A Dallas school has told a teen that she isn't allowed to wear a rosary that was a gift from her mother to school because rosaries are considered to be gang symbols.
Tabitha Ruiz was stopped by security guards at Seagoville High School in Dallas last week and told to take off the silver and ruby beaded rosary, a gift from her mother. On Monday, the same thing happened when she again came to the school wearing the beads.
"I went to school, walked through the metal detectors and they told me to take it off," the teen said. "I asked them why and they said because it's gang-related."
via foxnews.com
Although rosaries are not specifically banned, it is up to the principal to make the decision.
She and her mother plan to take the case to court if the ruling isn't changed.
"If we back down to everything the gangs are doing, the gangs win," said Taire Ferguson. "Why should we take away her choice to express her religious beliefs because gangs are doing it? It's not right."
And for a commentary by a teen journalist, who saw this controversy at her school,click here.
She writes in part:
Was it really right to tell them to cover their religious symbols? I wear mine all of the time. It may not always be a rosary, but it still has a Catholic cross on it. No one ever said anything to me. Even though our principal may also be a Catholic and Hispanic, I believe there is more to this story than meets the eye.
I think the boys might be misunderstood.
Both have had a rough past, but as far as I know, neither has ever been in a gang. I even had a heart-to-heart conversation with one of them and I learned that he wished he hadn't been rebellious in the past because it has hurt his reputation and he is trying to change. It hurts every time someone does something to make him feel like a gang member; people assume the worst of him because he dresses a certain way. So what if he likes to wear Dickies? Why does it matter if he wears blue, black, white, and brown? Honestly, so do I. But nobody tells me anything about it. So why them? That may have been part of why they reacted the way they did.
I think society lives in a world of stereotypes. It has to stop, and superficial reporting doesn't help.
1 comment:
Ugh. This is one of the many reasons I refuse to teach in the Dallas Independent School District. DISD is a nightmare and the teachers are underpaid for all the crap they put up with (moreso in my opinion than other teachers). DISD also has the worst TAKS scores in the state.
When I get my certification training completed, I will apply to work in any ISD in the area. Except Dallas. *shudder*
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