Virginia student takes stand against silence
By Charles Haynes
Senior scholar, First Amendment Center
11.12.00
When his teacher calls for a moment of silence every morning, Jordan Kupersmith gets up and leaves the room.
What does Jordan, a high school student in Loudoun County, Va., have against silence?
This week I had a chance to ask him at a community meeting called to discuss the controversy.
It's not the silence that bothers him, he explained, but the intent behind it. He's convinced that when Virginia legislators passed a law mandating a daily minute of silence in classrooms, their primary purpose was to promote prayer.
Jordan objects on grounds of conscience to participating in what he considers a religious activity in a public school.
This summer Jordan and seven other students filed suit challenging the constitutionality of the "minute of silence." Last week a federal judge upheld the law, ruling that it had a secular purpose that doesn't advance or inhibit religion.
Jordan tells me that he and his fellow students will appeal the decision.
One of the core issues here is the purpose of the law. The legislative act itself simply requires a minute of silence during which students may "meditate, pray or engage in any other silent activity." But the law's opponents claim that legislators intended to encourage prayer. Besides, they argue, even mentioning prayer in the law is unconstitutional.
The judge dismissed these arguments, saying that "students may think as they wish – and this thinking can be purely religious in nature or purely secular in nature. All that is required is that they sit quietly."
If this case eventually goes to the Supreme Court, who wins?
Jordan is counting on a 1984 Supreme Court decision striking down an Alabama "moment of silence" law on the grounds that the legislative history of the act proved that Alabama lawmakers clearly wanted to promote prayer in schools.
This time around, however, it appears doubtful that the court will strike down the Virginia law. Proving that the legislature intended to encourage prayer will be a difficult task since the law's sponsors have been careful to articulate secular purposes for the minute of silence.
Whatever the ultimate outcome of the case, Jordan and his friends will continue to leave the room during the silence. At first, school officials weren't sure how to respond to this form of civil disobedience. Jordan even received detention for leaving the classroom without permission.
But now administrators accommodate the protesters, allowing them to step out of class during the minute of silence. That's the right thing to do. In the spirit of the First Amendment, school officials should do what they can to respect claims of conscience.
You may or may not agree with the students about this law. But it's hard not to admire their willingness to stand up for their convictions. That's part of what it means to be a citizen in this extraordinary place we call America.
Your questions and comments are welcome. Write to:
Charles Haynes
The Freedom Forum First Amendment Center
1101 Wilson Blvd.
Arlington, VA 22209
E-mail: chaynes@freedomforum.org