Student body president has a prayer

September 30, 1999

Officials at a Texas high school, who had previously threatened to
remove the student body president if she prayed on campus, have agreed
that an earlier federal court ruling does indeed grant students the
right to engage in religious observances voluntarily.

School officials at Mission High School in Mission, Texas, had warned
student body President Beth Long in early September that they would
strip her of power if she prayed during football games. According to the
Texas Justice Foundation, Long also was told to “pledge allegiance” to
the principal and the school district.

However, noting that the principal’s rules prohibiting all school
prayer exceeded those set forth by the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court in a
February ruling on the issue, the foundation sent a letter to school
officials reminding them of Long’s rights, and threatening legal action
if she were forced to comply. The school, in turn, sent a letter to the
foundation denying Long’s accusations, but stressing that they would
neither prohibit her from praying voluntarily, nor strip her of power.

According to the foundation, Long said it was rumored that
administrators were considering prohibiting students from praying, and
even meeting in Christian student organizations on campus, such as the
Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

School officials did not return phone calls from WorldNetDaily, but a
foundation official said the school denied Long’s allegations regarding
Christian groups meeting on school grounds.

In a recent letter to the Texas Justice Foundation, school attorneys
stated, “Miss Long certainly retains the right as a private citizen to
engage in personal prayer.”

The Mission School District claimed that it had intended to prohibit
only school-sponsored prayer, not public voluntary prayer. However,
foundation spokesman and attorney Tom Stack, said, “This confusion is
rampant throughout Texas, and many administrators may be prohibiting
voluntary student prayer in violation of constitutionally protected
rights.”

“Students may pray in public as a form of free speech and religion
wherever public speech is allowed, even at football games,” added Stack.

Students, parents and community leaders began to protest the removal
of school prayer at football games, he said, “by voluntarily leading the
crowd in the Lord’s Prayer during a gift exchange with opposing team
representatives, on the field, Sept. 10, prior to the game.”

The Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Long knelt at midfield
during the ceremony, then removed their jackets to reveal the letters,
“P-R-A-Y.” The crowd applauded and recited the Lord’s Prayer, Stack
said.