Little Town in Texas Shows Little Sympathy for Ruling

Disappointment, disbelief and defiance reigned in the small Texas town at the heart of a dispute over prayers at public school football games, after the Supreme Court struck down the activity Monday.

As news of the decision spread among the 10,000 residents of Santa Fe, a sampling of local opinion revealed little sympathy for the ruling.

“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with having prayers at school,” said Bridgett Hazlett, 16, a cheerleader at Santa Fe High School where a clash over pregame prayers dating back to the early 1990s went all the way to the nation’s highest court.

“I think they’ll still pray somehow,” she added as she and two school friends stopped to buy shaved ice at a roadside stand in her hometown about 40 miles south of Houston.

Kelly Anderson, 16, working a summer job at the Snohut Snoballs stand, said she attends some, but not all, of the Santa Fe school football games and always joins in the prayers.

“I think that they should let us [pray]. If we want to they shouldn’t take that privilege away from us, because we’re not forcing anybody to pray with us,” she said.

Alex Lopez, a 24-year-old electrician, said that he had graduated from Santa Fe High School and that while he did not attend school football games, he had always felt comfortable as a Jehovah’s Witness among his predominantly Baptist fellow students.

“We don’t do prayers to win in competitions and stuff. We only pray that Jehovah will meet our spiritual needs and provide us with food and the advice he gives us to do good,” he said.

Crystal Turner, 42, a mother of two children at Santa Fe High School, said she was saddened by the Supreme Court ruling.

“I think it’s wrong. I think that they ought to have school prayer,” she said as she stopped by the town’s post office.

“I think if there’s a discreet prayer that they can say at football games or any kind of activities, they ought to be allowed to do that for all religions, not just one,” she said.

Edna Bleimeyer, 71, who worships at Santa Fe’s First Baptist Church and attends football games because she has a grandchild in the school band, said she was disappointed.

John Couch, who recently completed a term as president of the Santa Fe school board, said he was disturbed by the ruling.

“Is the Supreme Court telling us if you’re on public property you’re not allowed to express religious speech? If so I think our 1st Amendment rights are being trampled on,” Couch said.