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Eastfield College is accused of suppressing the religious expression of students after a ceramics instructor compared the crucifix to a swastika and refused to allow students to create religious symbols.
“Unfortunately, not everyone has the Christmas spirit or even a basic understanding of religious freedom,” Kelly Shackelford, chief counsel of Liberty Legal Institute, said in a statement. “The government cannot ban crosses and religious symbols.”
The controversy involves retired auto worker Joe Mitchell and Eastfield Community College in Mesquite, TX. Since 2006 he has been enrolled in a non-credit ceramics class comprised mostly of retirees. During the spring class, Mitchell made a number of crosses for friends and fellow parishoners at his church, St. Bernard of Clairvaux Catholic Church.
That’s when he ran into trouble. According to court documents obtained by FOX News Radio, a memorandum was sent to students forbidding them from creating any religious items including Christmas or Easter-related items.
“The making of such pieces at Eastfield College demeans the goals of the ceramic program at EFC,” stated a memo written by James Watral, chair of the ceramic program.
Mitchell filed a complaint with the college, alleging they were discriminating against people of faith. The college apologized and offered an amended rule that prohibited replicas of religious items. But last fall, Mitchell ran afoul of the school once again when an instructor questioned whether he would be creating any religious-themed work.
Here’s what happened next, according to the Liberty Legal Institute:
“Ms. Blackhurst then asked Mr. Mitchell if he considered a swastika offensive. He responded, ‘Of course.’ She then proceeded to compare the cross to a swastika. She stated that many individuals view the cross as an offensive symbol in the same way that many people are offended by swastikas, and that his crosses would therefore not be fired by the department.”
“I felt humiliated and that my spirituality was being demeaned,” Mitchell said in a written statement. “The whole point of art is to express who you are.”
“It appears the Eastfield College art department has no room in the inn for artistic religious expression such as that of Michelangelo or Leonardo da Vinci; hopefully they will change their mind,” said Hiram Sasser, director of litigation at Liberty Legal Institute.
College officials issued the following statement:
“Eastfield College’s current ceramics policy tells students that they should not use symbols, icons or other “cookie cutter” images. The purpose of those references is to compel students to create original works that express their artistic perspectives through projects assigned by instructors. The college has never intended to circumvent expressions of religious or artistic freedom or violate any laws with regard to religious freedom. ”
The Liberty Legal Institute has given the college until Jan. 23 to address the matter or else face a federal lawsuit.
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Of course religious objects are not art unless they are being peed on or defaced in some way. Ah the hypocrisy of the left!
next time someone asks if a swaztical is offensive say no..why? because the swaztika was originally a jewish religious symbol. and is still used as suck….course libs dont like all thoes facts getting in the way of their "progress"
Whatever happened to freedom of expression? Clearly that only applies when it suits the powers that be; in this case, petty little bureaucrats with a terribly twisted view of the world and an unshakable belief in their own superior intellect.
The Constitution provides for freedom OF religion — not freedom FROM religion! Perhaps these folks ought to spend a semester or so in Saudi Arabia or Iran and learn about exclusionary governments!
The history of art is full of works that depict religious stories. Not only that, but each artist was fully capable of taking such "cookie cutter" subject matter and turning into beautiful, individual pieces of art that are are still different from one another and expressed the artist's creative vision. Perhaps the art department needs a lesson in art history.
The swastika is a symbol of a regime that killed millions of people. The cross is a symbol of a plan that saves people.
the first amendment guarantees freedom of religion, and freedom from religion. public versus private. if tax dollars are going towards it, it should be free of religion. btw it's ironic that the swastika is considered more offensive than the cross, given their respective histories. "the nazis" killed about 6 million people. "the christians" untold hundreds of millions!
So why was this teacher not fired? Oh, that's right, liberal ideas are celebrated (and supported by our tax dollars – even at private colleges) at universities and in public schools. Yet if any teacher or other school official ever expressed a slightly conservative idea the left would be screaming for them to be immediately fired.