"Case Study #4 Expression of Religion (Against the Argument)" Educational Law-Essay Assignment (Brady) 2011

Carmelo Bono

Professor Brady

Educational Law

Tuesday, February 02, 2011

Case Study #4 Expression of Religion (Against the Argument)

A person cannot call anything more ironic than someone who is worshipping evil and going to school in a place where all that is good is taught. In this case study (four) Goth style fashion is banned. Some disgruntled parents go about suing the school for banning the style because of section two in the Charter of rights and freedoms. Rightfully so, they are angry and feel like their son/daughter are being restricted however they need to realize firstly that in a Catholic School you need to follow the rules and do as you are told even in terms of religion. Parents and students need to remember they are signing up to be apart of a school’s community and therefore are subject to certain regulations. Secondly, in this case study, the parents need to realize that school is simply looking out for the wellbeing of their students. Thirdly and finally students as well as parents that it is one thing to be worshipping your own religion, but do it inside of an institution where there is a standard one which most students probably follow, is just asking for attention.

In a catholic school students are subject to many policies, rules and regulations. Catholic Schools try to live up to the higher standards then that of the public schools in terms of discipline of students and presentation of school community. When parents are signing up their kids to a school, they should understand that they are signing up their child to follow the rules and regulations put in place by that school board. It should be noted that a school which puts a dress code in effect, probably already has a dress code, so it should come as no surprise to the parents and student that the dress code was extended. Usually schools don’t mind too much about other religious practises, however in particular to this case it should be expected that the school is concerned about the clothing and style. The religion the student is portraying is extremely conflicting to Catholicism. According to the dress code of the Niagara Catholic District School Board students are expected to follow the dress code after reading through it. Also it states that the dress code will be school appropriate, meaning it will never be unexplained or unjust. A student should always remember that they don’t have to stay where they originally registered. They are more than within their rights to switch schools if they feel conflicted where they are.

The school seems like it is just trying to cover its actions by saying that the banning of the Gothic style is to discourage drug use and acts of violence. But it is true; the Gothic style is notorious for the drugs and violence. However its not even just violence within the style but it is violence towards the style, many “Goths” end up running into trouble at some point during their high school career due to bullying. It is inevitable and the school is only trying to prevent it from happening. The school is also concerned because each student is representing that school by every action, and if it is a good school, some people may never know because of how one student carries themselves during the school hours. All this goes without saying that Wicca is deeply associated with drug use, violence and sacrificing life, not to mention, worshipping “Lucifer”, black magic and witchery (these are all things that Catholicism speaks against. This immediately goes against the Ten Commandments which is a pretty big deal in a catholic school.

It is unclear whether it would be considered harassment or not as to what this student is doing. A student is going around the school and not only making the teachers feel uncomfortable, but the students as well. If a student feels compelled to worship the devil in a place that they are told not to, then why not do in their own privacy or outside of school. A student could where their pentagram with a shirt over top. It does not need to be publicly visible. Individualism is not the underlining mission of the policies and regulations, education is. If a student is the cause for the amount of distraction that there is claimed to be, the school should be seen as kind enough to give the student the benefit of the doubt and blame it on the fashion not so much the student. Student comfortably is important, (it is the school climate) and if something affects the majority of the student body something needs to be done. But nonetheless if the student wearing these demonic symbols wants to continuously wear them even though so many people are bothered by them then it should be seen as harassment, they are putting others around them in an uncomfortable position. This is similar to the time when a student wore a shirt bearing “Homophobia is gay” the shirt was banned and a dress code was placed because it made some students uncomfortable.

It should be carefully realized that there is a difference between individualism and ignorance; a student can still worship their own religion however they are asked to do it in a way that does not impose on others comfortably. A student who worships “Lucifer” and believes in black magic has no business going to a Catholic school. Even if the school is not Catholic, a student should not be imposing their beliefs on others forcefully, and to do it so visibly is the wrong way of going about it because a public school is not where you go to do any sort of worship. School climate is important and thee minute one student’s style interferes with that, it attracts a lot of attention is guaranteed to be dealt with, immediately. A school wants its students to be individualistic however they offer ways of doing that without imposing it onto other students. Overall the student whose parents are suing the school are wrong in doing so because they signed a policy with the school stating the rules and regulations surrounding the dress code as well as the harassment policy.