Jessica Ahlquist, Rhode Island Student, Confident Her Side Is 'Very Strong' In School Prayer Mural Suit

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- A 16-year-old atheist said Thursday she is confident the law is on her side in her fight over a prayer mural that she wants removed from the auditorium of her high school.

Jessica Ahlquist said her side is "very strong" after attorneys for her and the city of Cranston made their case to Senior Judge Ronald R. Lagueux in U.S. District Court in Providence. Ahlquist believes the mural should be taken down.

"It's the right thing to do," said Ahlquist, a junior at Cranston High School West.

Ahlquist sued in federal court in April, saying the mural is offensive to non-Christians. Ahlquist has been an atheist since age 10. She is represented by the Rhode Island chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.

Lagueux took the case under advisement. He visited the school auditorium earlier in the day to see the mural in person.

Attorney Joseph Cavanagh Jr., who is defending the city, says the mural is a historical artifact from the school's early days in the 1960s and serves no religious purpose.

He said the prayer is displayed in a secular, not a religious, setting.

"It's not forced upon anyone. It's a historical document as a tradition of the school," Cavanagh said.

The prayer encourages students to strive academically and begins with the words "Our Heavenly Father" and ends with "Amen."

The Class of 1963 presented murals of the prayer and the school creed to the school in September 1963. The Class of 1963 was the first to graduate from the school.

The prayer was written by student David Bradley, now 64. Cavanagh said the prayer hasn't been recited in the school since 1962 and that there was no history of complaints about the mural. He said the prayer was written in the course of developing other traditions at the school, including a mascot, creed and school colors.

Ahlquist noticed the mural at the end of her freshman year. She started a Facebook page to support removing it and argued for taking it down before the school committee, according to court filings.

The school committee voted in March to keep the mural on display and fight litigation.

Ahlquist's lawyer, Lynette Labinger, said the mural has "no fingerprints of student artwork" and runs afoul of the Constitution.

"The prayer is not, as the defendant would suggest, anything like a Pledge of Allegiance. In contrast, this is a prayer," Labinger said. "It's a religious communication and it's in a public school."

Cavanagh argued that Ahlquist made public statements claiming she was not offended by the prayer. Labinger countered that Ahlquist made those statements to defend herself from bullying, intimidation and harassment she experienced because of her opposition to the mural.

Comments

[arovingmind]

09:52 AM on 11/02/2011

This young lady is on the correct legal and ethical track. I like her style and guts. Obama, are you watching? You might learn something about little things like: character, principle, courage, "actions speak louder than words".

[MoonBeamWatcher]

11:22 AM on 11/02/2011

Unsung Hero would be added to your list of adjectives that I would use to describe the Cranston School Board for not rolling over and reaching an Out of Court Settlement with the ACLU who is using this child as a sock puppet to attack the foundation of our great republic!
Whithout her the ACLU would have no standing!
The constitution clearly states:
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion..." That's it.
The mural a gift of the first graduating class to classmates to follow should not be removed!

[nohopepope2187]

04:02 AM on 11/01/2011

The mural is a historical piece of the school. Unless having it there is a violation of State law, there's no case here.

We just hit the 7 billion mark for people alive in the world, and you can't get on the dance floor without stepping on someone's toes.

[Cats Staff]

02:26 PM on 11/13/2011

As it turns out it is a violation of the State Constitution. That hardly matters, since it is also a violation of the Federal Constitution. The State constitution is even clearer on the matter though.

With 7,000,000,000 people (300,000,000+ in the U.S.), it's even more important that the government be held accountable when it is violating peoples civil rights in favor of other people in order to avoid conflict. If you want to be a jerk and step on peoples toes on the dance floor, that's one thing. If the government does it, it's a different thing entirely. If the government is neutral regarding who can get on the dance floor, then your rights to be a jerk are protected.

[nohopepope2187]

04:16 PM on 11/14/2011

I'm unaware of this "violation;" perhaps if you were to link the State and Federal Laws that you speak of.

I'm a pretty objective person and believe in individuals rights, but I also believe that organizations have rights as well.

[DJ Aizen]

10:26 PM on 10/31/2011

Separation of Church and State..enough said.

[Unregistered1]

04:50 PM on 10/31/2011

If they hang a poster of Martin Luther King, Jr., is it anti-white?

No, or course not.

But to mention Jesus is anti-everything.

I really do not understand how such a contradiction goes unnoticed.

[Atomkinder]

06:14 PM on 10/31/2011

Martin Luther King, Jr. was real.

[MrPogle23]

07:26 PM on 10/31/2011

...and not the subject of the first amendment..

[hayness]

07:50 PM on 11/01/2011

I'm just curious whether you would be okay with having a citation from the Koran, or a picture of the Buddha with one of his sayings? Or would you think that might be over the line? How about a verse from the Satanic Bible and an inverted pentagram? Is it all good? Quotations from Bertrand Russell and Richard Dawkins? No? Even if they're really old?

[Unregistered1]

10:50 PM on 11/01/2011

I personally think it should all be displayed.

I read passages from the Koran in public school. I saw images of the Buddha and read about the related philosophy in public school as well, without taking offense.

I am a big fan of both Russell and Dawkins. Dawkins' The Selfish Gene is one of my top 5 and I relate information from his work to many areas of life - evolution of society/culture in particular.

Really, I can't talk about the Satanic Bible because I don't know what it involves - if the Satanic Bible involved passages about assassination of political figures, I would think it would be dangerous to display them, but I would be more concerned about potentially unstable individuals rather than fear over religious doctrine. Still, display that message too.

Our culture is a big melting pot. We have music that glorifies sex/violence. We have television shows that glorify drugs (Weeds), alcohol (Mad Men), and generally childish behavior (MTV). We have gay pride festivals that offend some christians and BBQ festivals that offend some muslims (plausible, right?). We also have (less popular lol) music about friendship and love and peace and all that. We have television programs that educate us about science, history, or the joys of monogamy.

That's what I love about America - you can find everything. The pubic is filled with hate and love and you are not censored from either. You are free to live your life however you want.

[Unregistered1]

10:51 PM on 11/01/2011

If we throw a big hissy fit because of a publicly posted prayer, it will only be a matter of time before we effectively destroy freedom of speech regarding religion. When that happens, do you think Americans will really be happier or satisfied? There will be another set of contrived problems and another subsect of culture will be attacked until, finally, we are all the exact same. Rather than tear down a faith (which is exactly what is happening). I feel that it is more American to elevate every other faith. Don't hide Jesus, add another spotlight to shine on Dawkins, Muhammed, or even...gasp...the devil.

Let people be responsible and make their own choices.

I don't travel a lot and I've only been on a plane on a handfull of occasions, but I'm actually surprised that more people don't just see it this way. I don't have first hand experience with the various regional cultures but I have great hope for peace in the future because I (and most people I know) learned acceptance from my culture in Tennessee - home of the biggest bigots in the Union.

(sorry that was long, this is something I am very passionate about)

[weareallzombies]

02:40 PM on 10/31/2011

I cannot believe I am sitting here reading these comments from christians saying there is "no freedom from religion", there is "no separation of church and state". The same christians who sit around and talk about how islam and it's sharia laws are some how going to become a part of our government and how we must fight it.

Do you not care that there are non-christians of different faiths and non-believers in this country? Why do they have to be subjected to your religion? You wouldn't be okay with the school hanging up a Buddhist prayer or a Hindu prayer, and certainly not an islamic one.

[truenewyorkfan]

09:31 PM on 10/30/2011

This is plain and simple. There is no issue. A school was presented a banner by its inaugural class. That banner has been there for 40 years without complaint. It has not forced anyhting on to anybody, it has simply been a piece of decoration.

There is nothing offensive about it. Its like me complaining to my high school that I should be free from the doctrines of the GSA or Ethnic Coalition or Amnesty International. I have little to no case. If I do not wish to take part I dont have to. If I dont want to read their pamphlets I wont.


There is no issue here. There is no case. Just an atheist who seemingly hates religion. The courts will undoubtably side with her though because the Constitution has been distorted so many ways that relgious freedom has given way to religious persecution by atheism.

[AlanDente]

12:46 PM on 10/31/2011

I don't know why you don't just re-write your Constitution if you're so bent on redefining things so that xtianity can be the dominant religion in your country. Easy answer, right?

[truenewyorkfan]

01:14 PM on 10/31/2011

How about I read the Constitution and interpret it to what it actually means and not give some bs response.

Read the first Amendement and get back to me. Interpret it how you will. I choose more literal intrepretation of such documents as laws and outlines for government.

[arovingmind]

09:57 AM on 11/02/2011

How long have you been taking those stooopid pills? They worked.

[truenewyorkfan]

11:04 AM on 11/08/2011

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. This is great. Thank you for being the poster boy for a pointless comment. Can we use this for a tutorial on how not to post?

[Andy Carr]

08:24 PM on 10/30/2011

If the mural is such an important historical artifact, then how come it's hanging up in the gymnasium and not the school library?

[MoonBeamWatcher]

11:27 AM on 11/02/2011

love what ya do with your hair.

[banana republican]

09:57 AM on 10/30/2011

I'm an agnostic, and this illustrates perfectly why I find athiests so disgusting. While religions try to use persuasion to intice others to accept their belief systems on their merits, the Athiests try to use legal action to shut them up because they haven't been effective at selling the merits of their own.

[HotelDrama]

12:50 PM on 10/30/2011

Oh please. The only thing this atheist and the ACLU are doing is keeping true to the US Constitution. If you have a problem with that, maybe you should re-read the Constitution and US history.

[banana republican]

12:54 PM on 10/30/2011

The constitution provides freedom 'of' religion. You and the ACLU are trying (with considerable success I might add) to pervert it into freedom 'from' religion. So don't go wrapping yourself all up in the flag. If you know any history, you know that isn't what they intended.

[MoonBeamWatcher]

07:41 PM on 10/31/2011

NOT true! It is you who should re-read the Constitution the section involved is
the Establishment Clause, just TEN WORDS. It states:
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion..." That's it.

The ACLU works daily to dismantle our Republic in and out of court nation wide! From it's representation of the North American Man Boy Association to attacking the Boy Scouts of America!

"Socialism is a philosophy of failure,
the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy,
its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery."
Sir. Winston Churchill

[Atomkinder]

06:19 PM on 10/31/2011

That's "atheist." Thank you.

[92102]

03:19 AM on 10/30/2011

How about someone making a banner praying to Satan and hanging it up. Then 50 years from now, the school could claim it was part of history because it was old and had been there a long time.

[Andres64]

09:34 PM on 11/01/2011

Can you imagine? I picture spinning heads and pea soup.

[MoonBeamWatcher]

11:33 AM on 11/02/2011

Maybe today after listening to some of the RAP music a Satan hanging might work!
Certainly the only time G-d is in the classroom is at the start of a test!

[thorolyfedup]

01:19 PM on 10/29/2011

Oh for Pete's sake. It's a banner. And judging from the picture, it's high up on a wall above eye level. The girl even admits she was at the school for nearly a year before she even noticed it. If this banner is all she's upset about, then she is very thin skinned (as most 16 year-olds are). HOWEVER! If one of the school activities is to recite the prayer, then she has a very strong case indeed and should pursue it wholeheartedly.

[Jradxit]

09:14 PM on 11/24/2011

Oh for Pete's sake, its just a banner way up out of the way anyway. From the picture it looks old and unattractive as well. Why don't these school admins just take it down so there's no big hullaballoo?

[warbladex1]

12:00 AM on 10/29/2011

if i was the school i would say no.. these are our beliefs, if you don't like it, go to another district or be home schooled. this is why america is messed up. we seemed to lost our backbone to the minority because little jimmy's feelings are hurt. considering that its one or a handfull of people... doesn't make it right to screw it up for the majority.

[ManhattanMC]

12:05 PM on 10/29/2011

You are wrong.
Constitutionally, morally and ethically wrong.
You do not have the right to force your religion, majority or minority, on my child in a public school-ever.
You do not have the right to banish my child from any public school for any reason.
You do not have the right to proselytize my child in a public school under any circumstances.
You do not have the right to consider my child a second class citizen nor attempt to make my child consider herself a second class citizen.

This is not about feelings being hurt. It is about religious freedom, which includes freedom from religion.

Please reconsider your position.

[Sunwyn Ravenwood]

10:16 PM on 10/29/2011

Freedom of religion does NOT include freedom from religion.

Imagine that the 1st amendment also included the phrase "freedom of music". Would this mean that anyone could listen to any music he wanted to as long as he didn't wake up his neighbors in the middle of the night? Yes. But would it also mean that all schools are forbidden to play any kind of music at all for fear that someone might not like it? No.

If this little brat is offended that is her prerogative. Let her be as offended as she wants. Let her walk around her whole life with her face screwed up like she just ate a lemon if she wants. But that is no reason why other people should change their lives or what they do or say or display to keep from hurting her feelings.

[warbladex1]

04:40 PM on 10/30/2011

your view is why nothing can get done in america. we have come to a point in society that, we keep cattering to stupid ideas and letting one person holding back the rest of the group. and you've twisted the constitution, its freedom OF religion not freedom from religion. meaning, you don't have to go with the crowd. doesn't mean you screw with the crowd to bend to your liking.

[thorolyfedup]

01:12 PM on 10/29/2011

and you would be pig-headed for saying such a thing.

[RhysJ W]

06:44 PM on 10/28/2011

I more offended that they're asking a God to help them with something that they should be working for themselves. Putting it on someone or something else helps breed complacency.

[MoonBeamWatcher]

08:08 PM on 10/31/2011

Dear Heart, who knows what harm this banner has kept from happening?
Are you offended by double yellow lines on the highway as you go uphill?
It is but a guide post much like the Ten Commandments and provides one
a moral compass to help navigate the path of life. No harm, no foul and it
reaches out to many religious sects. Even an atheist should find no problem
living by the illumination provided in that thoughtful presentation.
It doesn't cause any harm and is not required reading nor is a test given.
This is simply the wishes expressed by the first graduating class. Nothing
more or less . . . certainly not presented by the Congress of the United States!

[RhysJ W]

11:52 PM on 10/31/2011

I live by the noble eightfold path of Buddhism, but that involves taking personal responsibility for your life. This banner is probably barely thought of two seconds after graduating or even after the school day. Double yellow lines are proven to help reduce traffic accidents. The ten commandments are mostly garbage, and any moral person would already internalize the few good ones. It isn't thoughtful, it removes the self responsibility of the person. So yes as an atheist I have a problem with its presentation.

[Darwincrat]

10:14 AM on 10/28/2011

If God is everywhere then why does he need a banner? Respect the rights of parents who'd like to install their own brand of mysticism and traditions, or none at all, to their children. That's what religious freedom is all about.

[MoonBeamWatcher]

09:16 PM on 10/31/2011

Have you read the banner? The banner is not for G-d. It is for the students following the first graduating class. It is a guide for life, and life at Cranston High. It does not push 'mysticism and traditions' just a touch of Honor and Respect and good sportsmanship. eh? Do you take offense to double yellow lines as you near a hill that cautions you not to pass? Just some sound advice from the first graduating class in 1963 . . . not the establishment or endorsement by the Congress of these United States. Tho protest too much.

[mistercoyote]

10:57 PM on 10/27/2011

Look. It., itself, says it's a prayer. It's posted in a public school. Take it down and move on to more important things.

[Kirsten555]

09:48 PM on 10/27/2011

I see her point. It is historical, but would you want a historical piece depicting racial discrimination up? Many historical items are offensive in today's world because we progress as a society and become more tolerable to others and recognize people are different than us. we learn what was okay 30, 40 years ago isn't anymore. And today, we recognize that our country is made of people who believe different things. I find it interesting that when Christian influence is in public places, the mainstream isn't offended. But put up a Hindu piece, an atheist piece, etc than everyone is offended. Religious influence in public is not okay no matter WHAT denomination. People believe different things. I don't see why it should stay up. not sure I'd go so far as to sue, but I'm glad she's trying to have it taken down.