In addition to surviving the novel coronavirus pandemic, students at a public high school in Huntington, West Virginia, apparently also fight to have their basic freedom of religion respected while in the building. What happened? As reported by the Associated Press, teachers (mistakenly) required a group of students to attend an assembly involving an evangelical preacher telling students to dedicate their lives to Jesus. If you went to a private school, you might be thinking, “Eh, weird, but par for the course.” But this is at a public high school.
Luckily students are well aware of the difference and why it matters in this case as they are now protesting after being forced to attend the event. The school’s chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA—more on this group later) put on the Christian revival assembly, which featured Nik Walker of Nik Walker Ministries. In protest, more than 100 students walked out of homeroom on Wednesday, Feb. 9, and chanted “My faith, my choice,” reminding folks that the separation of church and state is … a very important thing. Dozens have also signed a petition asking for an apology from the administration.
