ALBANY, Ore. (AP) — A pair of Albany teenagers suspended for "gang-related behavior" because they were wearing crucifixes say they were only wearing gifts from their mothers.
Jaime Salazar, 14, and his friend Marco Castro, 16, were suspended from South Albany High School after they refused to put away the crucifixes.
Salazar said that Principal Chris Equinoa saw his necklace and told him to put it away. "I was like, why?" Salazar said. "He says it's related to gangs."
Salazar said he argued and was sent to the office, but went home instead. He later received a note saying he had been suspended for five days for "defiance and gang-related behavior."
Castro, a junior, was suspended for three days after refusing to take off a string of rosary beads, with a crucifix and a tiny picture of the Virgin Mary.
Equinoa said he could not comment on an individual student's case. But he said that as principal, he can ask a student to remove or cover items that could indicate gang ties — even a religious symbol. Any such directive would not be made without other information, he said.
Albany police say fellow officers in Salem and Hillsboro have been contending with crucifixes and rosaries as gang markers for the past several years.
Principals have the discretion to do what Equinoa did, said Jim Haggart, executive assistant to the superintendent.
"We're not trying to squash any religious symbols and we're not trying to get into religion, but we are trying to get into student safety, and that's what we're really concerned about," Haggart said.
Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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So now Christianity is a gang...what have our world come to?
Hey 1man, excellent point. There is a gang in the town I live in called the Reebok Bandits. They are known for breaking into cars and stealing stereos and such. Recently they have been known stepping up their crimes to car theft. So be careful if you were Reeboks you might get arrested. Lol
I thought this kind of persecution was for places like N. Korea or China....wow!
I live a few towns over from Albany and grew up there (I went to their rival HS). Albany doesn't have much of a gang problem. There's always the wanna be gangs, but nothing to prompt a move like this. I look forward to following this in the local news. How ridiculous.
I wonder if the man was wearing a suit? There are a lot of crimes committed by people in suits also. Maybe he's gang related.
And people thought that America is a free country, and people can wear anything they like to anywhere they want. Law banning religious symbol in public places is similar to law in Peoples Republic of China or Democratic Republic of Korea.