Unfortunately, when West Virginia makes national headlines, it’s rarely a good thing. And it wasn’t a good thing that NBC, CNN, The Washington Post and The Guardian picked up the story of Huntington High School students forced to attend a Christian revival and the subsequent student walkout.
In early February, Huntington High’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes invited Nik Walker Ministries to hold a revival in the auditorium during homeroom. The event was meant to be voluntary, with a sign-up sheet for students who wanted to attend.
Instead, two teachers took their entire homerooms. The official statement is that the teachers “mistakenly” believed the assembly was mandatory. But according to WCHS, one Jewish student who was forced to attend told his mother his homeroom teacher said she wanted to attend so the whole class had to go, too. This same student asked his teacher if he could leave, because the sermon was making him uncomfortable. He was told no, because the classroom door was locked.
Another student who was forced to attend texted his dad, “Is this legal?” The father wanted to call the principal, but according to the student, the principal was there at the revival.
At one point, attendees were told those who did not give their lives over to Jesus would go to hell. At the most recent school board meeting, a parent said Nik Walker visited Huntington East Middle School, too, and all seventh graders were called to the gym to attend, though students were not forced to stay.
The next week, students at the high school staged a walkout, carrying signs saying “My rights are non-negotiable” and “My faith, my choice.”
For anyone who may wonder why the high school students didn’t just leave the revival: Remember, these are kids who were told to be there by authority figures, in a setting where defiance can get them in serious trouble. Also, there is safety in numbers. It’s easy for school administration to discipline a handful of students found wandering the hallways when they should be in a classroom, as would have been the case of the Jewish student who wasn’t allowed to leave; it’s harder to punish a significant portion of the student body for walking out, as was the case with the organized protest.
We agree with the Cabell County superintendent: Students’ constitutional rights were violated. A government-funded institution imposed religious beliefs on the students forced to attend, thereby violating their First Amendment rights.
The Freedom from Religion Foundation and the American Civil Liberties Union both made the point the district allowed a religious event on school property during school hours. And that is where the separation of church and state line is drawn.
Virtually all other student organizations hold meetings and events before or after school, which takes advantage of the school building as a public space without interfering with other students. There can be no confusion about whether an event is mandatory if it takes place outside school hours.
Public schools are public places, and students and faculty have the constitutional right to practice their faith without infringement from government proxies. The FCA was within its rights to host a speaker reflecting its values, but the school and group crossed the line when it hosted a revival during school hours, creating the circumstances for students’ rights to be violated.
