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Rosary causes concern at school STUDENT FACES GANG CHARGES

December 1, 2007 12:36 am

BY JEFF BRANSCOME

A Brooke Point High School junior says an assistant principal recently told him not to wear his rosary to school because it is a symbol of the notorious MS-13 gang.

However, the school administration says the student, 17, was never told he couldn't wear the rosary, but was asked to conceal it. They say their request came shortly after another Brooke Point student was arrested for recruiting gang members.

About a week and a half ago, the high school junior said, he witnessed a fight and was called to Assistant Principal Greg Daniel's office to talk about it.

After the conversation, Daniel and Deputy Carol Burgess questioned him about his rosary, said the student, who asked not be identified.

The assistant principal later told him to put the rosary in his pocket and to never bring it to school again, the student claims.

He and his mother, Chere Gallik, say the school is violating the teen's constitutional rights.

"Ever since I got confirmed, [the rosary] has just been something very special to me," said the student, who attends a Catholic church in Triangle. "I always like to have it with me. It's just comforting to me."

Stafford County school spokeswoman Valerie Cottongim said the boy was asked to wear the rosary underneath his shirt because its use by a gang could lead to problems.

"As the school division becomes educated on things that are happening in society, we are having to share that education with our students as well," Cottongim said. "We want to make sure the students are safe."

The student, who claims he was treated with suspicion, said he didn't wear the rosary again until yesterday. The teenager said he even saw the assistant principal without incident.

Cottongim on Thursday told The Free Lance-Star that the beads were permitted at Brooke Point.

However, the student said his fourth-period teacher referred him to Daniel for "defiance" because he politely refused to remove his rosary. Cottongim said yesterday that the assistant principal had not received such a notice.

Gallik said her son didn't even know the string of beads was used by the Latino street gang until school officials told him.

His rosary, which was blessed by a bishop, has black beads and a black and silver cross.

"You cannot take his rights away from him like that," Gallik said. "Maybe they should read the Constitution they're supposed to be teaching him. He's not disrupting anyone."

Her son, who has blond hair and blue eyes, doesn't exactly match the description of an MS-13 gang member, she said.

Virginia ACLU Executive Director Kent Willis said it's inappropriate for a school official to request that students conceal their rosaries.

"It would be an uphill argument for the school to ban something as commonly associated with religion as a rosary because it also happens to be something used by a particular gang," he said.

Cottongim said any student can wear a rosary, but that it can be confiscated "in connection with something else."

Gallik said her oldest son just got back from a long tour in Iraq, and it's important for her son at Brooke Point to have "his faith to hold onto."

The church she attends has offered legal assistance and she's considering accompanying her son to school Monday.

"I want to be able to wear my rosary without someone accusing me of being in a gang," the teen said. "There's nothing wrong with me wearing something expressing my faith. Why should I not do that?"