Mount Vernon News

MOUNT VERNON — Many Mount Vernon Middle School students have been vocal in their support of science teacher John Freshwater in his claims to a First Amendment right to display a Bible on his desk. But are those students willing to grant someone else equal rights to remain neutral or to disagree?

Several comments from students and parents indicate that acceptance and religious tolerance is a one-way street for many concerned.

Beth Murdoch, whose daughter attends the middle school, is one of the parents who has expressed concerns about the sometimes hostile environment at the middle school.

“You’re either for Mr. Freshwater or you’re against Mr. Freshwater. There’s no in between,” Murdoch said. “In the kids’ minds, I think, it is just the Bible issue. And who is going to go against the Bible? Nobody. But it seems like the ‘Christians’ are using that as an excuse to gang up on the ‘atheists.’

“My daughter Arie told me about a Jewish child who brought his Torah to school when other students brought Bibles in support of Freshwater,” she continued. “He thought he was supporting freedom of religious expression, and the other kids just ripped him apart. ‘What are you doing?’ they asked. ‘You can’t support Mr. Freshwater, you’re Jewish.’ So they don’t get it.

“I don’t think people realize the depth of what’s going on between the students. It’s a mob mentality right now. It’s peer pressure. To not wear a T-shirt and to not bring your Bible when they say bring your Bible and wear a T-shirt, you’re asking for trouble.”

Murdoch said one of Arie’s friends wore a T-shirt to school that read, “I don’t need to wear a special T-shirt to be a Christian.” That individual was reportedly pushed into the lockers and called a “stupid atheist b****.” That is not acceptable in Murdoch’s mind.

“No matter who it is, they have a right to their opinion,” she said. “That’s what freedom is all about. As Christians ourselves, we support freedom of religion 100 percent. But freedom of religion means freedom for all religions, not just one.

“My daughter knows that if someone shows up on the scene with a Bible, you need to find out more before you jump on the bandwagon. You need to find out what it is they really support. What are their beliefs? What’s their root belief system? A lot of people do things ‘in the name of God.’ But it doesn’t always mean that. They mean it’s a particular belief they support.”

Murdoch said that Arie sometimes wears a cross necklace to school. Another student, according to Murdoch, asked Arie why she wore the cross if she doesn’t support Freshwater.

“The cross doesn’t stand for Freshwater,” Murdoch said. “That’s ridiculous.”

Several people, Murdoch said, have asked what the response would be if a teacher had a wiccan book or a Koran on the desk.

“Would the students be supporting a teacher under those circumstances?” she asked. “I don’t think so. I understand [Freshwater] wants to protect his rights, I so understand that. But you have to be compassionate to other people, too. ... Everybody has flaws, and problems and sins. We’re full of sin. When you get up and be so self-righteous, you’re on a slippery slope.”

Christine Hamilton has two sons in the middle school.

“They have gotten harassed,” she said, “because they are friends with the boy [whose parents filed the complaint against Freshwater]. In our country, everyone’s allowed their religious opinion, but some of the middle school kids are just jumping on a bandwagon. If you’re not for Mr. Freshwater, you are going to be harassed. That is flat out what is happening in the middle school. Therefore, I think a lot of kids are for Mr. Freshwater because they don’t want to be harassed, they don’t want to be singled out. And who wants to be against the Bible? Nobody.

“This whole thing has divided the community,” Hamilton added. “I think a lot of kids who don’t blindly support Freshwater have decided, ‘Boy, friends that we thought we had, are not friends.’ It’s even coming out on the soccer field. ... This is the United States of America. You’re supposed to accept everybody for who they are, and none of this is supposed to matter. That is very frustrating to me. As a Christian, you shouldn’t judge anybody. ... We all believe in different things. I personally might not agree with the way you believe or the way you practice, but we can still be friends.”