Middle School Graduation Ceremony example essay topic

A new story has become a case which has sparked controversy and debate throughout a public middle school and the community. A middle school graduation ceremony is scheduled to have a Jewish rabbi include a prayer in this special event. A middle school student has been outraged by this idea and has taken actions into her own hands. This student is suing to bar the prayer from the ceremony because she feels this will violate her first amendment rights, which are the freedom of speech.

The prayer is said to be against her beliefs. The school argued her case and said the prayer was no more than a traditional blessing and no more an establishment of religion than the pledge of allegiance. Federal court judges will be issuing an opinion tomorrow stating whether or not to exclude the prayer from the ceremony. Despite the tradition, a graduation ceremony should incorporate the input and say so of the entire audience.

If an event taking place in the occasion is going to be in any way offensive to the people then why take part in it in the first place? The school should understand other individuals' viewpoint and religious stance and not try to contest to it because its tradition, but by respecting the culture or religion of others and compromising and coming to a solution that is appropriate for all religions. A simple solution to this religious controversial issue would be to understand where each party stands with what their views are and why they are strong to stick to them. The student feels it is violation of her religious rights and the school says its tradition and is no more establishment of religion than the pledge of allegiance. A happy "meet in the middle" scenario could perhaps include a blessing at the ceremony, however not from a religious speaker.

The blessing could be given by a representative by choice and the school would still hold their tradition and the student would ultimately not be offended by the event. In due course the Federal court's opinion will be similar to the one described; they will bar the prayer and religious blessing from the graduation ceremony due to the fact that it creates an issue such as the Engel vs. Vitale in 1962 which argued that the prayer violated the establishment clause. Because the majority of the Supreme court agreed that". ... it is no part of business of government to compose official prayers for any group of the American people to recite... ". , in 1992 the court further restricted school prayer by ruling that prayers at public school graduations were unconstitutional. Therefore, the opinion predicted for the Federal courts to take is that the prayer and blessing will be taken from the graduation ceremony.