never forget who runs the ACLU and who they represent On May 17, 1:44 pm, dick thompson <[email protected]> wrote: > Quote > A New Jersey high school with a 70-year tradition of hosting graduation > ceremonies in a historic auditorium is standing firm against legal > threats from the American Civil Liberties Union, which claims the event > violates the separation of church and state because of the > Christian-owned site's religious displays. > > For generations, graduates of Neptune High School have walked down the > aisle of the Great Auditorium in Ocean Grove, where the impressive > 6,500-seat venue dominates the landscape of one of the area s most > historic beach towns. Built in 1894, the auditorium is owned and > operated by the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, a Methodist group > that owns not just the building, but all of the land beneath every home > and structure in town. > > The ACLU of New Jersey threatened legal action against the Neptune > school district after an attendee at last year s graduation ceremony > took offense to the building s religious symbols and Christian-based > references -- among them a 20-foot white cross above the auditorium s > entrance. The ACLU asked the school to remove or cover up the cross and > three other religious signs, arguing their visibility during a public > school event is a First Amendment violation. > > School officials responded by agreeing to change the graduation program > to remove the student-led invocation and two hymns -- one titled Onward > Christian Soldiers -- to rid the ceremony of any religious references. > > The program was not of a religious nature -- it was more tradition than > anything else, said Neptune Public Schools Superintendent David Mooij. > But we decided we would change the program and delete the things this > individual found offensive. > > Removing or covering up the cross was another matter. The Camp > Association said it could not cover the cross, said to have been a gift > from movie director Woody Allen, who used the auditorium during shooting > for the 1980 film "Stardust Memories." Nor would they cover up the two > illuminated indoor signs Holiest to the Lord and So Be Ye Holy > which are said to be the oldest operating electric signs in America. > > Read > more:http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/05/17/aclu-threatens-legal-action-nj-h...
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