N.Y. District Bans Religious Decorations

AP via NYTimes.com ^ | 12/10/2002

[GeneD]

Filed at 3:11 p.m. ET

YONKERS, N.Y. (AP) -- Public schools in this New York City suburb have banned decorations specific to one holiday, including Christmas trees and Hanukkah menorahs.

Interim Superintendent Angelo Petrone directed officials last week to remove all decorations that go beyond a generic ``Happy Holidays'' or ``Season's Greetings.''

Holiday assemblies featuring religious songs, poems and reports on holidays will still be permitted, district spokesman Eric Schoen said.

Marla Hurban, a member of the Yonkers PTA Council, said teachers scrapped lesson plans involving holiday decorations and took down bulletin boards loaded with children's artwork.

When word of the order began to spread, ``anybody who heard it thought it was a joke at first,'' said Amanda Pendleton, who has a daughter in fifth grade. ``Then they had to literally tear everything off the walls.''

[AppyPappy]

Celebrating our suppressivity.

[bulldogs]

Which Satanic group did this?

[goodnesswins]

Free Speech ???? Idiots are in charge.

[jigsaw]

Students with Christian tatoos will be stoned after school on the playground.

BYOR - Bring Your Own Rocks

[yendu bwam]

The fact is, this is the time of year when the vast majority of students' parents celebrate Christmas or Hannukah. To not allow kids to acknowledge these holidays is not multiculturalism, but anti-culturism and anti-religionism. There's absolutely nothing wrong with acknowledging the great celebration which is about to become central in the lives of so many. While the multiculturalists in our schools wish to teach kids about Islam, far-flung cultures and mores, they are afraid to acknowledge our own. They are fearful little pawns in today's society who no longer know what they believe - except that they can't acknowledge what others believe. They are the ultimate educrats - which is why so many are leaving the public schools (as we did a couple of years ago). When an acknowledgment of Christmas becomes an affront, then those who guard so tenaciously against such become an affront themselves. We are lucky to be able to afford private schools where we do not have to put up with the public educrats. I hope others will be as fortunate as we.

[smith288]

BYOB - Bring Your Own Bricks

After stoning, time will be given to pay homage to the mother earth, then followed by diversity training, offered (forced) to any who do not accept another persons faith.

[eccentric]

It's not really the fault of the school officials. They simply don't have the money to hire attorneys to fight every complaint that turns into a lawsuit. sad

[kellynla]

There isn't a day go by that I don't read a post like this one and appreciate home schooling...

[paguch]

Home Schooling is here to stay.

[eddie willers]

Celebrating our suppressivity.

Good one!

[aimhigh]

Diversity - nothing more than destroying the dominant culture to make room for the intolerances of the minorities.

[AppyPappy]

They simply don't have the money to hire attorneys to fight every complaint that turns into a lawsuit. sad

Then why do they allow sex criminals and gang-bangers in the schools? Your argument doesn't hold water.

[moyden]

Every liberal is a thug.

[N. Theknow]

Wonder if Kwanzaa was also banished?

[Catspaw]

If you put a menorah on a Christmas tree.....naw, they'd still say no.

[CindyDawg]

We are lucky to be able to afford private schools where we do not have to put up with the public educrats. I hope others will be as fortunate as we.

Many aren't ,but it's still an option if you want it. We had to cut back on a lot of things to homeschool but it was worth it. I also know several single parent mom's who barely make minimum wages that have their children in private schools. They work 2-3 jobs to do it but they manage. I guess it just depends on your priorities. CD

[jwalsh07]

It's unconstitutional. The public square is an open forum.

[nothingnew]

I'm so freaking sick of this crap I'm glad I'm the age I am, probably only another 20-30 years to go...that is if I don't go postal and die at the hands of these sophomoric, sniveling, snotnosed, shrill, second-guessing, shithead socialists who wouldn't know truth if it slapped'em upside their stupid succotash-filled heads.

FMCDH and Merry CHRISTmas everyone.

[ZULU]

Watching a society self-destruct, watching the lunatics run the asylum - that's modern day U.S.A., especially in New York - New Jersey - Taxachusetts - Maryland - Kalifornia.