A student-drawn poster hanging in a classroom at Alcovy High School in Newton County, Ga., declaring “God is dead” has sparked outrage from some students and parents in the community. But school administrators say the drawing won’t be coming down any time soon.
The poster and phrase were inspired by the Arthur Miller play, “The Crucible,” which is frequently read by high school students across the country. According to local Fox affiliate WAGA, the play is about the Salem Witch trials and was used to symbolize the hunt for Communists during the McCarthy era.
“It made my daughter very uncomfortable,” Crystal Mitchell, a student’s mother, told WAGA. “If my child can’t pray in school and they’ve taken religion out of school, for this to be plastered on the walls of school is a huge concern for me.”
School officials downplayed the criticism, saying the drawing was nothing more than student-created “art.”
“Thousands of students read this book every year,” Sherri Davis-Viniard of Newton County Schools said. “If it’s not appropriate on the classroom wall, where is it appropriate?”
In spite of school officials’ decision to not remove the drawing, Mitchell posted on a Facebook page she created called “God Is Alive In Newton” that school leaders have agreed to meet with freshman and sophomore students to explain the context of the drawings. The Facebook page has over 1,100 “likes” at the time of this post.
So what do you think? Should the drawing come down, or are folks overreacting?
Follow Cliff on Twitter @Cliff_Sims
Don’t miss out! Subscribe today to have Alabama’s leading headlines delivered to your inbox.