"Wicked Witch of the West"
by Mairwen

Bonnie Harris, a single mother of one, never really had a problem with three churches within a one mile vicinity of her own home, despite her non-Christian orientation.  It remained this way for years with no huge complications.  However, it was in the year 2002 that a huge injustice occurred with regards to one of these churches and Harris's religious orientation.

Real Life Ministries had become a great success for churchgoers in Post Falls, ID and surrounding areas.  In fact, the regular attendance became such that the building needed to be expanded to accommodate more people.  This development of the church began in 2002.  There was a problem, however.  The people could not just stop church while the establishment was being upgraded.  Where would the people meet for service?  That is right, none other than our very own Post Falls High School.

Harris discovered these meetings one day as she drove by the school on her way home.  There were signs up advertising the services, and cars filled the parking lots.  As soon as she saw it, Harris felt there was something wrong with the picture.

One day, this disabled, single mother decided to contact the superintendent's office to make a simple request: to let a Wiccan group meet at the school the same as the church.  Harris figured this would go through; if one religious group could utilize the facilities, how could they not allow another?  Not that she expected a totally enthusiastic welcome (Wiccas are not usually esteemed in our society), but she did expect fairness.  Well, Harris was in for a disappointing surprise.

She started by telling the woman who answered the phone that she had heard that meetings were being held at the high school; the woman acknowledged this.  Then, Harris asked if she could organize a few meetings at the school for a Wiccan group.  The initial reaction was confusion.  So, Harris explained that a Wicca was a sort of pagan-non-Christian and earth-worshipping.  This was followed by an outburst of incredulous laughter.
Harris was silent for a moment and then declared, "No, I'm totally serious."  The laughter stopped.  After a moment of silence, the woman gave a condescending reply.

"We can't do that."

Of course Harris inquired as to the reason for this blunt refusal.  The response shocked her.

"Well," said the voice across the phone line, "that's not a religion."

Harris paused, and answered, "It is to me."

Again silence filled the phone line.  Suddenly, Harris realized that the phone connection had been cutoff.  The woman had hung up on her.

This is our school system.  A simple and innocent request by someone who happened to be of an unpopular religion turned down so discourteously.  Also, the thought comes to mind, "If the woman thought this to not be a religion, all the more reason to allow it, right?"  Not only was this incident unfair, it is not even allowed.

A Supreme Court ruling, The Good News Club versus Milford Central School, on June 11, 2001, recognized this kind of treatment as unfair and prohibited.  It stated:

".a community religious club offering prayer and Bible instruction could not be prevented from holding after-school meetings when other community organizations were permitted such access to school grounds"(1).

It would seem that if this were true for a Bible instruction group, it would be true for ALL religious groups.

What happened to Bonnie Harris and who knows who else, is unfair and unjust.  How would a Christian feel if a coven was allowed to meet on school grounds, while they were turned away with such disrespect.  Harris has even said that if the situation was switched and the church had been fighting for utilization of the school facilities, she would have fought with them, for it seems a little self-righteous to only fight an injustice when it conflicts with one's own views and beliefs.

This is just one example of some of the discrimination in our school system.  Our very own Post Falls Uncensored was told that we are not allowed to advertise in the school because we are not a school organization.  How, then, do they justify allowing the on-campus Christian group Alive to advertise for their meetings (which are supposed to be unassociated with the school) and for showings of The Passion of the Christ, which is obviously not a school event?  Besides this argument, there is an equal access rule that states:

"A school receiving Federal funds must allow student groups meeting under the Act to use the school media -- including the public address system, the school newspaper, and the school bulletin board -- to announce their meetings on the same terms as other noncurriculum-related student groups are allowed to use the school media. Any policy concerning the use of school media must be applied to all noncurriculum-related student groups in a nondiscriminatory matter. Schools, however, may inform students that certain groups are not school sponsored"(1).

I do realize that this does mean that Alive is allowed to advertise, but it adds strength to the argument that the school is treating PFU in an unfair manner by not allowing us the same rights.  The most that they can make us do is acknowledge on advertisements that we are not affiliated with the school itself.  After all, Post Falls Uncensored has provided a haven for many who have the minority opinion in our school.  Everybody needs to have a voice, and sometimes people have to build a safe place for others to share theirs.
Both of these incidents reflect the prejudice, not just of our school, but of our society.  People need to realize that their way of life is not the only one that exists or is "right."  We will never be truly united until we can fight for our neighbors' rights the same as we fight for our own.

Eleanor Holmes Norton ~ "The only way to make sure people you agree with can speak is to support the rights of people you don't agree with"(2).

Sources:
(1) http://pewforum.org/religion-schools/
(2) http://www.wisdomquotes.com/cat_equality.html