Wiccan student seeks spiritual awakening at Bay High
TONY SIMMONS
The News Herald
At least one Bay High School student thinks there isn't enough religion in today's public schools. She wants to start a club that would fill her perceived need for greater understanding and spirituality among students.
Jennifer Saunders, 16, said she practices Wicca, a nature-based religion, and is a member of the Bay Area Pagan Society. She said the idea of a "comparative religion" club came to her after she had been meditating during a lunch period and a Christian friend asked her what she was doing. "It hit me: Why not a club where people can talk about things like this?"Saunders said. "There are two strictly-Christian religious clubs on campus, but this one would include discussions and debate about any real, legitimate religion."
The Fellowship of Christian Athletes and First Priority are two of the Christian organizations among the many recognized student activities at Bay. Freshman Tyson Lampe, 16, said a comparative religion group would increase understanding among students of differing beliefs. "Some people get criticism and ridicule against their beliefs, but I think everybody's entitled to their own beliefs," Lampe said. "I believe in all the religions, and I think they're all all right. If you had a club where all the religions were there, then everybody would be happy."
Saunders feared students could not gather and discuss questions of spirituality because an unrecognized club could be considered a "secret society" under the district's Zero Tolerance policy. The policy allows for suspension or expulsion of students who participate in secret societies. "There's nowhere we can talk about it," Saunders said. "If you're strictly Christian, then you can go to one of those clubs, but there isn't equality right now." Bay Principal Fred Goodwin said "comparative religion" might be better served in a classroom setting. He noted, however, that students are free to form any kind of non-disruptive religious organization or to gather and discuss issues without forming an official club. "We would try not to be biased about religious discussions, or student-led groups in general, whatever the subject matter was," Goodwin said. "We certainly have no problem with there being such a forum on this campus...We have a few students who say they are Wiccan, and they aren't disruptive.They may dress a little different, sometimes, but we respect their beliefs."
Goodwin's position was reflected in the comments of student Mark Hale, 16, who identified himself as "a freshman repeat" and a "Celtic Wiccan." "The administrators give everybody the time of day," Hale said. "They're real supportive of all the students on the campus. There are a lot of us (Wiccans and Pagans) there, but a lot of them won't admit it." Saunders first became interested in Wicca four years ago. She recently wrote a research paper comparing and contrasting Wicca and Christianity for an English class. "Wicca is a nature-based life-affirming religion that follows a moral code and seeks to build harmony among people and empower the self and others," Saunders said. "Contrary to popular beliefs, Wicca has nothing to do with 'evil' magic or Satanism, but rather focuses on spiritual growth and healing." Saunders needs only to conform to the rules governing student organizations if she wants to form a recognized campus club, Goodwin said. Those rules include writing a charter and bylaws, retaining a teacher sponsor and gathering a roster of students who are interested in participating. "We don't care about (the religion)," Goodwin said. "We afford space and the opportunity to other clubs and would do the same for this one." Saunders has written a mission statement for the group and gathered about 100 signatures of students advocating a club, although Goodwin said that does not count as a potential club roster. She is in the process of preparing bylaws and a charter, but no sponsor has stepped forward to take responsibility for the group. "We had a sponsor, but the controversy over the group made her afraid she might lose her job or something," Saunders said. Tarrah Burnette, a 14-year-old freshman, said a club with an open-minded approach to world religions would benefit Christians as well as those who practice other beliefs. She described herself as a Catholic with an interest in Wicca.
"I think it would be useful in ways because there are lots of religions at our schools and only the Christian clubs," Burnette said. "If a Catholic wants to join the current clubs, the answer is no. This would be a way to get opinions out and a place to go after school."
The writer can be contacted at tsimmons@pcnh.com