‘Tebowing’ students suspended, critics cry foul
Administrators at Riverton High School in Long Island, N.Y., suspended four students for imitating Tim Tebow’s game-time prayer ritual, aptly named “Tebowing.” The administration said the students were blocking off hallways, causing a distraction, but critics claim religious intolerance.
| THE SCHOOL WAS RIGHT TO SUSPEND | THE SCHOOL OVER-REACTED |
Though this is not fundamentally a religious issue, it has evolved into one. The real reason for the suspensions was, plain and simple, the fact that so many people had taken to Tebowing that it was a “distraction and a hallway hazard.” I highly doubt that the Tebowing would cause fatal injury, but given the fact that the large school had only three-minute intermissions between classes, it is possible that spontaneous Tebowing could take others by surprise and trip or bump others, as well as block the hallways. But the students were warned by the administration to stop the pranks, well before the four were suspended. Yet critics insist this is a cover for religious discrimination. Such a silly notion derives from those who want to express their faith anytime and anywhere, and think their faith should be protected from every criticism, by calling it intolerance. Even if we take the “religious discrimination” play at face value, it still has no merit. I’m pretty sure, though, had the prayers—whether sincere or in jest—been performed in a Muslim or Hindu manner, those who are fretting wouldn’t hesitate to suspend those kids. Freedom of religious expression so long as it is the right one. The American tradition of keeping religion a private matter is not a recent phenomenon. The original ban on prayer in public schools grew from the confrontations between Catholics and Protestants in the late 1800s. Each side demanded that if religion were permitted in school that it conform to their specific version. Thus it was mandated there be no prayer in public schools. Fox News host Andrew Napolitano recently said that if the students had changed their story from emulating Tebow to actually “[Thanking God] for our victories, or pray to God for a victory,” they’d be protected by the First Amendment. That’s legally true, but why should the context determine the legitimacy of an act? Even if they and the other students were sincerely praying like that, they still would be posing a risk to other students in the hallways. However, again in the religious context, why would people think that public schools are places of worship? They aren’t churches. It’s the principle of the thing. Public schools are not intended to incubate a religious doctrine or to pray for petty things; they should exist to provide the general public basic knowledge in history, math, science, and critical thought. Remember that during school hours we are on the government’s time, not our own. Anyone is perfectly free to go to a private school that reflects their or their parents’ values, as well as the appropriately named “Sunday School.” I never understood why some don’t just pray before and after school. I’m surprised so many people find Tebow worth emulating anyway. I don’t dislike Tebow, though his prayer gestures are annoying, especially when asking for God’s intervention in the outcome of a game rather than world famine. He and others might best take heed of Jesus’s words, “[W]hen thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. … But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret…” (Luke 11: 5-6). This case shouldn’t even be an issue. Students were warned to stop blocking the hallways, and when they failed to follow the rules, they faced the consequences. Case closed. |
According to the school administration the suspensions were only a cautionary measure to prevent a riot, mainly due to the crowding effects of the Tebowing. The school said this was not religious discrimination, however the students did not deny disrupting, saying it was a religious act. So what is the issue here? If the school were actually protecting the students from a riot then they have some serious trust issues with their students; but if this is religious discrimination, I have a serious problem with it. The reason I have issues with this situation is the fact that prayer is not banned from schools; students are free to pray. It must only be student-led, not initiated by any state employee, and not forced on anyone. This was not the case until 1962 when the Supreme Court ruled that mandatory, school-guided prayer was unconstitutional in accordance with their interpretation of the idea of the separation of church and state in the First Amendment of the Constitution. The idea behind this was to prevent people from forcing their beliefs on one another. The writers of the Constitution obviously did not want to force religion on anyone, but they did not run from it either. Even today every session of Congress is opened with a “ceremonial” prayer, by various denominations and sometimes non-Christian preachers and representatives. So if Congress was afraid of religion in government institutions, why has it been the norm until the mid-twentieth century? Maybe they weren’t afraid of religion but only desired to prevent the government from forcing a belief on them. They saw firsthand what was happening with the Church of England at that time (many people fled England to retain their religious beliefs because England had created an official state church). I have a hard time believing that praying in a hallway or any other public space is forcing your beliefs on others. Nothing about genuine prayer involves a soap box or a megaphone. In fact, in the Bible, Jesus condemns those who flaunt their religion and lord over others; humility is a key part of His teaching and example. If someone is offended by prayer, then their response is very narrow-minded. Many other things are far more offensive than prayer, such as some things people wear or even say, yet they are tolerated. It’s a free country, right? Those offended have just as much of a right to exercise their beliefs as those who pray. These boys were not proselytizing; they were imitating a football player. If they meant this to be an exercise of their faith, then so be it; they still have the freedom in school to pray. In my opinion, the boys probably should have thought of what might happen when they kneeled down in the middle of a crowded hallway, not because of religion, but because of consideration for those going to different classes. I watched the video on YouTube and they clearly were blocking the hallway (though they started with only four people). Labeling their actions “a brawl” is an over-exaggeration, but did this expression of the students deserve suspension? The students should have thought of a better time for their Tebowing, but I still cannot see this as riot material. They did not know that others would join in. The administration was a bit excessive in their quick judgment of and reaction to the situation. |
Tebow's signature prayer pose. — Photo by Clemed, Wikimedia Commons
It also says in our own constitution about the separation of church and state. In other words, when the founding fathers wrote it, it meant for the GOVERNMENT NOT to intervene in the ways of the church. So the fact that public schools ban prayer or any kind of such religious act is actually unconstitutional because I know of Muslims who go to public schools that get in trouble for praying during school hours. That violates the very first amendment to our own Constitution. Last time I checked also was that in NOWHERE in ANY public schools handbook does it say blocking the halls several times will result in expulsion, otherwise the impromptu conversation in the hallways would be subject to such rules and there would be no one in the schools to even suspend anymore. I have personally been a part of what is called in football a “Zulu” its basically kind of like a big group of people get together and go crazy chanting the schools name and to some people it would look like a riot. My point? the Zulu happened at my highschool in a hallway known as “suicide hall” the most narrow and most traveled hallway in the entire school. What did the administration do? nothing. Actually they commended the football team for having such great spirit for the school and the day went on even though we blocked students from getting to class for a near 5 minutes. The point to that story is to say that we purposefully blocked the hallway and didn’t even come close to getting in trouble for it. Although the administrations were at different schools, its still pretty blatant that what we were doing could be considered “riotous”. What the suspended students were doing was more or less peaceful. And that, is when discrimination comes into play. The administration was more than excessive when disciplining the students.
I just want to ask was being 5 minutes late really that big of a deal that it kicked out students? One time a principal kicked out my sister for “hurrying through a test” and then told her to come in after school when she returned next week and “hurry through the test” my mom was livid and lets just say the school never punished me for anything I did wrong after that! I’d say it might have been justifiable, but at the same time POINTLESS to suspend the students. I’d just have to say, is removing students from entire days worth of class worth the 5 minutes a few students missed? Much better ways to deal with it.