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ACLU Will Sue If Cross Isn't Covered Up At High School Graduation
By
John Del Signore
Published May 12, 2011
Modified May 12, 2011
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By
John Del Signore
Published May 12, 2011
Modified May 12, 2011
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In an encouraging sign for teenage vampires everywhere, the ACLU is threatening to sue a New Jersey school that wants to hold commencement ceremonies at the same place they've been doing it for over 60 years: the Great Auditorium in Ocean Grove, which belongs to a Christian ministry. Apparently a student's grandmother complained about the Christian iconography at the church after last year's graduation, and the ACLU demands that the Neptune High School board change the location. But they're not budging, and the two sides are at a standstill. Will graduation be like totally ruined?
"You have generation after generation that has walked down those isles," alumnus Tracey James tells NBC New York. "And as a student you're a rock star for a day." There is a large cross on the roof and three other religious symbols inside and outside the building, and in previous years the ceremony has featured Christian songs and prayer. School officials agreed to cut that from the program, but after touring the site, the ACLU wants the school to remove or at least cover up all those crosses. The administrators of the Great Auditorium say that's just not feasible, and at this late date, the school is unwilling to find another location.
"We print 3,000 tickets every year,” Superintendent David Mooij tells CNN, "so families can bring not only moms and dads and siblings but grandparents and aunts and uncles. To get 3,000 seats anywhere else, this community would have to travel a considerable distance." ACLU's lawyer says, "The New Jersey constitution has more specific limitations upon the actions of a public entity like a public school." But as the school board's lawyer tells Blogfinger, "It’s not simply a church or place of worship. It’s clearly a mixed use." On the Saturday following graduation, there's going to be a doo-wop concert there! Of course, the ACLU probably has some problem doo-wop, too.
Tagged
aclu
neptune high school
new jersey
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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