Reprimanded valedictorian takes her case to court
- Aug 31, 2007 - 3
“I really felt God calling me to do this,” said Erica Corder in an interview with Rocky Mountain News of Denver, Colo., last week. “My top priority is obeying God.”
FFV reported last year on the story of Erica Corder, the high school valedictorian who was forced to publicly apologize for sharing her faith in Jesus Christ during her graduation speech.
This week, Liberty Counsel, a nonprofit organization that assists in religious freedom cases, filed a lawsuit on behalf of Corder against the Lewis Palmer School District. In the suit, Corder says her rights to free speech and equal protection were violated during the events in 2006.
Corder was one of the 15 valedictorians of the 2006 graduating class at Lewis Palmer High School in Monument, Colorado. Each of the students prepared 30-second remarks to give during the graduation ceremony. Corder was chosen to be one of the last 2 speakers.
During her time at the podium, Corder did not give the remarks that had been previously approved by the principal. After thanking her family, teachers and fellow students, she said she felt led to instead to share the story of Jesus with the crowd. She spoke of “someone who loves you more than you could ever imagine.”
“His name is Jesus Christ,” Corder said. “If you don’t already know Him personally I encourage you to find out more about the sacrifice He made for you . . . .”
Following her remarks, Corder was escorted to her assistant principal who indicated that she would not receive a diploma because of her remarks. Only after Corder submitted an apology, written under the direction of her principal, Mark Brewer, and that apology was e-mailed to the entire high school community, did Corder receive her diploma.
A few weeks after the graduation ceremony, Liberty Counsel sent a letter on behalf of Erica to the Lewis Palmer School District Board of Education, explaining that her First Amendment rights had been violated. The letter also requested that the district apologize for the e-mail that Corder was forced to write and institute a written policy to ensure that no future constitutional violations occur, according to Liberty Counsel.
The school board had taken no remedial steps as of press time. The lawsuit states that during the past year, Corder has been portrayed by school officials as a student who engaged in improper conduct.
To learn more about the case or become involved in the work of Liberty Counsel, please visit www.lc.org.
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1 On Sep 5th, 2007, at 10:20am, Daniel wrote:
Al Gore is an interesting character. In his ‘documentary’ he told us to do our part and drive a hybrid like a Prius. While he gave this instruction, you’ll notice that he was driving a Cadillac with a gas guzzling V-8. I find this interesting. There is an amazing hypocrisy with these types of elites. I do not believe in global warming, it is a farce and a lie put on by the socialist party in America.
2 On Oct 15th, 2007, at 1:03pm, Lauren wrote:
YOU GO GIRL!! It is your every right to proclaim the name of Jesus Christ!! I really look up to you for your encouragement and love to do that! AWESOME!!
3 On Dec 24th, 2007, at 12:03pm, Paul wrote:
First, the girl was dishonest. She violated an express agreement with the school and an implicit agreement with her classmates.
Second, what does she want? In law, we call this the “remedy.” She can’t argue she wasn’t allowed to say it because she said it. She can’t argue her diploma was withheld, because she has it. She can’t argue she was harmed in her education because she began college that fall exactly as planned. What legally recognized harm has she suffered? I don’t see one, and without that, where is her case?