitely on top of this one Dylan!

Hey, Dave Peoria, You tell 'em, kid. Only thing you left out was the part about the Earth being only 10,000 years old according to your careful calculation of the age of the generations in the Bible. You just keep on believing in your Baptist clap-trap and correcting any one with a mind of their own.

Jameseq says: "One may disagree with strict rules against dancing, hand holding, rock music, etc. But, the rules seem to have been effective at Heritage Christian School at preventing teen pregnancies ... "

And herein may lie part of the problem. Because these people don't believe in sex education they still believe that you CAN get pregnant by dancing, holding hands - even listening to unsanctioned music! Well, guess what Jameseq, y'all may not teach your kids sex education but don't worry - Mother Nature and their own bodies will.

Another non-story picked up by the media in order to cause discontent between factions. Is there no hard news out there any more? This should be settled amongst the kids, parents and the school.

As far as you dolts that compare this to the Taliban................let's see...............

beheadings............................no dancing

mercy killings.........................no dancing

treat ALL women like dirt...................no dancing

I'll think I'll sit out this dance, thank you.

Tyler's got some gonads! Good for him for sticking to his guns and going to his girlfriend's prom. I hope he had a wonderful time! So he doesn't get to walk down the isle with the other seniors - he still gets him diploma after he takes his finals. He needs to get away from that out-dated fundamentalist religion and find one that better suits him. I'm not saying religion is bad (I am a nonparticipating Catholic) but he needs to venture out into the world and not fall under the heavy-handed religion he has been raised on.

National publicity for breaking school rules. Way to go kid. Now, what other rules can kids break to get themselves on TV. The school should have just thrown him out.

str8talk, you can bet these intrusive, dictatorial, controlling mutants DO know exactly which boys are masturbating; how long they've been doing it; how frequently they do it. They probably are watching - peeping through the windows. The problem is: they like thinking about it.

I've always heard -

* If they say it's not about the money, it's about the money.

* If they say it's unlimited income, you better believe it's limited - it's just not yet determined.

* If they hold up their religion and brag and stand behind their morals as superior to others' ... you can bet they're cheating on their wives, their taxes, stealing from their employers; and they WILL stick it in you quicker than you can blink an eye. Ever do business with one of these folks with the fish on their business card? Boy, while they have you under the ether they are puttin' the britches on you.

* Ever been almost run over by one of these "better than you" Christians? Put your turn indicator on sometime and watch 'em close the gap quicker than you can say "thanks." Then, when they go by and you see the fish you ask yourself: "Wonder which set of Christianity they belong to?"

* Hey, how about this for an argument ... Baptists aren't even true Christians. No @!$%#. Christ said "Come, follow me." Later, He said to Simon, "You are Peter and upon this rock I shall build My church." So, first chance they get, these sweet Baptists ignore Christ's instructions, choose NOT to follow HIM by refusing to follow HIS appointed leaders here on Earth. THEY know a better way than what Christ Himself told them to do - they chose not to follow His rules. Was Christ tolerant? Are the Christian Taliban tolerant? Nuff said.

sled dog asks are there not any hard news stories anymore to report on?Come on doggie ... your actions lie bare where your mind dwells ... alas, poor doggie - YOU read this article out of interest and chose to spend your time discussing it's contents - just like everyone else here ... maybe the media writes about this stuff because their readers, obviously including the dog, lap it up. Come on doggie, let out a nice howl for us.

Typical no responsibility or consequences American responses posted above. He broke the rules.....he should pay the price. If he doesn't like it, he can always attend the public school.

SOME fundamental Baptists and other fringe groups fail to recognize that dancing between a man and a woman was acceptable to Christ. After all Jesus did attend several weddings, and at Jewish wedding parties, they dance! President Jimmy Carter was a Southern Baptist. He certainly dances with Rosalyn a few time!

Governor Huckabee is a Baptist Minister - He Dances!

This type of Fundamentalism is a microscopic fraction of the Baptists, let alone conservatives. Which maybe 70% have an affiliation with a Christian denomination.

Anyone who is taking the line that this is conservatism is seeing though the coke bottle glasses of hatred, and ears stuffed with the peanut butter of ignorance, and speaking with venom ofdivisiveness!

Try to put it in perspective! You break this school's rules ( even the stupid ones!) and they say "leave." Break the Taliban's rules and they kill you. If you think those are the same, you're as idiotic the Taliban.

so, some believe he was forced to go to this private school, but somehow, managed to makes plans for the prom (suit, flowers, transportation -- MEDIA COVERAGE) all on his little lonesome.

doesn't seem to make a whole lotta sense.

while we may not agree with the school's rules - we have to respect other's rules.

Maybe I don't agree my employer has certain lunch hours and I want to go at 1 o'clock and not noon. 

maybe i want to get paid EVERY week and not every other week.

c'mon people - rules are there for a reason - to help people grow and develop good behaviors and judgements and respect and to get along in a society where we are just never going to agree with everyone about everything (that's when we have to turn on our "respect" lessons).

Some people actually genuinely believe they should NOT pay taxes - but guess what - they have to follow the "rules" and pay them. sheeeeesh!

If his parents don't believe in the rules, send him to public school.

If he's graduating, why not have a "dance" to celebrate his graduation.

Why make a fuss over something that most guys would be thrilled not to have to go to?

really.....c'mon....i mean....the PROM?????

Maybe he'll be a great wedding planner someday.... few MEN actually care about all those details, too (haha....kindofa joke here).

gosh, people make a big deal out of nothing.

Does NOT matter whether or not the kid was forced to go to school. The kid's under 18. His PARENTS decide where he's going to school, NOT the kid. Unless he seeked/obtained an emancipation from his parents, then I would say dear young man is accepting of the fact his parents choice of schools. His PARENTS had to know where he was going to (the prom) and allowed it. So definitely need to leave the school out of the argument except for solely determining when the young man knew he would be in violation of school policy. If he knowingly knew before attending, which he must have (seeing as he skipped school on Monday to head to a media interview on Tues.) he knowingly did this stunt to get notoriety.

Personally, I think if all of the above is the case, the school should kick him out/suspension without graduation rights. It's all a media ploy. The underage teen knew what he was doing... and so did the parents!

I think many of us are expressing how we personally feel about the issue and that is great . The problem is that our personal opinion has no bearing on his suspension.

1 Did he go to the school? Yes. Whether his parents decided for him or whether he chose to go is not the issue.

2 Did the school offer a clear policy? Yes. They even informed him of the consequences of his actions should he choose to go to the prom.

3 Did they follow through according to to policy? Yes.

What are we accusing the school of? Integrity? Indicating clear boundaries? Teaching cause and effect?

In our nation parents decide where their child is educated. These parents chose this school. If the parents had disagreed with school policy, they could have chosen a different school or placed him in public school. They did not

I am an adult and I work. There are workplace rules that I do not agree with. I comply because they have been clearly stated and my ability to earn a salary at my place of employment depends on my following the rules.

We all (students and parents) need to follow rules of behavior if we want to be in certain places. I cannot smoke in a plane. I cannot litter...

Why can't this student accept that he broke a rule and there is a consequence? When the military draft was enforced, could a soldier decide that he was leaving because he didn't choose this life and go scott free? I understand this is a long stretch, but my point is we need to follow rules no matter where we work ot study

The sad part of this is all you adults bashing each other over a kid who wanted to be thrown out of school and go on National TV.

Sorry, but I won't be back to this site to listen to you grown-up's bicker.

jrg

Ironically those who fled the draft got pardoned, and were welcomed back from Canada.

I guess the Government realized that the draft was wrong, and those who avoided it were not criminals. Sort of like swinging your hips to the rhythm of music?

I think most of you love to shout out about separation of church and state, but most of these comments seem to forget about separation of state and church. It goes both ways! The parents and the student signed a code of conduct. Sure minors cannot sign binding agreements, but that is a legal agreement in a court of law. This is not a court of law - SEPARATION OF STATE AND CHURCH.

I think it is stupid personally, but my daughter attends a private Catholic high school and if she is caught wearing her uniform out of code after school (like at a restaurant) she can get detention. I guess they are trying to teach pride or some such novel concept. Been to San Francisco lately, they could use some pride instead of the cess pool that place has become.

Bible thumping idiots! Only God can judge..."Let he who is without sin cast the first stone." These kids deserve rewards and medals for standing up to the religious nuts that call themselves leaders! We are guarenteed the "Pursuit of Happiness" as Americans!

THRESEA - I do not go to church. Sorry that private schools have rules. I guess that is why you liberals have spent all your lives ruining the public schools which is why my daughter goes to a private school.

This is just nonsense. Why do these religious nutz feel the need to ruin people's lives. He's a teenager that wants to hold a girls hand and dance. BFD!

It only proves to me that RELGION needs to be taken down more than a few notches. They have ruined the world, people's lives and promote nothing more than hate, bigotry and wars all becuase people don't agree with their bs preaching and teachings.

Anyone ever consider that the rules agaisnt a student dancing @ another school's supervised dance is just WRONG?

Questioning authority is not always a bad thing.

Hitler made rules...

More bloody religious idiots. We can thank these morons for supporting their cherished idiot Bush, who so totally screwed up this country we may not dig our way out for years. I know we have freedom of religion, but could you religious idiots just kill yourselves or something?

The best part of this is that none of it matters. The school looks terrible because it flexed it's right to be morons and held this kid accountable for his "horrible" actions. Meanwhile, the kid becomes a psudo-celebrity and will gain much more attention than he deserves for bucking the system.

Nothing says "make sure you follow the rules" like tons of media attention and TV spots on morning shows. /sarcasm off

Oh, and if you can't see the big picture here and think that "rules are rules...deal with them," make sure you're an organ doner. It's the only good thing you'll ever do for this world.

The school has no right to get involved with the students personal life out side of class. The stone age, alive and kickin in middle America. If Jesus was here he'd die laughing. God I miss Carlin!

While I too deplore religous zealotry, parents that can afford private schools are sending their children to them. Why? Because the American educational system is woefully inadequate. And has been since our government stepped in some 35 to 40 years ago.

The average wage earner has 3 choices: 1. public school and hope their child gets good teachers, 2. send their child to a church run school (cheaper than prep school) or 3. homeschool.

With the heat on the school it is possible, tho' doubtful, the school will concede to the vox populi.

Sad but true.

Exactly!!!! It's so easy for the religious right in this country to brand others as religious zealots but they fail to realize that they are one and the same. Just a different religious affiliation. Parents need to use common sense when deciding to send their children to these hate mills.

Like a Childish Teenager, the church needs to be told "Grow the EFF Up"!

I HATE religious righteousness!

If I were that Boy, I would be jumping for joy! Now I can go to my GF's school!

Funny thing also, in RI Baptist Churches are quite open about the church being dated, but not in the Bible Belt! Neanderthals!

The private school where my child attended had service projects to help people in need. This small school, with less than 600 students, brought enough non-perishable food to fill the trailer of a large U-Haul truck. This food was donated to a local food bank to help all, not just "religious people". Before all of you cast stones at people who practice religious freedom, you might want to examine yourselves and what you do for others in your world.

So it's OK for the school to suspend this boy for attending a PROM that hurt NO ONE?!

That's BS Robin!

I make MANY donations without me having to do it through a "holy place"!

Shan Man -

He broke the rule about attending the dance. He is not allowed to pick and choose which rules he follows. Therefore he has consequences to deal with. He needs to put on his big boy britches and deal with it. He knew the consequences and chose to go anyway. I don't have a problem with dancing. However, the school has a rule about that and he didn't heed the rule. He is still going to be allowed to take his final exams and graduate (just not attend the ceremony.) I make many donations outside of religious institutions, too. Is driving while under the influence OK as long as you don't get caught? Rules are rules.

Do you think it's OK to choose not to stop at a red light when there are other vehicles coming? Do you think it's OK not to yield to an emergency vehicle? The rules at the school were in place for whatever reason they chose. It doesn't matter whether you agree with the school rule, it is still their rule. It doesn't matter whether you think it is BS to suspend him over attending a dance. If you run a red light and get caught you get a ticket. If you drive without wearing a seatbelt and get caught you get a ticket. There are consequences for breaking the rules whether you think it is fair or not.

Actions have consequences even if you don't agree. Should we stop enforcing all rules? Should we just disobey all traffic rules, break in line at the store, etc? The young man knew the rule and the consequence of breaking the rule.

Houston

Re: post #1.52

I OBVIOUSLY read the article. Great detective work on your part. I knew it would lead me HERE, where I could slap some lefties around.

Now, make a point about the article, if you actually have any valid thoughts on it. It's still a non-story.

Gotta run. Sam Adams called me. The Celtics game is on.

Houston. Sorry. I forgot. Just for you Woof woof woof arooooooo!

And for the rest of the lefties........... I must take my leave. A crisp Merlot awaits me. Gads! I'm missing the polo match! Ta ta for now, chaps.

Houston. Sorry. I forgot. Just for you Woof woof woof arooooooo!

And for the rest of the lefties........... I must take my leave. A crisp Merlot awaits me. Gads! I'm missing the polo match! Ta ta for now, chaps.

Robin, it's the "Rules" that I have issue with.

Many are Archaic at best and should not be applied to today's society.

He chose wisely, IMO, and he knew the consequences for sure.

I love the fact that he Bucked the system! I would be as well, especially if I did not want to be there.

NO DANCING or ROCK MUSIC, that's RIDICULOUS! I don't care what religion it is.

Listen to our chants and drawling voices, but something with energy and rhythm "OH, Lord, No"! The end of the World is near. Run Chicken Little, RUN! Fear the church and Baptist school banter.

SINNER, I am!

Reminds me of growing up in a town of 15,000 in the south in the 1950's. The radio preachers would preach against rock and roll in between offers to sell you an autographed picture of Jesus Christ. (Can I get an Amen!). Some of those Baptists were the biggest drinkers in town. We were Presbyterians, so we had sock-hops in the basement of the church, then drove out to the river to watch the submarine races. Anybody out there know what a "church key" is?

The only difference between a Conservative Christian and the Taliban is the bomb strapping. Everything else is just the same, religious manipulation and control.

So is the issue that you dont dance drink or smoke or is it that this young man signed a contract stating that he would not do this sort of thing? So if I agree to be a part of something that doesnt allow certain behavior or any other issue involving integrity or dare I say morallity, but then I change my mind , the thing that I am involved in is wrong.? How so when I knew going in what the deal was?

This is faulty logic!!!

I agree, it's absolute insanity. Who are we to point fingers at extremist religous sects overseas when we have our own over here!

Dave, how do you think that a teenager attends a high school volunteerly? He is not an adult yet and he wasn't when he entered high school either. I can't believe that USA government allows schools like that to exist in this country. Then turn around and try to bring freedom to some other nations in the world.

and dave, free speech extends outside the school property. you obvviously have very little understanding on legal matters. sure, in the school the boy must adhere to the schools rules and regulations. howver, once outside that school, those rules and regulations have no merit.

plus, who signed the contract that he would adhere to the rules? if it was the boyt himself, then its null and void, as a minor CANNOT enter a legally binding contract.

Mike from florida - No, free specch does NOT exist outsife of school 100% for students. The "Bong Hits for Jesus" case, decided by the Supreme Court in 2002, showed that students can be suspended from school for actions that go against school policy, even if they are off school grounds. There is, unfortunately, strong legal precedent for this kind of thing happening, so the school was well within their rights. So, don't knock someone who had a good point by claiming you have such extensive legal expertise, since you clearly do not.

Also, go look up the definition of a RULE. Rules are imposed; you don't always have to "sign a contract" saying you'll abide by them. When was the last time you signed a contract to obey all traffic laws? Can minor tudents break the rules and plagarize with no penalty? What about smoke on campus, or fight? Those are all common parts of a school code of conduct, and students are EXPECTED to follow, not asked nicely. Your statement is idiotic and your logic is flawed.

You know...I have to agree with DaveP on this one. I admit I haven't had the chance to read through all the comments, but having gone to a Christian University that would suspend you if they caught you smoking off campus (and me being a "dirty" smoker), I have to chime in :) Even though a minor can't be held legally to a contract (that contract being one with this particular school) his parents having enrolled him (being the minor that he is) have caused him to be subject to the school code of conduct. So, legally, they have every right to suspend him. I personally see no offense in dancing, holding hands, or rock music. However, freedom of religion is freedom of religion. If that particular school feels that said behavior is offensive and inappropriate, it is--Taliban or no Taliban. The young man, as a minor, is legally bound because his parents legally bound him. The parents, having allowed him to go the prom should be in the hot seat as they are the ones that have broken the contract.

I read through some more of the comments, and I think that there are many people who have good points...next time I'll wait to comment until I've read through more :)

The Ultra-Conservative Right is what allows for actual "CIVIL RIGHTS". Each and every person has a right to exercise their religion. Its dispicable that this school would suspend the kid for being a kid, but they also have the right as a private school to do so. Just like stripping the Illinois High School Graduate from the valedictorian title because she made a reference to God in her speech. What is worse? Both of em are bad. The Left wing elitists vs the right wing Christians. Difference, Christians don't hate you. You hate them.

if it was a public school it would be wrong but the boy was going to a christian school with set standards and morals that the boy was already aware of. If he wants to make a big deal about it because they dident want him to go then he should drop out of the school and start going to the public school. He knew a long time ago the morals and then wants to go against them at the last min when he is getting ready to graduate. Thats wrong.

If dancing and hand holding are prohibited by this school what do

they expect of this kid to never get married as well? How did the parents

of all the kids that go to this school have kids then? I believe that organized

religion IS a form of control over others. I belive it will get to the point here in

the U.S as it is in other places in the world if we don't go along with it we to will

be killed as well!

I knew there was another reason I don't believe in or belong to organized religion!

jameseg

Regarding John Ross Willingham's comment #3:

"Dancing and hand-holding" can lead to premarital sex due to both men and women being sensitive to touch.

One may disagree with strict rules against dancing, hand holding, rock music, etc. But, the rules seem to have been effective at Heritage Christian School at preventing teen pregnancies, as noted in the article linked to below on the school's web site.

Heritage Statistics for the Last 13 Years

• Number of teen pregnancies - 0

http://www.heritagefindlay.org/

The boy agreed to the rules. And, if he's not going to dance, hold hands, or listen to rock music, how can he attend a prom?

By the looks of the above post, I'd say any teen pregnant was tossed out of school so as not to embarrass the tender sensibilites of the school! Of cource there wouldn't be any when none of the students thrown out are no longer students there.

I agree with gary on this issue i think he hit the nail on the head with his response.

james,

You say hand-holding leads to sex. Theoretically, though, any contact with the opposite sex can lead to intercourse. I suppose you'd advocate sending men and women to monasteries and convents until they are 30 and old enough to get married so they don't look at each other til marriage! This school's policy reminds me of the Pharisees' own way of dealing with mixed sex interaction--they simply wouldn't even look at women when they were out on the streets, for fear of lusting after her. But this type of logic leads to the opposite effect of what's intended. If young people are prohibited to even hold hands with the opposite sex, then they'll be even more sensitized to physical contact. Imagine if a man had to shake hands with a female interviewer when intervieiwing for his first job and he got a hard on because he'd never had even casual, platonic contact with a woman.

I don't agree with these rules, they seem pretty stupid, but it's their school and they can set the rules - I just wouldn't send my kids there.

As for the Taliban references, if you haven't noticed the Taliban would have shot him for this.

I guess the Rock music leads to the pre-marital sex than LOL!

Regarding John Ross Willingham's comment #3:

"Dancing and hand-holding" can lead to premarital sex due to both men and women being sensitive to touch.

One may disagree with strict rules against dancing, hand holding, rock music, etc. But, the rules seem to have been effective at Heritage Christian School at preventing teen pregnancies, as noted in the article linked to below on the school's web site.

Heritage Statistics for the Last 13 Years

• Number of teen pregnancies - 0

http://www.heritagefindlay.org/

The boy agreed to the rules. And, if he's not going to dance, hold hands, or listen to rock music, how can he attend a prom?

Go ahead, I'll eventually get the last laugh...

Growing up in Tennessee, one side of my family were Southern Baptists and the other side were hard line Pentecostals. And people think the Hatfield/McCoy feud was bad?!?!?!?!? PLEASE.............................is it no wonder I drink?

Is only rock music banned?? What about country or dance or top 20 music. Or maybe the band only played rap cause that music isn't so bad.

jameseg - all that shows is the number of pregnancies that the school KNEW about. I'm betting that there were students over that 13 years that changed schools or just dropped out of sight when they found out they were pregnant.

The kid is not obliged to attend a "religious school" and his parents were not obliged to enroll him in one. They did and he did. The kid also admitted that he knew he'd be suspended/kicked out IF he went to the prom. His parents, when they enrolled him in this Baptist school, knew the rules and the strictures. The kid made a choice. His parents made a choice. Now they are left to deal with the known, acknowledged and accepted consequences of their choices. Where's the problem?

NOW, maybe you think the rules are ridiculous or the punishment excessive, but isn't it up to the involved parties? Since no force was involved and since the consequences were known and acknowledged, I have no problem with the school carrying through on its policies.

AND I'M NOT RELIGIOUS. I just think that you are free to make any choices you want as long as you are willing to accept the consequences. Those who start out wanting to insulate you from the consequences of your own actions soon enough will end up telling you what actions you can take. As soon as you expect the government to cover your emergency room care, the government gets the right to tell you that you have to wear a seatbelt or a helmet or drive a certain speed. It is the disunion of action from consequence THAT creates the "dictatorial danger". Let this one play out as everyone involved knew or should have known it would and keep the public out of it.

That proposition should be self-evident to anyone with a brain and yet it apparently is not. God help us (being colloquial, folks - little irony there, since I'm agnostic).

Oh, and for the "cultural relativists" on here, let's remember that, under Taliban rule, you don't HAVE a choice. IF you want to go to school, you go to a sanctioned madrassa. IF you don't obey their rules, well, getting kicked out is not an option. Getting dead may be, but not getting expelled. As long as folks are allowed to make their own decisions and to accept the consequences of those decisions, they can go to school to learn "snake handling 101" or "suicide vest making shop class" or anything else they want. And if the school says "no prom", well, I guess it means "no prom". Deal with it.

Vicki-427762, regarding your comment #3.7:

You may be right. But, I am confident that even if there were pregnancies among the school's students that the school did not know about, there were far fewer than in the public schools.

The rules of the school and parents, combined with supervision, probably resulted in very few major sexual infractions occurring.

Now this student who has broken the rules on dancing, hand holding, and rock music is getting lots of media attention and support for breaking rules he and his family agreed with.

Actually - the Baptists have found that pre-marital sex & a general lack of morals later in life leads to the f'd-up society that exists today... and also leads to posts on Newsvine by the bastard offspring of society - Me? Why, I'm here studying the blatherings of those who hold themselves above religion or any spiritual belief...

And FWIW - the kid could have chosen something a bit smaller than Shamu... she must REALLY put out...

Boffo, the "shamu" remark was totally uncalled for. If this is what religion is about, you know...Christian "Love", then no wonder so many intelligent people want nothing to do with it.

Actually - the Baptists have found that pre-marital sex & a general lack of morals later in life leads to the f'd-up society that exists today... and also leads to posts on Newsvine by the bastard offspring of society - Me? Why, I'm here studying the blatherings of those who hold themselves above religion or any spiritual belief...

And FWIW - the kid could have chosen something a bit smaller than Shamu... she must REALLY put out...

I'm guessing one of the reasons they hold themselves above any spiritual belief is they see uncalled for comments about someone's weight and how they "put out", by people that "study" others "blatherings" of those that "lack of religion". This is giving the impression that you are claiming that you are not above religion, and follow one of some kind (Baptist, I can only assume?).

Your certainly not giving anyone cause to find religion, with a post like that. It's unfortunate that Alise42 is 100% spot on, but she is.

jameseg;

Keeping kids locked in closets keeps them from getting pregnant also, but its not accepted in many societies!

Shame on you Boffo, that is really unneccessary. I would like to state though, that not all baptist religous communities practice this way. My husband and I got married in a baptist church, when I was seven months pregnant with our first son. And I was raised in a jewish family! Our pastor has been anything but gracious nonjudgmental, and caring about the entire community. And never asks for anything in return. He never even gives hellfire brimstone sermons. There are some groups out there that take their beliefs too far, but not every baptist, christian or church is a punishment or organization that wants to control your life. We are all human, no matter what religion we are or what belief system we hold true to our own selves.

what it amounts to is church and state and the need for seperation school officials need to be removed

HELLO!!!! It is a private school, they recieve no state funds. They are seperate because the choose to add religion to a standard or in most cases highly above standard circulum. Parents must pay for their children to attend these schools if they CHOOSE to send them there. The families that have their children in these types of schools live their lives by these same set of rules or they send them there for the prestige of being able to say that their child attends a private school. Sounds to me that the latter is this STEPfathers probable reason for sending the boy there.

RISS... you lost me of any argument you could make the moment you sounded like an eleven year old or a Jerry Springer guest by yelling 'hello' at me. What the school requires is absurd, and the father should sue for their spying and controlling any action of the kid off the school grounds. It's not American.

A lot of private scools get Federal and State money were do you think the money for vochers come from!!!

The fact that you are aware of how a springer guest acts tells me much about your level of intelligence, or should I say, lack there of. The "hello" was in response to the the absurdity of the previous response and was in no way directed at your esteemed self.

How " un american" do you think football is? Most public schools have very strict codes of conduct that include expulsion due to morality issues outside of school. I'm sure you probably think that's wrong too. Plain and simple, the kid and the parents knew the rules, they defied them they should and will pay the consequences.

Tricia-What kind of vouchers? I'm not sure what you are talking about exactly? The definition of "Private School"as defined in the American Heritage Dictionary is as follows...

private school-(n.) A secondary or elementary school run and supported by private individuals or a corporation rather than by a government or public agency.

The article did say that this was a Private Christian Academy. All of this is irrelevant. This family chose for the kid to go there, they chose to allow him to defy those rules. He should pay the consequences. The kid is being allowed to graduate, he will receive his diploma, he just may not be allowed to participate in a commencement ceremony. This is a privilege not a right, he earned his diploma not the after party.

Riss, you may quote the dictionary well, but not the facts. Private schools DO get funding from the state and/or federal government. It is one of the great misrepresentations of information that private schools fund themselves. While the policy differs from state to state, there is a mandatory (through federal regulation) of funding to ALL schools based on a per-head counting of all students.

Here in Ohio, we have the famous counts done in Spetember, when all heads in all schools are counted for funding- both private and public. Suddenly, in October, there is a swelling of students into the public schools out of the private schools... as the private schools over-admit students to get the funding and then cut many loose (discipline, failure to pay tuition, etc) so they per-head spending actually favors them. The State moved to correct this by adding March counts, but now we just get smaller swarms in October and April.

Also, at least 37 states mandate that the public schools provide the nursing, psychiatristic, and other student services, even to private schools. In 29 states, the only thing the the private schools actually pay for are their employee salaries and benefits, their building expenses, and taxes. In some states, even these taxes are omitted as they can claim the "religious exemption." The high tuitions of most private schools, plus the money they swindle from the public systems allow them to provide more materials to their students (some private schools include free laptop computers to students)... etc. While there are plenty of "poor" private schools and charter schools, they are usually immune to the government oversight that is forced upon the public systems and any "problems" are readily covered up or shipped off to the public schools.

In the end, the fact is... no business, public or private (including school systems) can regulate your behavior off he campus, outside of criminal activity. Many private schools have anti-pregnancy rules and suspend or expel female students who get pregnant- and even this is technically a violation. Our founding fathers wanted separation of church and state to avoid Theocracies confusing moral law with legal law. The two do not always mesh, and as evident in the arguing on this board, can not be forced to mesh. There is no one, true religion, regardless of how many quotes one can make from any religious source... the fact that even within the Christian world, we have hundreds of denominations and interpretations of any such text, is evidence enough of this. The problem is that a private school, regardless of their code of conduct, can not violate the greater common law, whether they agree with the common law or not.

The rules, standards, and ethics of pivate organizations have lost every case when challenged, when proven to violate the greater rights of citizenry within our country. The lack of tolerance, shown by this school under the ideals of "Christian Faith" are just as blind and inciteful as anything the fundamentalists of ANY religion (Christianity, Judaism, Islam, etc) put forward. Having had a Lutheran Father, a southern Baptist mother, who then switched to Methodism, and then I my marrying into a conservative Catholic family- I have seen some pretty close-minded religious bigotry from all sides.

The truth is, most folks who justify their closed-mindedness and intolerance as "Christian" are so far removed from what Christ actually taught, even when they quote him (which, even the Devil can do to suit his purposes), that it is a perfect example of all the violence in this world caused by "faith" in our own beliefs.

Plain and simple- the school is in the wrong on so many levels.

You are a bit confused. Charter schools are the ones that you speak of not private schools. The voucher program is money from the federal government to provide Parents the money to send their child to school of choice when their own schools are inadequate. Vouchers in no way cover the cost of private schools. SO the parents pay the difference.

Private schools are actually self sufficient as parents pay tuition fees, buy their kids sports uniforms and sign a code of conduct contract prior to their child attending. Breeds good discipline. They have higher standards as well. No pregnancies? Very nice. No distractions and standards.

That would be great. Here in Hawaii there are 46 teen pregnancies for every 1,000 students ages 13-18 There are 48,000 children in that age group in public schools here in hawaii. Do the math. Must be that state sponsored free daycare centers for students at every public high school.

No consequences for getting pregnant, just stick your kid in the highschool students daycare program.

I will side with the school on this.

And also, a minor has a right to chose where he or she goes to school? That is laughable to even believe they are adults. I have a 17 year old and I run her life, she doesnt run mine. When she graduates High School and moves out of my home, ithat shall be the time that she can make her own choices regarding her life.

Allowing a child to do what they want is what is wrong with our teens in America these days. No work ethic, no responsibility, no respect for rules.

Actually in Ohio the state pays for private school(mostly parochial) school tuition through vouchers.  It's called EdChoice.  If they are an EdChoice school shame on them.

poor choice of words there rusty. the school had rules that while not necessarily compatible with the "real world" were in place. He chose to break the rules knowing the consequences. Now I see him running for TV land to get a little publicity and cry on the medias shoulder. I think the rules suck, but none the less, it is a private school with its own rules and punishments so we can all cry and bitch and moan, but in the end we have to realize we arent showing any morals values etc when we break the rules and cry about getting punished.

Hey rusty YOURE AN IDIOT. It ahs nothing to do with church and state. It's a church school! Enrolled by free will Come on man seriously!

Mystic,

I had a mom like you, who "ran my life", it didn't end well. I got myself a job saved my money and hit the road at 18, landed in Virginia paid my own way through college graduated got married and had six wonderful children, funny thing is, she wasn't there for any of it, because she wasn't wanted there for it. I also am blessed with the opportunity to work with alot of young moms, still in high school, mostly and they realize the magnitude of the responsiblities a child brings into their lives, but want to finish school so that they may provide better for their child. Those "state sponsord daycare programs" help alot of those young mothers pave a path for themselves so they don't end up on a "state sponsord food stamp program". And I've worked with more than two handfuls of young mothers who attended private schools, whyare there no pregnancies in private schools, because those girls are tossed out before anyone can realize whats going on. THAT IS THE TRUTH I'VE SEEN IT IN MY JOB< AND DEAL WITH IT ATLEAST SEVEN TIMES A YEAR.

WTF? Where did you learn to spell?

Dan Quayle?? Is that you?

Someone educated in a public school where they failed to obey the rules and learned absolutely nothing.

Uff da, Pat. I was educated in public schools until college. I would put my public school education of the 60's up against ANY current private or parochial school education.

Just fyi, doremi is a European. Call her whatever you want, but I would bet you couldn't do as well on a French-speaking board as she does on an English-speaking one. So who is the uneducated one?

So funny! America was founded on those Christian values, by those religous nut cases! It has everything to do with America. At least it should! And his parents put him there. I mean come on!

I hate christian pricipals, I hate following the rules, I hate liveing to a higher moral code...... I think I'll enroll in a Christian school!

Yep, you have talibans right here, at home.

Seeing as how doremi is French (or at leasts claims that he/she/it is French) I wonder where this "right here, at home" comment comes from.

Make up what passes for your mind, doremi. Are you French? Or of any European nationality? Or are you simply a pitiful little troll who gets your kicks off displaying your ignorance?

Bush, is that you? I knew I smelt a hint of you in all this mess..lol..

there are also alot of legal questions about this case:

1)the boy had the principle of his school sign a permission slip to go to a prom at another school. it was only after he signed it and talked to "church leaders" was it deemed 'sinful' to go.

2)the school claims that the boy signed a contract at the start of the school year to refrain from any 'ungodly influences such as rock music and dancing. if this is true, then the school is once again at fault, as no minor under the age of 18 can legally be held to any contract they sign.

mike from florida - good one. Look for loopholes regarding religion... "Well, the minor can't enter into a legally binding contract"

If the son doesn't like their rules, go to a school that enforces rules he can live with.

you are missing the legal point.

he wasnt in the school when the 'sinful' action took place. and whos to say the son went there willingly? i was forced to attend catholic school as a child, despite my objections.

and its not a loophole. a minor CANNOT enter in a legal binding contract. thats a federal law. originally it was meant to prevent adults taking advantange of children who wouldnt understand what they were signing. this has nothing to do with religion and everything to do with legality of contracts and the physical spot where school rights end and the students begins.

I would add Mike that the principal of the school is not a minor and he did sign a paper giving approval to the young man to attend the prom. So if the student is punished for going to the prom then the principal, as an adult, will have thus violated his contractual agreement.

I even asked God for His opinion on this and He agrees with me. That takes care of the religious side of the issue as well.

I agree with Mike. A contract was signed and it is binding. Also, how does the principal know whether or not he will be dancing? Or drinking? Or having sex? How does he know or not whether a teen is committing those acts at all? Kinda like at my Catholic high school: No one knew the honor student was having sex until people learned she was 4 months pregnant. And this was one of the 'role model' students that the principal and certain snob teachers were pushing on those who weren't in honor's classes. Well, they stopped pushing when she was pregnant.

They probably put hidden cameras around.

need to reread the article it was not a catholic school it was baptist

hmm my mistake

extremist christians are the ones I laugh at then

rock music a sin? where does their christian rock fall then? (mentioned on the other article)

Anon222 Most Fundamental Baptists think that so called Christian rock or any Contemporary Christian Music is wrong and does not glorify God and do not approve of it in anyway shape or form. I should know I attend a Independent Fundamental Baptist church and college. It was and still is preached heavily against at my church and college

And for all of you who are saying that the school has no right to suspend this boy your wrong . He and most likely his parents also signed a contract saying he would abide by the schools rules and their code of conduct. Children and teens need to learn that their are consequences to your actions. It is clear that he and the parents knew what the rules and code of conduct were and now he will be punished for his actions Personally I think that it is only right that if you do something that is against the rules/code of conduct then you face the conaquences whether it be at school,work or home.When you are out and about you are representing that school or church. I try to conduct myself in public in way that if anyone found out were I attended church, worked or knew my family that people would say she is decent, honest, respectful, and is a good representation of her family, employer, and church. I think our society would benefit from having this kind of attitude. But this is all my opinion so everyone here has the right to agree or disagree with it

At the same time, Baptistborn, the principal signed a contract to allow him to go to the prom. And what happens at proms? Dancing, holding hands, etc. So, right then and there, the principal should have known this and refused to sign it. But he still signed it.

ahh a qq troller. contribute worthwhile comments, not inflamatory one liners

im sorry i dont see myself as narrow minded but i live in the real world these things might have worked in the early 19 hundreds but not now

his parents probably forced him in that school

oh the classical church schools VS public schools

let the brainwashing begin!!

whos to say he attended it by choice? perhaps his parents made him go there, thinking the education he would recieve at a private school would be better than that of a public school. as a child i was forced by my parents to go to catholic school, even though i hated it with a passion.

and if the MINOR (key word here, for he is under 18) signed a contract, it has no legal merit, as a minor cannot sign a binding legal contract.

and school rules and restrictions END at the school property. once u leave their property, they have no legal standing to restrict you.

sounds like you have a valid claim to sue your school

not allowed to sign contracts as a minor w/o parental supervision

id sue if I where you since you hated it

But you see, they are not asking for your blessing or what you think. They have a fundamental right to set their religious standards NOT your standards. Whether you like it or not. Many people call themselves Christians but have absolutely no idea what that means. Sounds like you folks are the new TALIBAN, not the church/school.

ahaha you sound like a church school person.

my friend went to a catholic school or a reglious school if not catholic and they had this chart. This chart said bascially that his relgion was the closest to god and everyone else was way way far away. Now this sounds like the school is just CREATING hate on those other relgions and no respect to agree to disagree. Sounds like brainwashing to me.

Calling people who disagree the new Taliban? Isnt that a bit extreme?

We haven;t gone around killing civilians? Nor take over towns with the oh so dangerous AK-47's. We are just stating our opinion not brain washing?

Know your information before you relate people to a group such as the Taliban.

dave, they can set all the religoius standards they want. those restrictions END at the church doors and the property of the school.

once again, you fail to prove your arguement.

and whos closer to the taliban? the people who wont allow others to listen to music, hold hands, or dance? or the people who think everyone has a right to do what they want as long as its within the law of the land, which dancing, holding hands, and music is here in public america.

and apparently, for a christian, you sure show very little christ like compassion. would christ restict another to hold hands? would christ actually tell people they will go to hell if they dance?

Dave is a prime example product of the brainwashing church schools

Nope, not affiliated with any religious school. My kids go to dances, listen to rock music.

So, now we bring out all of these anecdotal stories about this school and that school, charts etc. The point is, this country has had a lot of men and boys die figthing for Freedom of Religion. Died to protect this school/church to practice their faith and set standards of that faith. You all scare me.

you forgot about women, they have been fighting for religious rights as well.

they died for much more than religious freedom, dont belittle the other things they died for

dave, whats scary is that you think the church has the authority to enforce its rules outside its church or school property.

the people have a CHOICE to adhere to those rules once they leave the property of the church/school. thats called freedom.

and private schools are still held to certain government standards, so that throws out your agruement that schools can make their own rules. they can make them, but only to a certain extent and the reach of those rules end once off the PRIVATE property and onto PUBLIC property.

sorry, but the church doesnt own the public school at which the evnt was held, mEAning the church has no legal standing in this matter. you seem to forget that america has laws and rules.

and school rules and restrictions END at the school property. once u leave their property, they have no legal standing to restrict you.

Have you ever heard of a coach telling his players not to drink and giving them a curfew?If the violate those rules they are benched for the next game. The schools/religious rules do apply outside there walls/boarders.

We don't know that he went to this school willingly. It may be that all public schools in the area are substandard. That's the case with my daughter. I bought a house in a good school district so I wouldn't have to pay for a private school, then my wife divorced me and my daughter lives with her in an area where the Catholic schools are much better than the public schools.

I'm an ex-altar boy and Sunday school teacher who grew up going to church, but have changed my views considerably. Most religions, (not all), are extremely sexist, backward and bigoted. I don't like the thought that my daughter is being indoctrinated by people who don't believe in equal rights for women or gays, but I want her to get a good education.

It is just plain wrong for these people to suspend a kid for going to a prom. They would be taking an action that could affect him for the rest of his life. If he's suspended, how's he going to complete the rest of his classes so that he can get the best grades possible if they graciously "complete his final exams separately to receive a diploma."

I just hope that his father had "the talk" with him, so that he practiced safe hand holding...

No one knows if he was forced to attend this school. Our daughter had a choice from 5th grade on to attend a private christian school or public. Our son had the same choice he chose public school because of sports. When our daughter decided private school she to had to sign a code of conduct agreement, just as our son did to participate in sports. They both had to follow the conduct set before them. Our son was going to recieve an award for athelete of the year but because he did something stupid his last week of school it was given to another team-mate. He broke a rule, he signed for to participate in sports. Just like you sign a code of conduct for your job, you will follow rules or face the consequences. I don't agree with the school but teaching kids it's o.k. to break rules just because it doesn't work for you only promotes adults who feel it's ok to break rules. Every thing you do in life requires rules, get used to it. btw not too long ago on newsvine there was a discussion regarding a company who fired employees who smoked off company property and at their home, after signing a form they would not smoke.

This kid broke the rules, is getting his 15 minutes of fame and will probably get a movie or book deal from it. What happened to the day when your word actually meant something?

Later on in life, when this kid enters into a contract and doesn't think twice about breaking it and is hit with a major lawsuit, do you think he will have learned his lesson then?

just thoughts................... BAD rules are meant to be broken..... that is EVERY BODIES duty as an AMERICAN, stand up and fight the bad rules/laws.... EVERY TIME..... EVERY PLACE...... that is what started AMERICA.... and that is what KEEPS it great.

"They have a fundamental right to set their religious standards NOT your standards. Whether you like it or not."

To take it a step further, Dave: If the church decided that sex with 10 year-old girls was 'fundamentally right', would it be 'wrong' (against religious standards) to bring this to the attention of the authorities ?

Brad is correct...Bad rules are meant to be broken...If enough people (the majority) break them, they WILL be changed.

having sex with a minor is against the law suspending a student for going to a prom which included holding hands and dancing to rock musics is not against the law so comparing them was stupid his parents signed a contract if he didnt like the rules he was given the choice to switch to a public school he knowningly broke the rules now he is suffering the consequences bad rules / laws can be contested when they are forced on you in his case he is not being forced by the school but by his parents he needs to contest his parents not the school what happened to common sense

the punisment is crap once this kids left his school that school has no power over what he does at that point it is his PARENTS job unless they are letting the school control there lives (wow sounds cult like to me)

"Chinks?" Really? Grown up!

i'm sorry but i believe you should keep your racist comments to yourself

i agree that public schools are not the greatest but it depends where you live to get a good education comparable to those in other countries

whats wrong with foriegners?
dont you like seeing some diversity instead of the same group all over?

Anglosaxons/Europeans took over the Native Americans, so ? Everyone has their day, so what, now it is time for another group; by the way you are still alive, Hispanics and Asian Pacifics have already taken over, so what who cares, the overall genetic makeup will be strengthened anyway; inbreeding just makes everyone weaker. Diversity rocks!

Oh,I forgot, back to the subject, what that young man did, is between him and God. School officials should be worried about all those kids in their school that will grow up with huge hang-ups about the secular world. About their feeling of superiority because they are "Christian" and so forth.... Tyler did you know that Jesus danced at a wedding and turned water into wine? I HOPE YOU HAD A BLAST! GOD BLESS YOU!

hah took over the native americans, are you forgetting the American genocide of native americans for out manistest destiny?

bioloically hybriding has natural advantages, via natural selection

who cares if they have "taken" over i sure as hell dont

Welcome to America, where people get to practice their faith unbridled Not tethered by fascists who wish to shove, their standards, down everyone elses throats. (people posting on this story)

The church/school as a private organization has a right to set their own standards. As a religion in AMERICA, has a right to set their standards. It is called FREEDOM.

but yet in those schools they teach their religion is better than everyone elses where as public schools respect the other ones

yea let freedom ring

i make my comparasions to other countries that are modernized not the 3rd world facists countries you are talking about

europe ring a bell?

dave, the taliban is also a private organization. i guess they have the right to set their own standards also?

and for you lighlighting the word freedom, you sure miss the point of it. it means freedom of speech (rock music) freedom of press (they are covering this event) and freedom of religion. the constitution also garantees us the right to liberty, justice, and the pursuit of happiness, all 3 which the school is trying to restrict.

you have a right to your opinion dave. but thats all it is, just an opinion. in legal standings, the school doesnt have a chance in a court battle over this. it amounts to where the schools influence and power ends and where the rights of the student begins.

why does everyone seem to have a quick hand to compare everything to the taliban?

there are other groups and countries that are not as strict as the taliban

why do you insist to ignore them?

The Taliban is not a religion. If it were, it would be allowed to set their standards with FREEDOM in AMERICA. All religions set standards for their religious schools. Muslim schools, Fundamental Jewish Schools.

You are mixing apples and oranges. The school as a private institution has a right to set those standards. He can practice what he wants. But violate the tenents of the school/church, he can chose to resign/quit the school. When he enrolled in the school,just like any or religiously sponsoredschools, he was given a code of conduct. Many public intitutions also have codes of conduct.

Don't confuse public institutions with private institutions.

and you seem to be confusing private rights vs the rights of the citizens of this nation dave.

and you are correct, the taliban isnt a religion. this church is also not a religion. both are private organizations. the similarities between this church and the taliban continue to grow.

By enrolling into the private institution, he agrees to abide by the code of conduct of that institution. Most State Universities have code of conducts. The Code of Conducts do extend to off campus activity. Sometimes they expell students for offensive conduct off campus. Or violation of Code of Conduct . And these are PUBLIC institutions.

According to Janet N. Home Land Security, both conservative and liberal Christians are extremists and potential terrorists. So it realy doesn't matter what you think your religion condemns you!

The school as a private institution has a right to set those standards

the taliban is also a private institution or group.

He can practice what he wants.

apparently not if hes not allowed to dance or listen to music

But violate the tenents of the school/church, he can chose to resign/quit the school

he wasnt AT the school or church when the infraction occurred. plus, you are not mentioning the fact that the principle of the school SIGNED the permisison slip BEFORE he mentioned the consenquences. it was only deemed wrong after a conference with church leaders, who apparently have no understanding of american law.

When he enrolled in the school,just like any or religiously sponsoredschools, he was given a code of conduct.

the taliban also has a code of conduct. if they dont adhere to their standards, they get punished too. but i guess its ok, right?

Many public intitutions also have codes of conduct.

and like private isstitutions, those rules and codes of conduct ends at the edge of their property. easy legal matter where school is clearly at fault

Most State Universities have code of conducts. The Code of Conducts do extend to off campus activity. Sometimes they expell students for offensive conduct off campus.

can u name ANY cases where the university expelled the student where the student did not commit a crime (as american law)? you will not find any. and you are making a VERY poor comparison. the minor goes to a highschool, not a university. he is a minor, not an adult.

By enrolling into the private institution, he agrees to abide by the code of conduct of that institution

but even private institutes have no legal standing when contracts with minors are involved.

what if the contract called for the child to make a sacrifce on the 3rd full moon of his 17th year? i mean, its a private institution. it can make any rule it wants right? and if the boy refused to make a sacrifice, i guess hes just gonna have to deal with the consequences right?

Mike it sounds like you are an atheist and don't believe in any religion which is your right. I don't tell you what to believe. so please don't you or all the non believers on here tell me what I should believe. If you think its cool for all the kids to run around with their scuzzy underwear showing sing about killing cops or how all the women are ho's and b*tches and run around run around showing more skin then most adults, Having babies before they are out of high school hey thats you right and I defended it and would again. This is a private school his parents paid for him to go there they felt at the time the standards in that school were what they wanted. Now its up to them and the school to work things out. If the people got out of the mind set that they had to tell everyone else how to live and if you won't do as they say they have to sue, maybe the country would be a lot better off. Lets face it gov. and NON regilious groups now want to tellyou what you should drive, how warm or cool you should have your home, what you should or should not eat,drink or wear, where you should shop, how you should celebrate holidays. The president says he is making jobs and then signs an order that all the jobs should only go to union companies. Remember when this country fought for freedom it was for religious freedom. Free from people like you and those here who want to tell me how to believe. So shut up and follow those articles in the Declaration of Independence

So shut up and follow those articles in the Declaration of Independence

I thought it was the US Constitution...silly me...didn't know there were articles in the Declaration of Independence...

Dave -- Freedom is a lot bigger than just a word you shout at others in defense of imposing your will on others. How come a private school can make any agreement it wants, and still confer diplomas. A high school diploma is a public document, and if it to mean anything, it must be generally along the lines of some standard meaning. Those agreements which substantially 'add to or detract from' that standard meaning should not be allowed because the diploma does not mean what it is supposed to mean. Does anyone know of a school which, by agreement or otherwise, can require its diplomats to have taken 8 hours of fly fishing or fooseball competition in order to get a diploma. How come this one can require by agreement that students may not dance, hold hands, or lift a voice of joy if it has a rock 'n roll beat? Get real.

dave P............. freedom is letting a person ACTUALLY be free to choose...... you and your church are completely BACKWARD in your head.

"Remember when this country fought for freedom it was for religious freedom."

Nightmare: Where'd you come up with that garbage? This country fought for freedom because of "taxation without representation", for INDEPENDENCE from the Crown of England. Religion never entered into it, and in fact, all references to God and religion were removed from the original drafts of the Declaration of Independence so that there was no doubt that it was not about religious freedom.

The pilgrims were trying to escape religious persecution in England when they came to the shores at Massachusetts, but that was 150 years before the American Revolution. They had nothing to do with the Articles of Confederation, the Declaration, the Bill of Rights, or the "founding fathers".

Surely you learned this in school. Maybe not, if you went to a fundie church school, though.

Bob Pomeroy -

Where did you get the idea that a high school diploma from a private school is a public document? Source?

but they can be really intresting at the same time

I agree

Kind of like staring at a 4-headed chicken...

the hell?....

Women are as equal as men

they have every right to be educated just like men

Consvervative Christians are ruining this country and their traditional views of life that can no longer be suitable for the needs of the modern world

go live in amish places if you like that view so much

oh my lord i have never read a bigger load of crap in my life please tell me you are jokeing

Yes, but even the Amish give their children one year to live outside the community if they choose to. They have a year to see the rest of what is in the world, then choose to either come back or not. This was ONE school dance! Not even reasonable as far as I'm concerned.

no not at all and as far as im concerned the school should be investgated and most likely shut down

Guys, read J.B.'s last sentence - he/she is obviously being sarcastic.

institutionalized brainwashing i say

ill agree with that

"...i believe the church has no place or business teaching our children"

Then do not send your kids to church schools. Simple.

I assume your school never taught capitalization, punctuation, or sentence structure.

oh please my kids do not go to church schools and its to damn early for your attacks cry baby hater

Rusty here is what I don't understand...

WHY would parents PAY to send their kid to a school, knowing it has a certain code of conduct and the piss and moan when their kid is punished for breaking it?

This wasn't his first year there was it? He had been following the "rules" his other years there right? So it was only when something he wanted to do was in opposition of those rules did they become an issue.

I don't really care one way or another about this kid, but as a former school employee I will say this. Its WORSE to have rules and not consistantly enforce them than to have no rules at all. When there are rules but are not consistantly enforced it tells kids that there is no real standard to be followed.

Again, why PAY to send your kid to a school with strict rules and then fuss?

im sorry but this so called school sounds like it is run but left wing nut jobs

sorry rusty, but conservative baptists run this school. liberals stand for more rights. conservative groups tend to repress and restrict them. this school is on par with hardline islamic faiths (which the conservatives then bash for restricting freedoms).

pretty ironic , huh?

completely sorry if i got that confussed

Mike, you're drinking the salt water in Florida. You have Libertarians and Liberals mixed up.

Liberal "rights"...............late term abortion, welfare, limiting free speech (unless it's theirs), burdensome taxes, lower school standards (no religion implied), 12 year old girls have an "right" to get an abortion w/o parental knowledge, gun control, socialized medicine, redistribution of wealth, etc, etc, etc.

You even make NY sound good. Those are "rights" we can all do without.

dog, since you brought it up; I'd rather have those rights than have some taken away, like the right to privacy, the right to assemble, the right of unreasonable search and seizure. THOSE were taken away by the previous 'conservative' administration, through the Patriot act.

The right to privacy will be stripped away with the advent of Obama's socialized medicine. Government will have access to ALL of your most private records. A clear violation of the 4th Amendment. I couldn't care less about the privacy rights of terrorists.

Right of assembly was allowed at the Repub National Convention, but NOT the Dem. Activists at the Dem Convention were herded into gated areas and largly ignored by the media and the pompous asses at the convention.

Unreasonable search and seizure...........2 words...........gun control. A violation of the 2nd Amendment. Speaking of which, the unlawful collection of firearms, from citizens in New Orleans, was prompted by the Dem Governor & Mayor.

Let's talk free speech. Ask Zel Miller, or Joe Lieberman about the Dems view of free speech.

Lastly......There is NO "right" to abortion, welfare, or health care anywhere in the Constitution. Try reading it sometime.

Your attention span seems quite limited. You tend to forget facts that don't fit your agenda.

correct but schools have no biz telling kids what they can and can not do on there own time that is up to the parents unless we are not in the U S A but last time i looked Ohio was

Do you not think that employees of the school also have codes of conduct that they agree to? What if the school secretary openly participated in the "swinging" lifestyle? Do you think she should be allowed to continue working?

Do not like the rules? Do not agree to them.

But, they do have a right to set those rules, if by accepting admission to the school, the student and parents agreed to certain standards. It is a private institution, don't confuse it with a public instituton.

being a student and an employee are 2compleatly different things you would have to agree

not if they were forced into admission of the school

Amen

"not if they were forced into admission of the school"

How can one be "forced" to enter a private school?

Students can be "forced" to attend school (compulsory education laws), but cannot be "forced" to attend a private school.

Spike, you're being naive. As long as a child is under legal age, his parents can dictate what school he goes to, whether he wants to go or not. I'd say that was "forcing" someone to go to a particular school.

Spike--

How can a kid be 'forced' into a private school? Easy. The parents.

There is a reason that parents have control over their children until the children reach the age of majority. Parents are responsible for ALL aspects of their children, i.e. clothing, feeding, medical attention, education, etc. Like it or not, that's the way it is. When the child reaches the age of majority they can do whatever they want. If they choose to leave the conservative lifestyle they can and will. They probably will at least know how to spell and punctuate correctly by being educated at a private school. Teachers there usually make a point to know their students and the abilities of the students.

i laughed

sorry wrong religon these ppl would freek at the sight of an exorcism

Just stating what most post prom activities are like. It happened yesterday year, it will happen this year and many years in the future. Fanatical religious groups are not going to stop it. LETS NOT CHANGE TRADITION!!!

oh no they will never stop it at all its just crazy what they are doing to this poor guy all he does is go out with his g/f and omg hes damned to hell

rusty: there are all kinds of screwballs in this country--I guess they lost this recruit after nearly 4 years of brainwashing. That puss wins every time, no matter what the circumstances.

you mean like thomas jeffferson?

what about the founding fathers who wrote up the treaty of tripoly, which clearly stated that america was not a christian nation?

and back in the days, nuns were allowed to hit children with rulers, stuff them into closets, and do other things. but its was a private instititute, and they were conservative christians, so i guess that made it ok.

Most of our forefathers....Conservative Christians.

So what? What does that have to do with anything? The Constitution doesn't say anything about this being a conservative christian country or us having to be like our forefathers. What kind of an argument is that???

And. that was over 230 years ago. Things have changed a little since then. The ideals behind the Constitution still stand, but nowhere did they insist that everyone else be anything at all. Deal with it.

You're confusing their religion with our form of government, and they're not the same.

Yep, the ideals of the Constitution still stand. You are right the Constitution does give the right of People to be Free to Practice their religion. They extended that right to all religions. That is the beauty of it. They understood that it had to be for all religions.

But I guess this religion doesnot fit in your idea of what they should or should not believe.

Seems like we are faultering form what the constitution says? hum!!

Like I said:

You're confusing their religion with our form of government, and they're not the same.

What does

But I guess this religion doesnot fit in your idea of what they should or should not believe.

have to do with our forefathers being Conservative Christians? You just contradicted yourself... first you use them as an example of the way to be, then I call you on it and you flip-flop.

You answer questions with questions. That's how it usually works with religious folk.

Actually, if you'll do your research, you'll see that many of the founding fathers - including Jefferson, Franklin, and Adams - were NOT Christians - they were Deists.

True, Vicki.

Are you looking for this verse maybe:

"the women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs and with tambourines and lutes. As they danced, they sang"

It's 1 Sam. 18:6-8. Or maybe:

"David, wearing a linen ephod, danced before the LORD with all his might"

That's from 2 Sam. 6:14. And an earlier poster had it right; if you don't agree with "church schools", don't send your kids to 'em, but others still have that right to do so. The public schools here are worthless and, as a result, many people send their children to parochial (which might be Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist or non-denominational) school so they can at least get an education...

Puzzle: Except most fundie churches think non-christian films are "sinful", too.

The story only says the school forbids the dancing, handholding,rock music. Does not say if it forbids it while in school, on school grounds or when the student is at one of this schools functions or at all times.

IF the school does not or did not clarify at what times these activities are forbidden, in the written contract, than the school does not have a leg to stand on.

If the school did specify that the activities are forbidden in their lives at all times and the parent signed away the kids life while enrolled a the school, well, the kid is kinda out of luck, It is a private institution and shame on dad/mom for not reading and understanding the contract and its implications

At least, the kid is being given the chance to take the finals and to graduate, they could have yanked the entire program out from under him.

He is one kid though that will not be following the Baptist ways and might be very hesitant to follow any organized religious cult. Oh well.

A strict Quaker School. Damm fanatics

Chelsie Clinton went and now President Obama is sending his girls there. Nixon's daughter went, Vice president Biden's grandchildren went. And a few other presidents daughter.

Obama picks Chelsea's old Quaker school

President-elect enrols daughters at prestigious private institution

Obamas chose private Sidwell Friends School

Chelsea Clinton also attended private school in northwest Washington

The Associated Press
updated 3:34 p.m. MT, Fri., Nov . 21, 2008

WASHINGTON - President-elect Barack Obama and his wife have chosen Sidwell Friends School for their two daughters, opting for a private institution that another White House child, Chelsea Clinton, attended a decade ago.

"A number of great schools were considered. In the end, the Obamas selected the school that was the best fit for what their daughters need right now," said Katie McCormick Lelyveld, a spokeswoman for Michelle Obama.

She said Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7, "bring with them a number of security and privacy concerns that come with being part of the new first family — and the school they've selected is positioned to appropriately accommodate that."

Sidwell is a private Quaker school with a campus in northwest Washington for grades 5-12 and another in suburban Bethesda, Md., for kindergarten through fourth grade. Malia is in fifth grade and Sasha is in second grade, suggesting that the girls would attend schools at different locations.

Michelle Obama and her daughters visited Sidwell and another elite private school, Georgetown Day, earlier this week. The soon-to-be first lady visited both schools last week, without her daughters.

Lelyveld said that while public schools were considered, the Obamas felt that a private school was in the best interest of their children. The two girls currently attend a private school in Chicago.

"Mrs. Obama is the product of public education on the South Side of Chicago and she believes strongly in the importance of good public schools for all kids," Lelyveld said.

In 1993, President Bill Clinton and his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, chose Sidwell for their daughter.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material

Sidwell Friends School is a Quaker run private school. And we all know how wild and permissive the Quakers are, right?

Chelsea Clinton was a graduate, and the Obama girls now attend.

Anonomous, Glad you are free. Feels good does'nt it? Well? let these people exercise their religion, with the same freedom you have.

"I'm free to choose my own beliefs" What a unique statement? What about them? Can't they choose their own beliefs too?

DavePeoria- Of course the kid's PARENTS have a right to excercise their beliefs, but so does the kid himself. Obviously, considering his decision to go to the prom regardless of the consequences, he does NOT believe that normal, everyday things like dancing and rock music are wrong. His school has no right to limit his rights like that. When a student enters a school building, most of his or her constitutional rights are null and void- this is a fact of life. However, when he or she walks out of that building in the afternoon the school has no jurisdiction over the student and those rights are restored. That is the way most schools operate, and that is how this crazy fundamentalist school shoud operate too.

Heather, not sure how long you have been born again and attending the Baptist church, but these schools are all over the United States. By the nature of you accepting christ as your savior,you are automatically labeled a fanatic. How do you feel about Quakers, 7th day Adventists, Baptists, Assembly of God, Jahova Witnesses, Church of Latter Day Saints, Hassidic Jews (sp) Muslims? All have strict interpretaions in some way or another.

This school was not condemming you for kissing a boy. Or condemming what you believe in. So! Let them beleive what they want to. They have a right to stricter or less stircter interpretation of their book of faith.

As a Christian, you should recognize that.

Oh heather!Keep thinking,Stop subscribing and use the brain your god gave you.It's all a load of crap and your threatened by the possibilities of hell.Thats where they have you cornered.No god would excact the kind of punishment described by the bible or koran or any other book written by men.Those men however,would burn someone forever if they could.Or throw acid in a young girls face or persecute others for there differences.These are not godly acts but devicive measures for the control of land,labor and resources.Your god gave you your mind which are your wings fly with them and do no harm. Anyone who truly believed in such a being as a god wouldn't dare speak for him/her/it.

Uh, Will, did you even read her post or did you just suddenly have a severe spasm of cranial rectal inversion which caused your fingers to flutter randomly on your keyboard...And, Dave, there are various sub-denominations or Baptists in the US, just as there are different "flavors" of Methodism, Presbyterianism, Lutheranism, etc. She is more than allowed to have her opinion as a fellow Baptist about these folks, especially in lilght of the two-facedness of the principal and the elders or council at the school who signed off on allowing the boy to attend and then reneged on their agreement - Hmm, "let your yes be yes and your no be no" not yes be no and vice versa...Who's to say that they wouldn't baptize you and then change their mind about it, eh?

Tom,

Correct: "She is more than allowed to have her opinion as a fellow Baptist about these folks". Exactly, just as they should be more than allowed to have their opinions and beliefs. I love America!!

Heather,

Don't worry, I grew Up going to Baptist Church too, Of course I am over 60 and back in my day, public school was what most went too, I went to prom, musicals, plays and listened to music, kissed a boy before wedlock and danced, There were no such rules of this schools nature back then, If a so called religion did have rules, you simply left the room during bday party, Christmas celebrations etc. , no punishment was given.So if we go the other way I will Hold your hand and we can sing loud together..have no fear!

I am not sure about all this new interpertations, I have not been to church in over 8 years, by choice and not sure I want to with all the changes, use to be sunday gathering, sing, pray and have meal together, apparently its not that way now and I can see why the young are rebelling.

I guess simple solution would have been for Step Dad to enroll him in public school prior to Prom since He does not agree with his son be suppressed and we would not see this story at all.

The boy is being allowed to graduate. Because of his possible suspension, he will have to take his final exams separately, if he wishes to do so.