Rosary ban tied to ‘safety’

By William R. Toler

A 12-year-old girl could be a gang member according to a Nebraska school system.

Sixth-grader Elizabeth Carey has been banned from expressing her faith by Fremont Public Schools. The forbidden gang symbol: rosary beads.

“The principal said I couldn’t wear my necklace at all because gangsters were wearing it,” she told KETV-7.

Fremont Public Schools adopted the policy last year, according to the station. Steve Sexton, the superintendent for the system, used the tired old line that the policy is for “student safety.”

“We had information from law enforcement that there were documented instances of gang activity in the area and we had information that states that the rosary was being used as a symbol of gang affiliation,” Sexton said.

Local Catholics are understandably upset.

Hair-brained school makes student shave ‘gang symbol’ design

By William R. Toler

ELIZABETH CITY–Jay Cowell was told by school officals to get another haircut because they said he had gang symbols etched into his head.

Cowell, an eighth-grader at River Road Middle school, had a moon and star design shaved into his head, but was forced to change it before returning to school.

Natasha Cowell, the boy’s mother, isn’t too happy about her son being accused of being in a gang. She told the Daily Advance that school officials had previously questioned her about the possibilty of gang affiliation because he wore a red shirt to school.