Editorial: Statewide silence only hushes the Constitution
By Daily Bruin Staff
Oct. 11, 2007 9:01 p.m.
Public schools in Illinois are now required to mandate a moment of silence at the start of each school day, which advocates say is to provide students with the opportunity to reflect on the day’s coming events or for silent prayer.
But this law is designed less for the stated justifications and more as an attempt to mandate silent prayer in public schools.
Such a law is alarming because it undermines the Supreme Court’s ruling in 2001 which prohibited the mandate of instituting a moment of silence in public schools.
Children should not be forced to participate in a silent prayer activity, which is what this policy strategically aims to do.
The law states, “this period shall not be conducted as a religious exercise but shall be an opportunity for silent prayer or for silent reflection on the anticipated activities of the day.”
It’s safe to assume that students are not going to reflect on the day’s algebra lesson, so this provision is a legislator’s ploy to deny the law’s obvious intentions.
To preserve the integrity of our constitution and fair quality of education, lawmakers should not replace schools’ valuable educational time with religious practices.
The public must hold lawmakers accountable for upholding the constitution and ensuring that policies against Supreme Court rulings do not gain momentum.
