Dozen Boulder High students walk out over pledge

Berny Morson, Rocky Mountain News

Friday, September 28, 2007

BOULDER - Saying the Pledge of Allegiance isn't mandatory at Boulder High School, but some students don't even want to hear it.

At issue are the words under God.

"For me, this is all about separation of church and state," said senior Emma Martens, 17.

Martens was among about a dozen students who walked out of class Thursday when the pledge was broadcast. They are members of the social protest group Student Worker, a longtime organization at Boulder High.

About 100 other students watched as the group recited their own pledge to the American flag, the Constitution and the planet - with no reference to God.

Some Boulder students don't embrace the deity referred to in the pledge, Martens said. Student Worker will recite its counter pledge every Thursday until the issue is resolved, she said.

Principal Bud Jenkins said there will be no repercussions for the students because they did not disrupt classes.

He said Boulder High School, which has about 1,900 students, fosters diversity of opinion.

"We're proud of the kids," Jenkins added. "If they don't like something, they're following a democratic process of telling the community that they don't like it."

Colorado law requires public schools to "provide an opportunity each school day for willing students to recite the Pledge of Allegiance."

At Boulder High, students may remain seated during the pledge. They may not disrupt others who want to participate.

Last year, students who wanted to say the pledge gathered in the auditorium during the lunch hour. Only about 10 students and two teachers showed up regularly, Jenkins said.

Martens said she wants the school to go back to that system.

The ceremony would be "just for the students who really care about saying it . . . in an environment where they're surrounded by people who share the same beliefs as them and the rest of the school doesn't have to listen to it," Martens said.

The protest Thursday occurred in the school's inner courtyard. Most of the students who watched appeared sympathetic, with some joining in the revised pledge.

But senior Donovan Ranta, 17, said, "I think everybody is doing it to get attention."

Ranta said he recites the pledge daily.

"I'm patriotic. I support America," he said.

Pledge of Allegiance - with revisions

? Original text: "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

? As revised by members of the Student Worker Club: "I pledge allegiance to the flag and my constitutional rights with which it comes. And to the diversity, in which our nation stands, one nation, part of one planet, with liberty, freedom, choice and justice for all."

morsonb@RockyMountainNews.com or 303 954-5209