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usatoday.com/news/religion/2008-03-16-rosaries-gangs_N.htm?csp=23&RM_Exclude=aol
ALBANY, Ore. — Never did Jaime Salazar imagine that wearing a rosarylike crucifix to school would provoke a national stir.
But when Salazar, 14, and his 16-year-old friend Marco Castro were suspended recently for refusing to remove the religious beads because they were “gang-related,” it thrust the issue into the headlines and has triggered questions over the evolving role of rosaries in religion, fashion and street gangs.
In the latest cultural take on a symbol that has gone from Catholic altars to Britney Spears’ bosom, the rosary is blurring the lines of liberty and safety on campus.
Some call the rosary-gang connection a stretch and urge caution. But for educators and public safety officials charged with blocking fluid gang trends, rosaries have become one more marker to track suspicious activity.
“It’s become part of the look,” said Victor Castro, a detective and school resource officer who leads gang awareness training in Hillsboro, Ore. “They use it as a reminder of protection.”
FIND MORE STORIES IN: Texas | God | Portland | Britney Spears | David Beckham | Lindsay Lohan | Vanity Fair | Nicole Richie | Virgin Mary | Oregonian | Dolce | Gabbana | Hillsboro | McMinnville
Salazar and Marco Castro said the necklaces were gifts from their mothers, worn mainly for sentimental reasons and because they liked the way the necklaces look.
Officials at South Albany High School said policy prevents them from offering details about the suspensions. “There’s more to the story, but because the boys are minors, we can’t talk about it,” said Jim Haggart, assistant to the local schools superintendent.
Surrounded by rosaries at the Rosary Shop in McMinnville, shop owner Seth Murray is troubled by the idea of such a sacred symbol associated with gangs. He said public officials should focus on behavior, not rosaries.
“If someone is engaged in violence, it doesn’t matter whether they’re wearing a rosary,” he said. “You should not seek people out for that reason.”
Over the years, the shop owner has grown all too familiar with the changing face of rosaries in contemporary culture. As celebrities such as Nicole Richie and Lindsay Lohan have taken to donning rosaries on coffee runs, Murray said other rosary makers began to grumble over the use, calling it inappropriate.
One customer asked Murray to fashion a dark rosary similar to the Dolce & Gabbana one sported by a shirtless David Beckham on the cover of Vanity Fair.
“If somebody would like a rosary, we’ll provide it,” Murray said, adding that when he sells it, he remains hopeful that the buyer will become curious about God and “it will turn into more.”
Salazar said he knows exactly what a rosary is, and that’s not what he was wearing. It was a baby blue, beaded crucifix, he said, that makes him think of his mother.
Salazar said his problems began last month when Principal Chris Equinoa asked him to put away the crucifix, which he was wearing as a necklace.
“He told me it was a rosary, and it was gang-related,” said Salazar, who now carries the crucifix in his pocket. “I told him ‘No, it’s not a rosary. It’s a necklace and it’s Catholic.’”
When Equinoa asked him to go to the office, Salazar said he went home. Later, he received a letter notifying him he was suspended for five days for defiance and gang-related behavior.
His friend, Castro, told the local newspaper that Equinoa approached him the same day about his rosary, a white string of beads with a cross and an image of the Virgin Mary. He put it away but wore it the next day, then refused to remove it. He was suspended for three days.
Salazar said he is not a gangster and does not dress like one. The suspension attracted much attention on television and online, but it is not the first of its kind. A similar case involving two students in New Caney, Texas, who were prohibited from wearing rosaries because they were considered gang-related ended up in a court in 1997. The judge ruled in favor of the boys, calling the school policy vague.
Changing gang trends leave educators to rely on advice from public safety officials and their own discretion, he said. In this case, a school resource officer informed the school to be on the lookout for rosaries.
“We tell them to look at the whole package,” said Ken Fandrem, a police officer assigned to the school. "Not just one article of clothing.
But David Fidanque, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon, said educators should proceed with caution. Their intentions may be valid, but they run the risk of violating students’ rights, he said.
“When it comes to restricting any form of expression, school officials have a pretty high bar to cross,” he said. “They better have very specific evidence that’s more than just a hunch.”
Victor Castro, the detective who tracks gang activity, takes a more subtle approach with rosaries, striving to be sensitive about cultural and religious traditions.
“I say, ‘Do me a favor. Wear it inside your shirt close to your heart. There’s a bad element out there that uses it in a different way.’”
Esmeralda Bermudez
usatoday.com/news/religion/2008-03-16-rosaries-gangs_N.htm?csp=23&RM_Exclude=aol
ALBANY, Ore. — Never did Jaime Salazar imagine that wearing a rosarylike crucifix to school would provoke a national stir.
But when Salazar, 14, and his 16-year-old friend Marco Castro were suspended recently for refusing to remove the religious beads because they were “gang-related,” it thrust the issue into the headlines and has triggered questions over the evolving role of rosaries in religion, fashion and street gangs.
In the latest cultural take on a symbol that has gone from Catholic altars to Britney Spears’ bosom, the rosary is blurring the lines of liberty and safety on campus.
Some call the rosary-gang connection a stretch and urge caution. But for educators and public safety officials charged with blocking fluid gang trends, rosaries have become one more marker to track suspicious activity.
“It’s become part of the look,” said Victor Castro, a detective and school resource officer who leads gang awareness training in Hillsboro, Ore. “They use it as a reminder of protection.”
FIND MORE STORIES IN: Texas | God | Portland | Britney Spears | David Beckham | Lindsay Lohan | Vanity Fair | Nicole Richie | Virgin Mary | Oregonian | Dolce | Gabbana | Hillsboro | McMinnville
Salazar and Marco Castro said the necklaces were gifts from their mothers, worn mainly for sentimental reasons and because they liked the way the necklaces look.
Officials at South Albany High School said policy prevents them from offering details about the suspensions. “There’s more to the story, but because the boys are minors, we can’t talk about it,” said Jim Haggart, assistant to the local schools superintendent.
Surrounded by rosaries at the Rosary Shop in McMinnville, shop owner Seth Murray is troubled by the idea of such a sacred symbol associated with gangs. He said public officials should focus on behavior, not rosaries.
“If someone is engaged in violence, it doesn’t matter whether they’re wearing a rosary,” he said. “You should not seek people out for that reason.”
Over the years, the shop owner has grown all too familiar with the changing face of rosaries in contemporary culture. As celebrities such as Nicole Richie and Lindsay Lohan have taken to donning rosaries on coffee runs, Murray said other rosary makers began to grumble over the use, calling it inappropriate.
One customer asked Murray to fashion a dark rosary similar to the Dolce & Gabbana one sported by a shirtless David Beckham on the cover of Vanity Fair.
“If somebody would like a rosary, we’ll provide it,” Murray said, adding that when he sells it, he remains hopeful that the buyer will become curious about God and “it will turn into more.”
Salazar said he knows exactly what a rosary is, and that’s not what he was wearing. It was a baby blue, beaded crucifix, he said, that makes him think of his mother.
Salazar said his problems began last month when Principal Chris Equinoa asked him to put away the crucifix, which he was wearing as a necklace.
“He told me it was a rosary, and it was gang-related,” said Salazar, who now carries the crucifix in his pocket. “I told him ‘No, it’s not a rosary. It’s a necklace and it’s Catholic.’”
When Equinoa asked him to go to the office, Salazar said he went home. Later, he received a letter notifying him he was suspended for five days for defiance and gang-related behavior.
His friend, Castro, told the local newspaper that Equinoa approached him the same day about his rosary, a white string of beads with a cross and an image of the Virgin Mary. He put it away but wore it the next day, then refused to remove it. He was suspended for three days.
Salazar said he is not a gangster and does not dress like one. The suspension attracted much attention on television and online, but it is not the first of its kind. A similar case involving two students in New Caney, Texas, who were prohibited from wearing rosaries because they were considered gang-related ended up in a court in 1997. The judge ruled in favor of the boys, calling the school policy vague.
Changing gang trends leave educators to rely on advice from public safety officials and their own discretion, he said. In this case, a school resource officer informed the school to be on the lookout for rosaries.
“We tell them to look at the whole package,” said Ken Fandrem, a police officer assigned to the school. "Not just one article of clothing.
But David Fidanque, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon, said educators should proceed with caution. Their intentions may be valid, but they run the risk of violating students’ rights, he said.
“When it comes to restricting any form of expression, school officials have a pretty high bar to cross,” he said. “They better have very specific evidence that’s more than just a hunch.”
Victor Castro, the detective who tracks gang activity, takes a more subtle approach with rosaries, striving to be sensitive about cultural and religious traditions.
“I say, ‘Do me a favor. Wear it inside your shirt close to your heart. There’s a bad element out there that uses it in a different way.’”
Esmeralda Bermudez
- but rather that I hoped it would help further discussion.
