tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20692053.post8926166738283485257..comments2023-11-03T06:35:48.003-05:00Comments on Shark and Shepherd: Graduation in churches?Rick Esenberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07280070509167910367noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20692053.post-25797195050197038802009-02-13T11:49:00.000-06:002009-02-13T11:49:00.000-06:00Brian, your hypothetical seems a bit ridiculous to...Brian, your hypothetical seems a bit ridiculous to me. You suggest there's a town so small that the gym can't hold the crowd for the (large? small?) graduating class yet the community is capable of supporting a megachurch with a larger space. Gosh, what about all the small towns that don't have air-conditioned megachurches? Holding it outdoors with a pre-publicized rain date won't work? In the town where I grew up 25 years ago, they held it outdoors. Where I am now, they have what I described.<BR/><BR/>Dad29, perhaps I should stop being so dry. Here I thought my sarcasm in my remark about the tax savings from small gyms would be apparent. (You and I probably agree that a little <I>in corpore sano</I> doesn't require the Coliseum.) Eisenhower HS, as we can tell by its name, has been around a while. The theater seats 840 and the upper gym is capable of holding all 1,200+ students for all-school assemblies.<BR/><BR/>What really makes me chuckle here? The way school admins are deemed to be full of wisdom when they do something that promotes religion. One minute they're drunk on taxes and WEAC wine and partying with Heather's two mommies, the next they're not only full of common sense but legally correct. One minute they're wisely frugal for living with a gym that's too small for the student body, the next the parents need more comfy cushions to watch Buffy get her diploma.Display Namehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15842340986220388709noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20692053.post-83323341331153567622009-02-13T08:21:00.001-06:002009-02-13T08:21:00.001-06:00Foust's solution: build larger gymnasiums.Deep th...Foust's solution: build larger gymnasiums.<BR/><BR/>Deep thinking, John.../sarcasmDad29https://www.blogger.com/profile/08554276286736923821noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20692053.post-62912727314741467182009-02-13T08:21:00.000-06:002009-02-13T08:21:00.000-06:00Foust's solution: build larger gymnasiums.Deep th...Foust's solution: build larger gymnasiums.<BR/><BR/>Deep thinking, John.../sarcasmDad29https://www.blogger.com/profile/08554276286736923821noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20692053.post-50212360951590249342009-02-13T00:51:00.000-06:002009-02-13T00:51:00.000-06:00I wasn't talking about New Berlin Eisenhower, nor ...I wasn't talking about New Berlin Eisenhower, nor was I talking about the town in which you grew up. If you'll re-read my post, I said "<I>What if</I> there's a small town where the only indoor area large enough to accomodate the school officials, graduating class, and family members who wish to attend is a church?" The question was a hypothetical one, and it remains unanswered: do you turn away people who would like to see their loved ones graduate, or do you hold the ceremony in a church?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20692053.post-59181702485753161752009-02-12T21:41:00.000-06:002009-02-12T21:41:00.000-06:00For example, New Berlin Eisenhower High School has...For example, New Berlin Eisenhower High School has 853 students, and they have a 99%+ graduation rate, so estimate about 200-210 per senior class. It's a combo middle-high school with about 1250 students total. Perhaps low-tax-loving citizens decided they shouldn't have a gym or theater capable of handling the crowd. On the other hand, their school web describes themselves as "upper-middle class" so you'd think they'd want a reasonable theater. In my small town, the graduating class is about 150 kids and our 996 seat theater handles it. Which small towns have churches that can hold 1,000 people but whose high school gym can't hold 1,000?Display Namehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15842340986220388709noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20692053.post-47975653269761914162009-02-12T18:19:00.000-06:002009-02-12T18:19:00.000-06:00What if there's a small town where the only indoor...What if there's a small town where the only indoor area large enough to accomodate the school officials, graduating class, and family members who wish to attend is a church? Many small towns have outdoor graduations on football fields, but if the weather is bad and the school's gym is too small to accomodate everyone, should you hold the ceremony in the church or should you have it in the gym and tell the students that there's only enough room for one or two guests per graduate?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20692053.post-79257272025956952542009-02-12T16:17:00.000-06:002009-02-12T16:17:00.000-06:00Imagine if a school decided to hold their graduati...Imagine if a school decided to hold their graduation ceremony in their gym but decided to erect a large Cross on the wall behind the speaker's platform. In this case, I think we'd agree that this was a deliberate act by the school officials that would no doubt be an Establishment Clause violation. Yet when the school officials deliberately choose to move the ceremony to a church with a large Cross at the front of the room, you want to say it's not a violation. I think the school officials are responsible for making the choice either way. <BR/><BR/>And what if a school actually decided to hold graduation in the Devil's Workshop? I can imagine other situations where school officials should be just as sensitive to places that might violate their other policies. They wouldn't hold it in a hall with a 30-foot tobacco or alcohol advertisement, or in a political hall with a 30-foot Obama poster on the wall. They wouldn't hold it in a theater at a casino if we all had to walk past the gambling. They wouldn't hold it in a place with 30-foot Satanic symbols on the walls, would they? They wouldn't hold it in the Freethought Hall if it had a 30-foot "There is no God" banner, would they?<BR/><BR/>Of the many school officials that I've met and known, they're very sensitive to appearances. It's rare for them to be seen smoking or drinking in public, especially when students might be around. They don't make potentially controversial decisions unless they believe they have the backing of their peers and the school board.Display Namehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15842340986220388709noreply@blogger.com