Loveland school seizes rosary beads from student, says they’re ‘gang symbol’ | KDVR.com

LOVELAND, Colo. — A student is questioning whether his faith or his fashion is under fire at his high school in Loveland.

Thompson Valley High School officials have confiscated his rosary beads twice since school started three weeks ago.

And he says they never told him, or his family, why.

\”They tell me I can’t wear them,\” says Manuel Vigil, showing us an identical rosary to the one seized by his school.

The junior says he wears rosary beads to protect himself from harm.

But his school district thinks the religious necklace will harm students.

\”That’s typically not what we want for a safe environment for school,\” says Thompson Valley School District spokesperson Margaret Crespo.

The district says they can be affiliated with gangs, and disrupt learning.

\”Are you in a gang? I ask Vigil. ‘No. I’m not in a gang,’ he says. You’re a good student? ‘I’m a good student,’\” he says.

The 16-year-old says he and his family are strong Catholics.

\”I use them for prayer. I feel safe when I have them on.\”

by Tammy Vigil

link submitted by John Branin