Should public school students be allowed...?

Question

...to wear T-shirts saying other students are shameful or going to hell?

This is what conservative Christian students in Sacramento have been doing for weeks, wearing T-shirts saying that homosexuality is against God to school. The principal, also Christian, is suspending these students. There have been demonstrations against him and his decision by other Christians in the community.

http://www.sacbee.com/religion/v-print/story/171284.html

Should the Christian kids be allowed to wear T-shirts with Bible verses against homosexuality (for example) on them to school? Or is the principal right to suspend them?

Opinions, please....

Answer 1

Public schools have always banned offensive tshirts.
Why stop in this case? Special privilege because they are Christians?
No, the school is doing the right thing.

Answer 2

I think the Principal made the right decision in banning the clothing because the shirts have created a disruption in the learning environment. If an article of clothing makes someone uncomfortable, says something offensive, or leaves parts of the body too scantily clad, then the clothing should be banned.

While I agree that a student has the right to express their views, there is a right and wrong way to do this. If their expression makes someone else feel uncomfortable, they are not understanding the idea of sharing the gospel in a loving way.

Answer 3

My opinion is this....

The public schools are there for academia. It sounds like these t-shirts are disrupting studies. So - there should be no t-shirts. If they are allowed - maybe next you'll have the Muslim kids (or whoever) wearing shirts that say the Christians are going to hell.

It's a PUBLIC school - and tax dollars are paying for the EDUCATION of these kids. No mixture of church and state.

However - I read the article - and this all seems to stem from a day of silence that happened to represent the unfair treatment of gays. There should NOT be a day of silence in the shool. (the article inferred that there was - but I'm not sure that happened) I'm sure they don't have a day of silence for blacks, or the handicapped, or the Native Americans. It's a SCHOOL - where are children are supposed to be educated.

And - just for the record - the 21 year old minister, Otterstad, seems like a guy with a heart full of hate. His energy could be used to help the needy or to spread the love of Jesus or something constructive. Instead - he chooses to point fingers at the homosexuals. Perhaps he should read his Bible and pay close attention to the parts that discuss judgement.

There should not have been a day of silence in the school - to represeent the mistreatment of gays (if there was one). But - by banning the anti-gay t-shirts, the principal is doing what needs to be done in order for the school to educate the students the best it can.

Answer 4

Well...look at the flip side. What are the public schools doing about the OTHER kids who are wearing offensive/obnoxious t-shirts to school? We didn't have this kind of problem when I was in school, but when my daughters were in school, if the kids wore stuff like Bart Simpson or Beavis & Butthead, they were sent home to change their clothes. (My girls are 24 and 22 now - and I would never buy that sort of thing for them, so again, we didn't have that problem.) Now kids are wearing these "attitude" shirts to school, which I think are just as offensive because they promote disrespect towards others too. ("You looked better on MySpace", "Yes, I'm a b****, just not yours", or shirts mocking Christianity, etc.) If kids are allowed to wear this sort of thing to school, or other kids are allowed to wear clothing that shows support for homosexual lifestyles, gangster life-styles, or whatever else their choice might be, then yes, the Christian kids should be able to express THEIR point of view with their clothing too. Otherwise, it's discrimination.

Answer 5

Personally I think the children should be allowed their freedom of religious expression and freedom of speech. However, in this particular case, I would say it depends on the dress code of the school. If the school has a code that bans any clothing that the powers that be deem offensive, then I suppose they have the right to suspend students that willingly violate that policy.
On the other hand, if the school system allows other forms of objectionable clothing but have singled out these t-shirts, then the school system is in the wrong.

Answer 6

I bless the young people for wearing Bible verses on their T-shirts and standing against the sin of homosexuality which has infiltrated our schools. We have high school children throughout this country thinking they are homosexual because the opposite sex is not paying them enough attention at this age in their lives.

The young people that cannot be changed by sin, will be the young people that will change this evil world. HOMOSEXUALITY IS AGAINST GOD. God said "man should not lie with man" and "woman should not lie with woman." God made this so clear that only an idiot would misunderstand. Evil science promotes homosexuality claiming that it could be caused by a gene. God didn't put any homosexual genes in man. Sin put homosexuality in man.
"...a curse without a cause does not come." Proverbs 26:2 We always choose to obey God or not to obey God.

The homosexuals in the school do not mind flaunting their behavior in front of all the kids, but when the kids stand against them they get in trouble.

We are promoting homosexuality and our kids know it and they don't like it. They are taking a stand. God Bless them. I hope no one gets hurt but believe me the homosexuals know exactly what they are doing to get their agenda pushed down our throats. A nation that forgets God is doomed. Let the kids try to save this nation. Maybe they'll work on abortion next. They are the ones dying in our schools because we let one old atheist woman in Austin, Texas, who ended up a horrible death, take prayer out of our schools. We promote a heathen country instead of a God fearing country. Washington can't quit fighting among themselves long enough to do anything decent - maybe our children can. At least they are brave enough to take a stand. We think we have partial birth abortion abolished and it pops right back up in our faces. Neither Washington or the Supreme Court can do anything to stop evil.

God has always been America's protection and provision. Pray for our children to stand up and change this world. Our children feel blessed to be alive that their mother didn't abort them. If they look upon adults with disdain, just maybe they have a reason. The adults need to give our children something to start respecting. How can they respect a generation that aborts children? How can you respect yourself?

If you want to know why you are ill? Why you have a disease? Look at your life and how you forgot God.

Would you like some more opinions?

Answer 7

It is a difficult thing to determine. They are right, but are going about spreading the message in the wrong way. T-shirts that offend should not be allowed. At our school, we couldn't even wear pro-life shirts (which I think is a little picky on their part). The kids should find a new way to voice beliefs.

Answer 8

school is a place used for learning.. not for demonstrations, or making statements.
If those kids wanted to make their point with those t-shirts, let them make it in their own time. NOT on school time. School should be a safe place for ALL students, regardless of gender, nationality or sexual orientation. These T-shirts are simply a form of bullying and should be treated as such.
Any 'christian' that thinks otherwise should look at sending his children to a private 'christian' school. Public school has only one agenda: equal and fair education for all.
Edit: We have school uniforms here in Australia.. this puts a stop to all this nonsense and also unifies children. There is no competition for clothing 'labels' and distractions stemming from inappropriate clothing. The 'freedom of speech' nonsense has no place in the school system.. these are children (!) sent there to be educated, not bullied by religious groups. Religion has no place in public school.. as by mainstreaming religion you are taking away people's rights to choose. Send your children to private religious schools if that's what you want. These 'christians' need to respect other people's rights and choices.
I am not familiar with the exact nature of the case.. I read above me somewhere that the school held a day's silence for gays.. if this happened, the principal himself should be evicted on the grounds of purposely disrupting school with an action likely to result in unrest and bullying. A whole day of silence is nothing but insulting.. not 9/11 nor the ANZACS get a WHOLE day of silence. I can see where the unrest came from.. by doing this he forced a whole school community to respect and honor a sensitive minority issue that has moral implications for many. To tolerate and accept is one thing.. to respect and HONOR homosexuality, that is another. A public school is not the forum for sexual rights, nor religious propaganda.

Answer 9

Yes, they should be able to. The principal can't suspend kids for wearing shirts with Bible verses on them just cuz they're against homosexuality. That violates our rights in the constitution. I'm also a Christian and I'm wearing a shirt right now with a Bible verse on it. They can't stop antone from doing that. Take it to court if you have to, cuz this isn't right. They need to grow up! And if a fellow Christian suspended them, that just isn't right!

Answer 10

Principal's right to suspend them.

Ugh, I really didn't think this required an additional reasoning.

One great thing (sarcasm to a degree) about the public school system was that you had rights taken away from you. For example when I was a sophomore in high school (4 years ago), if you had a plain white shirt, you were forced to change into something else provided by the school, or you had to go home and change. Refusal equaled suspension. They did this because gang related acts. If it is reason enough that it puts other students in danger, then there's reason enough for the punishment regardless of religion. The fact that this is related to religion makes it more of a touchy issue, but the danger is still there to any kids who might have already "come out"

Answer 11

No, he should not be allowed to wear those t-shirt..It is not about opinion...School is not the right place to express this kinds of opinions...Obviously this TSHIRT is causing distraction and anything that causes distraction in school is not appropriate..the same as spagetthi strips, or mini skirts, things like that...
Religion and Public School are not at the same level...You should not mixed those two..Religion preference should be respected but not predicated in public grounds..It is the LAW