ACLU Seeks Reversal on Star of David Ban
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GULFPORT, Miss. — The American Civil Liberties Union asked a court Friday to strike down a school policy against gang symbols that has been applied to a Jewish student’s Star of David.
The Harrison County School Board agreed to reconsider its policy at its next meeting, but the ACLU lawsuit filed in federal court in Biloxi asks that student Ryan Green be helped immediately.
“We are not convinced they will make the right decision and, since nothing would apparently happen until Sept. 7, that would mean Ryan is prohibited from wearing the Star of David during that time,” said David Ingebretsen, executive director of the ACLU in Mississippi.
The board has a policy against allowing students to wear gang symbols, and had refused to make an exception for Ryan, a high school junior.
Law enforcement officials say some gang symbols incorporate six-pointed stars but that they usually include other elements, such as a letter or a pitchfork. Crosses can be worn, the school system says, because currently there are no gangs that use a similar symbol.
School board members and representatives of the Jewish community met privately Thursday. In a joint statement, they agreed the school board’s decision was motivated by safety concerns and not religious prejudice.
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