South Carolina Student Files Lawsuit Against School District

Yesterday. Max Nielson filed a lawsuit (PDF) with the help of FFRF against Lexington/Richland District 5 on the grounds that the prayer that was to happen during his graduation would be unconstitutional.

There was a vote by the senior class earlier in the semester to determine whether or not to have a prayer during graduation, but the vote itself was faculty-led. This is in accordance with district policy which says that benedictions at school events should be determined by majority vote.

Max is suing on the grounds that the policy itself is unconstitutional:

The clear purpose of the policy is [to] promote religion; it… lacks a secular legislative purpose; and it cultivates, fosters and fertilizes a most excessive governmental entanglement with religion. The mere passage by the District of this policy evidences a purpose and perception of government establishment of religion. The policy’s text and the circumstances surrounding its enactment reveal that it has such a purpose. The District’s implementation of an electoral process that subjects the issue of prayer to a majoritarian vote has established a governmental mechanism that turns the school into a forum for religious debate and empowers the student body majority to subject students of minority views to constitutionally improper messages. The award of that power alone is constitutionally repugnant.

Yesterday was the graduation and it went exactly as planned, including the prayer. Since Max is a friend of mine, I decided to go and support him. None of the local news networks had contacted Max before the ceremony, so the story was still relatively quiet. Most of the student body so far has supported Max in his efforts for equality, so it has really only been the school district blocking equality.

Here’s video of the pre-graduation prayer (Apologies for the terrible quality — there was a baby and I was far away)

Gentlemen, please remove your hats.

Father, we come today once again asking for your guidance, protection, and mercy. Be with us, Lord, as we venture out into the world and start this journey called life… lead us all, Lord, through the path that you intend for us to follow. We ask that you will continually watch over us because we need you now more than ever and help us, Lord, with any future endeavors that we may face. Because we know with you all things are possible. We thank you for all the teachers, parents, and administrators who [got] us through our 12 years of school. We also pray for families of those who didn’t make it here to see this day, but remain in our hearts. Our final prayer, Lord, is that you grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, the courage to change the things we can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

It was a relatively normal graduation and nothing (else) went awry. After graduation, a news anchor was waiting for Max to get a quote.

So far he’s been covered on WLTX and he was interviewed by WIStv in the evening.

Overall it went about as expected for the day. Congratulations on graduating, Max!

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Matri

"Except they said it 17 times.An hour.Every day."

Gordon Duffy

I’d have been so tempted to bring an air horn
Ewan

“Most of the student body so far has supported Max in his efforts for
equality, so it has really only been the school district blocking
equality.”

So, why couldn’t they just vote against the prayer then?
Marguerite

Congratulations to Max on his graduation.

I recall that prayer was supposed to be “nonsectarian,” and yet it refers to one god, and specifically a male god. That excludes most Pagans. This god is also presumed to be watching over us and guiding us, which excludes Deists. And finally, “with you all things are possible” is a direct reference to Matthew 19:26. Do Christians really think that praying to a male singular god and tossing in references to the Bible is “nonsectarian,” just as long as they don’t add “in Christ’s name, Amen”?
Slow Learner

Well, if a lot of them are Christian, it may have taken Max raising the issue and talking about why it is wrong before they realised the problem. Assuming Max hadn’t got the word out before the vote on whether to have a prayer, a lot of them will have voted for it because ‘prayer is good’ or ‘why not’ without really thinking about it.

Alternatively, the body of the school as a whole might be supportive of Max, but a majority of his own year-group in favour of the prayer. Coupla different ways to interpret that.
randall.morrison90

And don’t forget, there can be MONEY in those lawsuits.

Ask Dan Barker; he makes a nice income from this kind of activity.
Atheistbob

Having the students “take a vote” is the smarmy way they sneak in the prayers at the High Schools. They know that peer pressure usually gets prayer a place on the docket and they can claim, “Well the STUDENTS wanted it.”. I applaud Max and other young adults who see through this religious hypocrisy! We have more than enough superstitious institutions in which anyone can pray, there is no need to attempt to subvert logic and reason in our public schools!
randall.morrison90

The schools in KC, Mo have been full of drugs, violence, rape and even some killings.

Yeah, sure, some kid praying is the problem in our wonderful public schools.
Nathan Brown

Great post indeed like to read more…Hope it will come soon from the bogger.
Freedog2013

Are you saying we should singular tunnel vision and ignore violations of our constitution?
Thorny264

At this point there have been enough lawsuits that the school has got to know they are going to lose and basically give away money. So if someone wants to stand up for the law and makes some money in the meantime then good for them and bad for the idiots who keep making this lawsuits happen.

But I’m guessing you think the only reason this kid is doing this is for money because let me guess only christians can do the right thing and Atheists are all immoral.
Thorny264

Just because there are worse problems doesn’t mean we should ignore the smaller problems, they are all illegal and they should all be tackled.
TerranRich

“Gentlemen, please remove your hats.”

Not for this shit, I won’t.
TerranRich

People get things stolen from them all the time. People get raped all the time. Since the rapes are worse than theft, are we supposed to also ignore the theft because there are worse things going on?

Your argument fails on so many levels. Just because one problem trumps another, doesn’t mean the “lesser” problem isn’t important at all.
TerranRich

Jessica Ahlquist brought her suit to Cranston High School West for money, don’tcha know… all $25 of it.
Fsq

The problem with this argument is that we collectively pay for these asinine and idiotic lawsuits. We end up paying the settlements, and we also have to help pay for the legal defense of the stupid school districts who flagrantly violate law.

As a property owner and taxpayer, I have a real problem with this attitude.

I want the payers stopped and the separation upheld, but I find it repugnant I end up paying on all ends.

That is effed.
TerranRich

Right. Money. Because every Constitutionally-based lawsuit is all about teh moneh. Like Jessica Ahlquist, right? She sued Cranston High School West for The Money… all $25 of it.

Sometimes, believe it or not, it’s not about the money, randall.morrison90… sometimes, it’s about principle. Gee, what a concept, eh?
One Side

Based on that prayer, there is no violation of the establishment clause. Good luck getting damage from a hurting economy and I find it interesting that “most” of the student body supports this, so 51% huh? Any verifiable numbers?
Hemant Mehta

Barker doesn’t make money from the lawsuits. He gets the same salary from the FFRF win or lose. That’s how it works for just about all the non-profit groups that file lawsuits, Christian ones included.
Patrick

He’s an eagle scout too? Unfortunate that they don’t like atheists either.
Daniel

If it makes you feel any better, given religion’s tax exempt status, as a property owners and tax payer, you are also subsidizing churches that are paying off victims of abuse, megachurches that provide malls/athletic clubs/coffee shops for their members, and so on. Heck, your tax dollars indirectly go to Fred Phelp’s gas bill as he drives about the country.

As a taxpayer, I want schools to stop doing things that established case law has shown to be clearly illegal and I would also like to quit subsidizing religions.

That those things are happening is “effed”.
Ejcpromo

I understand and agree, but when idiots like this superintendent goes ahead and flagrantly breaks the law, we end up paying for his defense along with the settlements.

I understand that the tax exempt status of churches is disgusting, and beieve me, I am a huge activist itrying to get that privilige reviked from the churches, but the lawsuits are disgusting because we all pay, even for the bad guys.

I dont like paying for the bad guys defense.
Ulyanov

Kids need to be safe from violence and drugs before you start bellyaching about prayer.

So, YES…the LESSER problem is not so important, moron.

So if you child get raped, mst tell them “people get raped all the time” you fucking fool
One Side

What we have here is a picture of Chewbacca, and on the otherside, we have a case that will be argued and properly solved in federal court, and hopefully decide and determine future cases pertaining to this matter, what do these two things have to do with eachother? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! I rest my case.
Ulyanov

Nonsense, because if the FFRF gets the money they can pay his salary and a Bonus.

Lets see a FINANCIAL STATEMENT FOR THE FFRF.
Ulyanov

And sometimes it IS about the money…the law firm who hhandles the DOVER suit because they “believed in the cause” got a MILLION BUCKS!

And if money is not an issue, then atheists should just graciously waive all monetary awards in the spirit of good will and because they just do GOODNESS FOR GOODNESS sake, not for reward.
Baby_Raptor

Pretty sure you could just Google that.
Ulyanov

Too bad. You have to.

Don’t worry, the government owns you and will eventually decide what health care you get and how long you can live.
Baby_Raptor

Maybe you should go take a break…Not only are you being highly insulting when there’s no need, you’re borderline incomprehensible.
TerranRich

You have no idea how the legal system works, do you? There HAS to be a monetary value assigned to the suit. That’s why, in the case of Ahlquist v. Cranston, she sued for $25… and promptly gave it to charity.

Sometimes it is about the money, but sometimes it’s not. Don’t assume it is until you have proof for that claim.
Slow Learner

Do you have any idea how much it’d cost them to run a case like that?

A million dollars could be very reasonable for the work done.I hesitate to ask for sympathy for lawyers, but the workman is worthy of his hire. That’s not a financial benefit to anyone like the FFRF, only the law firm who have been doing their jobs and working their arses off protecting the US constitution.
Ulyanov

Yes, I do go into a rage when some stinking fool says people get raped all the time and blows it off.

The fucking fool.

My apologies that he is a fucking fool.
judith sanders

The AA prayer? Really? I’ve always hated that loser bit of doggerel. If everyone had the “wisdom” to know what could and could not be changed, we wouldn’t have much progress in any field. I’m sure somebody told Max he couldn’t change his school policy.
Daddyleg

bullsiht, if the majority were for this ,it would be national news,
Daddyleg

he needs to be kicked out, the boy scouts believe in god, he has been lying this whole time,
Au_catboy

Well, Ulyanov, if your bizarre delusion that FFRF is raking in gobs of
money by suing christians for breaking the law is giving you such a
terminal case of the vapors, there’s an easy solution: Tell your fellow
death cultists to STOP BREAKING THE FUCKING LAW, ASSHOLES!!
Au_catboy

Reeding comprehenshun: U R DOIN IT RONG!
Barberj2

Because talking in all caps makes my point!
Au_catboy

Well, randall, if your bizarre delusion that FFRF is raking in gobs of
money by suing christians for breaking the law is giving you such a
terminal case of the vapors, there’s an easy solution: Tell your fellow
death cultists to STOP BREAKING THE FUCKING LAW, ASSHOLES!!
Barberj2

I graduated from a Lex/Rich Dist. 5 school, and it’s awesome to see someone standing up like this in my home area! Well done!! 😀
@ramenneedles

What a tool
Coyotenose

Noooot so good at the reading comprehension there, Ulyanov.

Not that I expect you to get this, but according to your own “logic”, people need to be safe from rape before YOU start bellyaching about people criticizing prayer.

Fucking fool.
Coyotenose

Somewhere in KC, more people are doing more drugs and getting raped and killed than in your schools. Therefore, by your own logic, you should stop whining about KC schools until that’s taken care of.

See how that works now?
Au_catboy

These christianist idiots always babble nonsense that only works if it’s absolutely impossible for anyone to do more than one thing or support more than one cause. And yet, the very fact that they’re whining on the Internet about their cult not being allowed to break the law with impunity shows that they don’t give a flying fuck about real problems by their own stupid argument!
Coyotenose

You’re just not very good at this. They got paid for work done. That money was not free. Human beings have to eat and pay bills.

Setting up a moronic straw man argument doesn’t look less mornic just because you use your caps lock button at random.
Coyotenose

All caps would make more sense than this. His choices of words to capitalize are generally nonsensical.
Coyotenose

Can you explain exactly what is asinine and idiotic about upholding the Constitution?

Trying to somehow find fault with both the lawbreakers and those who don’t let them get away with it… once again, I’m going to have cite XKCD #774. Pretending to be superior by claiming all sides are bad is ignorant and repugnantly arrogant.
Coyotenose

My apologies, the context of your later posts makes it clear that you were going somewhere else with this.
Coyotenose

*holds out a Snickers*
Kate Donovan

Uhhh…autocorrect? Chewbacca?
Ulyanov

So are you defending rape, you stupid cunt?
GloomCookie613

He already addressed this in another post’s comments. He’s a member of a UU church. They accept non believers and the BSA recognizes and accepts UU scouts.
datadev1

I am an Eagle Scout and it is one of my proudest achievements but there are times I am ashamed of the BSA organization for there stand on belief in myths and its stance on homosexuality. Close minded bigotry.
Itarion

Absolutely that’s nonsectarian. After all, there are lots of gods that go by both “Lord” and “Father”.
/sarcasm
Incidentally, prayer syntax and wordage varies by religion, so even without names being mentioned in the prayer, it’s still possible to identify the religion of origin based on that.
Itarion

I bet some people would have thought you were just really into it.
Larry_Carter_Center

Graduation is a celebration of intelligence & completed duties. Prayer is an admission of ignorance & creationist rebuff to science. Public schools are elemental offices & trust for equal protection of law. Theocracy violates Article 6. Religious students can pray quietly if stupid enough to look backwards into mythology & patriarchy. American Atheists look forward to inclusive secular education. In REASON We Trust. http://www.hireLarryFireBobby 843-926-1750 @VoteLarryDis114 Larry_Carter_Center@yahoo.com
KhanneaSuntzu

He should be afraid for his life. The US is a militant theocratic tyranny. These people are crazy. They’ll kill him!
Lydia Byers

Way to be a dick Max. Now.. instead of being known for your accomplishments… you’re known as the dick who sued the school because of a majority decided prayer. I’m an Athiest but this is just ridiculous.
Gildedlink

as the article stated, the vote wasn’t a student vote, it was a faculty vote.
eb

this is happening in the bible belt… so to the majority this is a whiny atheist, and they’re ignoring it… which is half the problem.
eb

those numbers are never released by the school. they just have the prayer.
V-Dawg Lacrucious

Get over yourself you attention whoring Jessica Waanabe….you didn’t have to listen, you didn’t have to partake, stop wasting valuable resources, money and time, to ultimately try and satisfy your obviously overly inflated sense of self-worth…”Mommy, I never get the attention I want, I’m gonna complain and make a big deal over nothing so that someone will finally notice me!” BOO-HOO, you little brat. Wake up, there are things worth causing stir over and this isn’t one. One day you will mature and be embarrassed for you lame actions. You make me sick, wasting so many people’s time, simply because you are an attention whore.
wmdkitty

Maybe if you pretend to throw it, he’ll chase after it…
Simon

Lmao, what an idiot. If you’re an Atheist, you wouldn’t care about anything people with religions do, BECAUSE THEY AREN’T GODDAMN REAL. You’re supposed to be smart if you’re an Atheist. *facepalm*
Vision_From_Afar

Standing up for Constitutional Law is being a dick? Good thing you weren’t around in the 60s…
Dillon Maikke

die in a fuckin hole max your pathetic this just another publicity stunt. and before you go thinking I’m just some religious nut I hate all religion