The Juvenile Justice Bill sets the stage for showdowns in local schools.

---

County

---

During the annual Shakespeare Day at Pacific Grove High last April, more than 100 students sat in a "moment of silence" out of respect for the students in jeopardy at Columbine High School. A teacher had requested the kids to take time out of the yearly visit from the San Francisco Shakespeare Co. to acknowledge the tragedy that was taking place as the performance ensued.

Although this pause in their routine assembly was not an inherently religious intrusion, it raised the question for several students: Was this a violation of the separation of church and state, or simply a kind gesture to a foreign campus?

Whatever else it was, it may also have been the forerunner for a spate of coming disputes about religion in the classroom.

The constitutional debate concerning the barrier between church and state-run schools was recently brought into a new arena with the amendment to the Juvenile Justice Bill that passed through the U.S. House of Representatives on June 17 and is currently in Senate committee. The amendment, which was given momentum by the Columbine tragedy, allows the Ten Commandments to be posted in court rooms and schools across the country, and is forcing local school districts to make a decision about including religion as a part of their curriculum.

Critics point out that the amendment does not stipulate which version of the Ten Commandments would be posted or if other religious denominations would be allowed to display a similar set of guidelines. There are several different beginnings to the Ten Commandments according to separate sects of Christianity, some of which discriminate against other religions. For example, the Jewish commandments begin with "I am the Lord, thy God," whereas the Christians begin with "Thou shall have no other Gods before me."

Also, the ten rules would favor a monotheistic religious archetype, in spite of the many minority religions that do not. In addition, the amendment does not specify who will make the final decision about posting the Ten Commandments. But the House members seem to be confident that these problems will work themselves out--they approved the bill by a margin of 248 to 180.

Joe Camp, the area director of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) for Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz counties, says this is not the first hint of a Christian uprising in the local school systems. "There has been a definite rise in the attendance at Christian groups at school," says Camp. "People are looking for the truth and the Bible gives you a straight road to walk." As far as the Ten Commandments being posted in schools, Camp thinks that the possibility of posting them should never have been ruled out in the Supreme Court decision of 1962, Abington School District vs. Schempp.

Jack Marchi, superintendent of Pacific Grove Unified School District (PGUSD) adds that there have been increasing incidents of prayer around the flagpole, kids carrying bibles around school, and local churches handing out bibles on the sidewalks in front of school. He does not see the advantage of posting the Ten Commandments. "There are other traditions that have moral standards," he says. "You can''t discriminate."

Local students do not see a substantial benefit in posting the biblical rules either. "It will only further enrage those students that are already rebellious," says Cristiana DiPietro, a senior at P.G. High. Lianna Vernon, also a senior at P.G.H.S. and a member of the FCA, thinks that, "It won''t effect people at all if they really need mental help, but maybe if they were just stressed out it would."

But perhaps a religious backlash to the recent violence and tragedy will not be a solution for everyone inclusively. It may create even more separation between the popular and the socially ostracized. School officials will have to make difficult decisions if a Buddhist or Hindu wishes to post their religious doctrine on campus.

Michelle Welsh, a local American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) lawyer and a member of her church board, says, "Christian groups are very shortsighted because they only create another exclusive club that will alienate by isolating those who are already excluded; it only worsens the problem. The Ten Commandments amendment would prefer one religion to another."

The lack of spiritual guidance in the youth of America needs to be kept out of the classroom and in the home because, as Welsh says, "The religious freedom of all of us depends on the freedom of the minority religions."

Leo St. John, superintendent for North Monterey County Unified School District, says, if the amendment passes through the Senate intact, he will follow the policy of the school board on the issue.

Superintendent of Salinas City Unified School District Rob Slaby anticipates that the parents or teachers of the community will request the posting of the Ten Commandments should the law pass. At that time the school will consult the attorney for the district to construct a new policy in accordance with the law.

mail@coastweekly.com">Send a Letter to the Editor | http://www.eline.com/CW" target="resource window">Post a Public Forum