A 15-year-old Minnesota high school student was asked to remove his rosary beads by school officials this week, as they say it is against their school policy.
Jake Balthazor says he wore the rosary beads, a gift from his grandmother who is currently suffering from breast cancer, to help him feel close to her.
“She has breast cancer, and I’m trying to support her for it,” he told CBS News.
But Balthazor, who is actually Lutheran, not Catholic, was surprised when the prayer beads landed him in the principals office at the Coon Rapids High School.
“They think it’s like a gang sign,” Balthazor said.
The Anoka-Hennepin School District student discipline policy forbids “any apparel, jewelry, accessories, or matter of grooming which by virtue of its color arrangement, trademark, or any other attribute (as a primary purpose) denotes membership in an organized gang.”
Mary Olson, director of communication for the Anoka-Hennepin School District, told FoxNews.com: “He was told not to wear it because it’s a gang symbol. He may not think of it as a gang symbol, but other students at the school may.”
The teenager was advised he could bring the beads to school if they remained in his pocket.
“He was told not to wear it again,” Jake's father, Chad Balthazor, told FoxNews.com on Thursday.
“Jake is just doing it for his grandmother,” he said. “He’s not in a gang.”
“He was upset when he came home from school. A teacher sent him down to the office, but the reason he was wearing it was for his grandmother.”
The student’s ill grandmother was saddened by the school’s policy.
“I think it’s pretty bad,” Sue Thompson told Fox News. “I’m really upset with the district.”
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.Lokelani | Sep 14, 2012, 08:11 PM EDT
Did I hear you right, borefield? You said we should emulate the Australian Prime Minister? You've got to be kidding! Her name is Julia Gillard and she is an atheist who does not believe in God, marriage, family, etc. She wants to have Australians endorse a "marriage contract" and you decide how long the marriage contract is for and if, when the contract expires, you want out, you just walk away, no strings! She's a real jughead and poor Australia is over 50% atheist, God help them!
sschober | Jun 13, 2012, 09:14 AM EDT
This is the most absurd thing I've ever heard. In the Constitution we have the right to freedom of religion! Where the hell is that right? I think people are forgetting what country we are in ? AMERICA!
roibaird | Jun 10, 2012, 11:26 PM EDT
A SIMPLE ANSWER TO THIS WAS FOR YER MAN JAKE TO ENQUIRE FROM HIS PARISH PRIEST THE PROS AND CONS ETIQUETTE IN EXPOSING AND THE TRANSPARENCY OF HIS ROSARY BEADS IN SUCH A VOLATILE ENVIROMENT OF GANGS ETC.
Madeliene | Jun 10, 2012, 06:47 PM EDT
If he is wearing for his grandma, put it under his shirt, close to his heart- end of story.
Madeliene | Jun 10, 2012, 01:59 PM EDT
This is the new ussa, if it had been a star of David, they would have recognized it????
PhlutiePhan | Jun 10, 2012, 11:58 AM EDT
The kid is a "thug" and not even Catholic. He is "flamed out" and "showing his gang colors". The hat is a big tip off. He has gang written all over him. The shirt lettering says "Don't Sniff Dog". Another gang tip off. Mom and dad are both very supportive. Another bizarre aspect.
seagreen | Jun 10, 2012, 09:41 AM EDT
Have I been banned from posting ?
samsams | Jun 09, 2012, 09:29 PM EDT
Er... to be fair, I went to the most catholic of Irish catholic schools (it was actually a convent too) and there's no way you'd have been allowed to walk around with a big rosary around your neck! You were only allowed a small cross tucked under your jumper. Very understated and not on display. What's the problem with putting the beads in his pocket if he wants to feel close to his grandmother?
borefield | Jun 09, 2012, 06:57 PM EDT
Can they wear a burka? I bet no one at that school would dare ask a young Muslim girl to remove it or ban the quran either. I feel we are loosing our country. Time we emulated the Australian prime minister. Those that come here live by our laws, speak our language which is English and we would be a stronger country. If people come here to work and live and they don't like our ways they are free to leave.
EamonnDublin | Jun 09, 2012, 06:41 PM EDT
"ByTheBay" - Can you please let me know what you're on? I want to make sure I don't take any by mistake! Éamonn, Dublin, Ireland.
misneac | Jun 09, 2012, 04:33 PM EDT
America sure is just about ready for sharia law !
docmikey | Jun 09, 2012, 04:01 PM EDT
When I was in Catholic school many years ago the nuns told us NEVER to put a rosary around our neck - the rosary was a sacred/holy object and was used for prayer NOT jewelry or decoration.
EphraimKibbey | Jun 09, 2012, 03:48 PM EDT
I was a public high school teacher for 35 years and did not see the rosary used as a gang symbol but we banned blue or red kerchiefs worn as headbands, around the neck or dangling out of pockets. We banned one pants leg or one sleve rolled up. It was a constant game of one-up-man-ship trying to discover the symbol Du Jour. I've been retired for 5 years so I would not be surprised if some enterprising gang leader had settled on rosaries of different colors in my absence. The problem with kids wearing gang related stuff to school is not an attempt to stifle their individuality but rather an attempt to prevent them from being killed or maimed by a member of a rival gang. Administrators and teachers in public schools do their best to make it a safe haven for ALL kids, especially those who have few safe places elsewhere. These parents should be thanking the officials at their kid's school for keeping him alive to come home upset over not getting to where the beads. On the other hand, if he is a gang "wannabe" he should be told that wearing the wrong symbol in the wrong place gets kids killed in our current culture. Its not so different now as it was in the Five Points neighborhood of New York City almost two centuries ago.
Bythebay | Jun 09, 2012, 03:27 PM EDT
Wearing the rosary beads was forbidden because they're used as a gang symbol, apparently not because they have a religious significance. And just because people in a certain core group of Catholics in the US don't wear rosary beads doesn't mean every Catholic in the US or elsewhere doesn't.
Bythebay | Jun 09, 2012, 03:23 PM EDT
Typical of many Americans of Irish descent they have to slam Muslims. Joan where did you see Muslim Prayer beads and Buddist prayer symbols being worn by students at a public school in the US? Did you contact the schools' principals about those to find out if they were actually what you thought they were? In other words as an obvious American of Irish descent and probably Catholic, how do you even kinow what they were? It's laughable those of you who are constantly complaining about the prejudice of the British Empire against Catholics have no problem whatsoever being prejudiced against Muslims.
slainte9 | Jun 09, 2012, 03:14 PM EDT
Catholics don't wear rosary beads, at least not any Catholics I've known in my 64 years. My grandmother said the rosary every day in the afternoon, but I never saw her wearing rosary beans.
alisaann | Jun 09, 2012, 02:30 PM EDT
i feel if he wanted to have them on his person, he should have put it in his pocket....this may sound mean, but he looks like he could be trouble. alisa
alisaann | Jun 09, 2012, 01:57 PM EDT
Some Lutherans say the Rosary, Martin Luther was devoted to Mary.
jburnette | Jun 09, 2012, 12:45 PM EDT
As an American, I can tell you about the fad of wearing Rosary beads in the Untied States. It's a gang thing and they wear certain colors for certain gangs. They do not even know how to pray. This family is a group of liars. Even as an Catholic American, I know that the Rosary is a sacred item of prayer, and I have never worn it as jewelry. I have one draped over my bed post to pray at night and one in my purse to pray at funerals or other occasions.
pilib04 | Jun 09, 2012, 11:42 AM EDT
According to the video, the family isn't Catholic, they are Lutheran. I know of no Lutherans who pray the Rosary. Please enlighten me if this is not true. I pray the Rosary, although not as frequently as some. I have no problem with kids wearing it as jewelry, which is the style in some places. However, the school does have the right to establish its dress code. If you don't like it, organize and get the dress code changed. Try attending a school meeting. Show some interest in your school. Otherwise, pipe down. Finally, it appears that the young man is attending a fairly affluent school judging by the building and community.
Curitiba | Jun 09, 2012, 11:00 AM EDT
This is a bit of a problem in the UK as well. I often see young people wearing rosary beads as a fashion symbol, which to me is quite offensive, but you can't say anything because Catholicism is suffering a lot of hostility against it at the moment. Rosary beads are prayer beads, not a necklace. If worn, they should be worn discreetly under clothing. Sometimes I carry them about in my pocket. I certainly don't wear them like some kind of medallion.
Maggie47 | Jun 09, 2012, 10:35 AM EDT
Portia, you r ignorance is showing
Maggie47 | Jun 09, 2012, 10:31 AM EDT
Portia, educate yourself
Seanmor | Jun 09, 2012, 10:21 AM EDT
I wonder if a student in this H.S. were to wear a Muslim symbol would he be forced to remove it. Christians of all denominations should rush to the defense of this teenager who is openly displaying his suport of his ill grandmother. I'm reminded of my basic training in Paris Island in the early 60s, when marine recruits weren't allowed to wear neck chains, but Catholics were permitted to wear a chain with a crucifix attached under theit t-shirts. We had much more religious freedom then than we have now.
joan1954 | Jun 09, 2012, 10:14 AM EDT
Portia777 I have seen Muslim prayer beads as well as prayer symbols of the Buddhist in public schools and nothing is ever said to them. Face it Catholicism is the last great "anti." However to help the kid out he could wear it under his shirt as many Catholic kids do here in the southwest.
CaptainCon | Jun 09, 2012, 09:25 AM EDT
Not sure whether Irish Central should be angling this as a 'catholic oppression' story either seeing as the kid and his parents signed up to the school rules and it doesn't matter what symbol the boy is parading around the school 'hood.
Portia777 | Jun 09, 2012, 09:21 AM EDT
“They think it’s like a gang sign,” Balthazor said.In fact it is. It is a religious cult symbol and like all cult symbols has no place in school.
CaptainCon | Jun 09, 2012, 09:20 AM EDT
Yes. I'm sure he is a lovely lad. You can tell from the accompanying photo alone that his constitutional right to the pursuit of happiness has been gravely infringed and he should therefore be entitled to some kind of legal payout in at least Hummer territory. Simple reason he says he is wearing it for his grandmother is because if he was questioned as to his commitment to what the symbol represent he would have no answer beyond 'huh'? Another Presidential campaign derailed in embryo...