Ten Commandments Posted in Olney High School

The controversial Senate Bill 10, which requires all public schools in the state of Texas to display posters of the Ten Commandments in all classes, was passed on June 21 and has now made its way into the classrooms of Olney High School.

The highly debated blue posters first appeared on Oct. 22 and caused many students to form opinions on the necessity and validity of the posters.

“I think this bill is an infringement on people’s freedom of religion,” Catherine Bond, senior, said. “It’s pushing a conservative, Christian agenda that many students don’t align with. This bill negatively separates us from other states, it makes us look like we’re trying to break off from other states because we’re the only state pushing this; it feels isolating.”

Texas is the one of the only states that’s passed a bill requiring classrooms to post the Ten Commandments, but supporters of the bill believe it won’t change Texas’ status among other states.

“Texas already has mandated the display of the 10 Commandments in other taxpayer funded buildings such as courthouses, and the addition of classrooms is not going to drastically affect other states’ opinion of us,” Foster Sullivan, junior, said. “I agree with this bill not because of the religious aspect but because of the moral instruction. Religion should never be forced down anyone’s throats, but if there is a rule that religion follows like do not murder or obey your parents why shouldn’t we promote that? It’s my hope that with students constantly seeing the values that the Ten Commandments uphold that they will adopt those values into their own life and the religion if they want to.”

Other students like Sophie Roach, junior, agree that the bill puts a bias on Christianity above other religions. She has concerns about how emphasis on one religion could make students who don’t observe that belief system feel alone.

“I view this bill as pushing certain religious views onto young, impressionable minds,” Roach said. “If a student were to have views that do not align with that of the Ten Commandments or that particular religion, I could imagine a student would feel unsafe and alone. Seeing this material in every classroom could potentially shut out the student from expressing and developing their own religious beliefs and practices.”

Indifferent students don’t have much of an opinion on the posters and feel they haven’t changed anything about school life. They believe it’s easy for students who disagree with the poster to ignore it.

“I feel neutral about the bill because it’s not pushing religion on anybody, it’s just a poster,” Addison Agraz, senior, said. “I think that other states should pass this too, it’s kind of weird that we’re the only state that’s passed this bill. I don’t really feel like the poster being up will affect anyone unless they stare at it all day. If you don’t like the poster don’t look at it; it’s not speaking to you.”

Some students believe the posters are a good reminder of rules every student should follow. Some like Mackenzie Berngen, sophomore, feel that Christianity is targeted and censored in classrooms and that the posters make the school environment more balanced.

“I think it’s great that the Ten Commandments must be displayed in all classrooms because they are great rules and commandments for everyone to know and abide by,” Berngen said. “I think this bill has separated us from other states in a positive way because in the United States our founding fathers based our country off of their Christian beliefs, and by enforcing this bill we are only reflecting upon and representing what America stood for in the first place.”