Page 6
God and the public
The entire pur - A
pose of the Bill of ” nce a g ain > December is upon us.
RiahtS is to protect * s during this month that stores
fmm g et overcrowded, old Christmas
he miO ty commercials get recycled (and even
the Whims Of the d um ber ones pop up), and public
majority. schools around the county gear their
students toward Christmas.
Some people would argue that the last statement was a little
harsh; however, if you look at the situation, that is exactly what
society does. This can be shown even by looking at Penn State-
Bchrend. Every student that has eaten at Dobbins hall in the past
few days has seen the decorations and the monstrous Christmas
tree. If you were to look at many public schools, you would see
a similar phenomenon. In fact, a Christmas tree and a Menorah
appear in front of the White House.
It can be argued that these are not Christian icons; rather, they
are merely “winter traditions.” Unfortunately, “Hanukkah Harry”
and the “Hanukkah Bush” have yet to be widely accepted, and
Santa Claus does not typically deliver presents to good little
Jewish boys and girls under the Christmas tree. In addition,
other major religions of the world (Hindu, Islam, Buddhism, etc.)
do not have holidays during this lime. Conclusion? These
should not be used to do so. This means that no matter how
many symbols you put in the room, one group will inevitably
be predominant, and in any case, there can never be enough to
represent everyone.
Another issue that has come up regarding God and the public
is the issue of prayer in the public schools. There is a common
misconception, mainly put forth by rightist groups such as the
Christian Coalition, that the Supreme Court has outlawed
voluntary prayer in public schools. There are those who even
claim that any student caught with a Bible in a public school
will be punished.
The facts of this case are simple. In 1962, the New York
Board of Regents passed a resolution that all students were to
pray in the morning after the Pledge of Allegiance. After a long
fight, this case wound up in front of the Supreme Court. The
Court ruled, not on the basis of the separation of church and
state, but rather on the establishment clause of the First
Amendment. The clause, which reads “Congress shall make no
X-mess
With Christmas less than three weeks away, it is time to i
reflect upon the commercial mess that this holiday has
become. Once upon a time, Christmas was a holiday
based upon caring and the Birth of Jesus. Today it has
been perverted into a materialistic day, completely
unrelated to the true meaning of the holiday. Or
ganizations such as the ACLU cry foul when a nativity
scene is placed in a public place because it is religious.
Many people forget that Christmas is the second
holiest day on the Christian calendar. Instead of the
Blessed Mother, St. Joseph, and the Infant Jesus, a pagan
array of Santa Claus, Frosty the Snowman, and
Christmas trees now obscure the true meaning of
Christmas. Materialism is now the norm and not the
exception. Christmas never was a holiday based upon
materialism until late in this century, formerly Christmas
was celebrated in a wholly religious fashion without any
non-religious character. Do non-Christians that observe
[Christmas understand what they are celebrating?
I Probably not
Materialism obscures the significance of Christmas by
subjugating the real significance of the holiday. If
people really want to understand Christmas, they need
go no further than the first chapters of Matthew and
|Luke. They testify to how God loved humanity so much
jthat he humbled himself and became man in order to
'provide a spotless lamb for the sins of the world. How
lean we try to obscure such a beautiful event with pagan
jtraditions, unrelated to Christ-mas. Would it be
[appropriate to commercialize Ramadan or Hannakuh in
lorder to rob them of their religious character?
'Absolutely not.
! Christmas should not be a holiday of indulgence, but
i rather a holiday of penance and joy. Christmas is the
beginning of the road to salvation, in which we proclaim
the coming of the Lord. Any other reason is useless.
Christmas is a purely religious holiday, not a holiday to
celebrate Santa Claus. To quote Ebenczcr Scrooge,”Bah
Humbug’ because today Christmas has no meaningj
besides commercialism, I
by John Rossomondo
Opinion
by Adam Levenstein
law respecting the establishment of religion,” bans the
government from establishing any religion. The Court ruled that
by forcing students to pray, the Board of Regents was
establishing Christianity as the “official” religion of the state of
New York. It was then that the phrase “separation of church and
state” first came into official use.
Obviously, the right of students to pray voluntarily is up to
the students as individuals. It would be fascistic to say
otherwise. However, for the students as a whole to vote whether
or not to have a morning prayer simply docs not recognize the
rights of individuals. The entire purpose of the Bill of Rights is
to protect the minority from the whims of the majority.
Unfortunately, the Bill of Rights has not always been able to
fulfill this purpose, as was evident with slavery and segregation,
as well as the McCarthy witch-hunting era.
One other obvious question to ask is whether or not it is
necessary to have prayers in the public schools. Many people
argue that the “fabulous fifties” were more “morally correct,”
because there were prayers in the schools. It is an interesting
argument - unfortunately, it is a false one.
To begin with, most schools during this era did not have
enforced prayer. This is a documented fact. Were you to ask an
older adult, at random, whether or not he or she had to pray every
morning in school, the answer is probably “no.”
In addition, since when is segregation and discrimination
considered MORAL? During those “fabulous fifties” blacks were
segregated and discriminated against not only in the South, but
in the North as well. African-American citizens were routinely
beaten and arrested by the police for daring to ask for their rights.
Interestingly, this is an obvious example of the rights of the
minority being sacrificed for the oppression of the majority.
What conclusion is to be drawn from this? As a matter of
opinion, I do not believe that anything would be gained from
introducing prayer into the public schools. If students wish to
pray, I see no reason why they shouldn’t; however, to enforce
one’s view on another is unconstitutional and fascist in nature.
In the words of one Methodist minister, “When they start to
teach God in the schools, I will teach trigonometry during
Sunday services.”
Thursday, December 7,1995
The Behrend College
Collegian
Published weekly by the students
erf
The Pennsylvania State University
at Erie. The Behrend College
Editor In Chief
Jennifer V. Colvin
Business Manager
Jennifer Heilman
News Editor
Danielle Murphy
Sports Editor
Nick Zulovich
Assistant Sports Editor
Julie Stocker
Entertainment Editor
Joe Mottillo
Photography Editors
Sheila Bickel
Joe Stiller
Opinion Editor
R. Carl Campbell 111
Advertising Manager
Jeremiah Bull
Copy Editor
Michelle Gruendl
Advisor
Mrs. Cathy Mesier
Artwork
Brad Martin
Collegian Staff: Ryan Bogart, Chad
Clouse, Mike Coursey, Eddie
Edwards, Doreen Foutz, Brian
Gregory, Ericha Hagenbuch, Bryan
Harkins, Adria Kovaiy, Stews
Landon, Adam Levenstein, Matt
Piizga, Colette Rethage, John
Rossomando, Joe Ryan, Sean
Siekkinen, Angie Yu.
Photographers: Dave Bouios,
Coteen Gritzen, Bob Misuiich, Chris
Nelson, Dan Nowicki.
Postal Information: The Collegian is
published weekly by the students of
The Pennsylvania State University at
Erie, The Behrend College; First
Floor, The J. Elmer Reed Union
Building, Station Road, Erie, PA
16563. 814-698-6488 or
814-898-6019 fax. ISSN 1071-9288
Utter Policy: The Collegian
encourages letters on news
coverage, editorial content and
University affairs. Letters should be
typewritten, double-spaced and
signed by no more than two persons.
Letters should be no longer than 400
words. Letters should include the
semester standing and major of the
writer. AH letters should provide the
address and phone number of the
writer tor verification of the letter.
The Collegian reserves the right to
edit letters for length and to reject
tetters. Letters submitted to The
Collegian become the property of the
newspaper. The Collegian is
published every Thursday during the
academic year on recycled paper.