Tuesday, April 14, 2009



2 Students Sue California College District for Threatening to Suspend Them for Praying

We read:
"Two California students can sue their community college district after their school threatened to suspend them for praying on campus, a federal judge ruled. Kandy Kyriacou and Ojoma Omaga said the College of Alameda accused them of "disruptive behavior" after they had prayed with an ailing teacher in a faculty office in December of 2007, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

The students said the school issued suspension notices to them.

Although public colleges are prohibited from endorsing religion, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston ruled that the women can proceed with a lawsuit against Peralta Community College District. Illston said college students have the right to pray in private outside the classroom, according to the Chronicle.

The lawsuit seeks an acknowledgment of that right and an apology, and wants all disciplinary action be rescinded, said one of the pair's lawyers, Steven Wood. The women want no damages apart from attorneys' fees, the paper reported.

The district's attorneys argued that faculty offices were "places for teaching and learning and working" not "protests, demonstrations, prayer" or other disruptive activities. [But Leftist or Muslim activities are fine, of course]

Source

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I guess I would have risked expulsion when I was in college in California. I often prayed everywhere from the library and I even bowed my head on occassion before a test in the classroom to offer a silent prayer. I guess that is now verboten.

Brian from Virginia said...

What. The. Hell. These folks were praying in a private office and the 'school' wants to suspend them? Whatever happened to the idea of 'tolerance'? In a modification of something I posted in a commentary for another article here;

Welcome to the ObamaNation: Now get with the PC program or get out.

Anonymous said...

"Congress shall make now law respecting an establishment if religion, OR PROHIBITING THE FREE EXCERCISE THEREOF..."

Seems like mandating that someone can't pray is "prohibiting the free exercise thereof", doesn't it?

David W. Hunter said...

I'd be curious as the details of their praying. I've seen two types in my life time. One involves quite words with bowed heads. The other involves lots of very loud Halleluiahs, and praise God. If the second type was what the students were doing, then it would be disruptive to the faculty office.

Anonymous said...

Not only do they have a right to pray in private outside a classroom, they also have the right to pray in private INSIDE a classroom. Have any of these educators ever read the first amendment?

Anonymous said...

The "educators" (indoctrinators would be a better word) have read the first ammendment and came to the conclusion that it's a nuisance that shouldn't be acted upon.
In that they're in full agreement with The One, King Hossein I, Khaliph of the United Socialist Khaliphate of Amerika.

Anonymous said...

If the second type was what the students were doing, then it would be disruptive to the faculty office.

From the article reference by FoxNews at SFGate.com:

Kyriacou prayed with the teacher, Sharon Bell, at an office Bell shared with other teachers, on two occasions in November and December 2007. The second time, a day when Bell was feeling ill, another teacher entered the office and told Kyriacou, "You can't be doing that in here," and the student stopped praying and left, the suit said.

In other words, they were praying alone in a office, and when another teacher who shares the office entered and asked them to stop, they did.

Where is the disruption?