Saturday, May 09, 2009

Fundamentalist Follies

This story doesn't need an introduction or a commentary:

FINDLAY, Ohio (AP) — A Christian school in Ohio says it will suspend a student if he attends a public high school prom with his girlfriend.

Despite the warning, 17-year-old Tyler Frost says he plans to attend Saturday's dance at Findlay High School, where his girlfriend is a student.

Frost goes to Heritage Christian School. The fundamentalist Baptist school in northwest Ohio forbids dancing, rock music, hand holding and kissing.

Its principal, Tim England, says Frost is facing a suspension that would keep him from attending graduation. Frost is scheduled to receive his diploma May 24.

Frost's stepfather, Stephan Johnson, says the school's rules should not apply outside the classroom.
Since graduations are usually boring, the school may be doing the kid a favor by not requiring him to attend the ceremony.

1 comment:

Dave said...

Most religious colleges and high schools have behavior conduct standards that they consider applicable to activity not only on campus but off as well. They expect students to uphold those standards as the student is considered by the school as a student(even over the summer between school years). Although the list of rules are much more limited, public universities too have similar standards, particularly for athletes, which the college expects to be followed both on and off campus. Last summer LSU let its starting quarterback go for breaking college and team rules, some of which were broken not on campus but at a party off campus.

With many Christian colleges there is a morality clause that students sign upon registering. The clause in some places are so firmly enforced that there are some infractions that if violated on the eve of graduation could keep a student from receiving a degree even if all the course work is completed. Courts have upheld the clauses and degrees have been withheld.