On The Front Lines
Political correctness strikes again: attempting to 'not offend,' school officials remove bricks bearing crosses from flagpole
Potomac Falls, Va.--In response to a complaint from the parents of a student attending Potomac Falls High School in Potomac Falls, Va., school officials have removed paving bricks bearing religious symbols from an area surrounding the school's flagpole. School officials removed the bricks engraved with small crosses, which were sold as part of a parent-association fundraiser, allegedly in an attempt to avoid offending anyone. Several of the bricks that were removed had been in place for approximately a year. Charging that the school's actions violate the First Amendment rights of those who purchased the bricks, The Rutherford Institute contacted the Loudoun County School District's legal counsel, demanding that school officials restore the paving bricks bearing religious symbols to their rightful place around the flagpole.For several years, Parents Associated with the School (PAWS) has conducted a "Walkway of Fame" fundraising campaign in order to help student clubs and organizations with expenses for school fieldtrips. The fundraising campaign revolves around the sale of engraved bricks, which can be personalized with a limited amount of text and a small symbol selected from a list of icons, including the image of a cross. In response to recent complaints by one set of parents who found the cross symbol on some of the bricks offensive, school officials have removed only those bricks bearing a religious message and replaced them with blank placeholders. The Rutherford Institute asserts that by inviting members of the public to purchase bricks and choose messages to be inscribed upon them, Loudoun County school officials created a limited public forum. In demanding that the school restore the purchased and engraved bricks to their rightful place in the "Walkway of Fame," Institute attorneys referenced a case the Institute had won before the U.S. Supreme Court recently, which reiterated the Supreme Court's view that public school officials may not impose viewpoint restrictions on speech, whether or not the expression occurs in a limited public forum or a non-public forum.
"This is political correctness run amok," stated John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute. "Those who wrote our First Amendment intended it to provide freedom of religion, not freedom from religion. Perhaps it's time for our government officials to go back to school and take a primer on the Bill of Rights."
The Rutherford Institute is an international, nonprofit civil liberties organization committed to defending constitutional and human rights.
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