Teenage Atheists vs. Rhode Island Public School

16 year Jessica Ahlquist recently won the battle against her school in Rhode Island to remove a prayer banner hanging in the auditorium of her public school. Ahlquist claimed in her lawsuit that the banner addressed to "Our Heavenly Father" made her feel "ostracized and out of place". The school committee argued that the mural had been in the school since 1963 was "a historical piece of art". However, on January 12, Judge Ronald Legueux still ruled that "no amount of debate can make the school prayer anything other than a school prayer". Since then, Ahlquist has been criticized and ridiculed by her school and her community for her unpopular stance on the prayer banner. She must now be accompanied by a body guard at school to avoid physical bullying by fellow students and even teachers, all the florists in the community have refused to send flowers to her house by any request, and the state representative referred to her as "an evil little thing" during a public radio interview. Atheist organizations who supported her efforts (and tried to send her flowers) have started a scholarship fund for Ahlquist to show her that even through all of the discrimination from her school and her community, she does have support somewhere. The scholarship fund has raised over $40,000 dollars so far. All of Ahlquists supporters collectively agree that it is violating the constitution to promote any kind of religion through a public organisation, such as a school, no matter what or how the message is presented. That's the bottom line.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/rhode-island-teen-atheist-40k-scholarship/story?id=15751701#.T0MaHcWmh2D