Ariana Iacono a 15 year old student at Clayton High School in Johnston County School System in North Carolina has been suspended from school by not following the dress code because of a tiny nose piercing. Ariana’s mother Nikki Iacono says that Ariana wears her nose ring as a sign of her faith, which they belong to the Church of Body Modification. The Church of Body Modification members express their faith through tattoos and piercings. The church has about 3500 members throughout the United States, and it was established around two years ago. The Church of Body Modification expresses itself in the following ways:
“As followers of this faith, it is our purpose to educate and inspire, to share ideas, and to help each other achieve our dreams. We strive to unify and strengthen our mind, body, and soul so we can overcome any challenges we may encounter. We assert and protect our rights to modify our bodies and to practice our rituals.”
“We believe our bodies belong only to ourselves and are a whole and integrated entity: mind, body, and soul. We maintain we have the right to alter them for spiritual and other reasons.”
“Affirmation of our living, breathing, physical beings is paramount to our self-identities and helps us define who we are. The Church of Body Modification promotes affirmation and growth of a more expansive perspective of our physical and spiritual being.”
Ariana says the nose piercing helps her with her self esteem because of abuse that she endured when she was younger. Ariana claims that the school is violating her First Amendment Religion and Expression:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Ariana Iacon has been suspended four times from Clayton High School because of her nose ring that is a symbol of her religious beliefs. Nikki Iacono, Ariana’s mother, asked the Johnston County School District to grant her daughter a religious exemption because her daughter’s nose ring is a symbol of following her religious beliefs. The school will not let Ariana come back to school unless she takes out or covers up her nose ring which would be the same thing as hiding her religion. Ariana had an administrative appeal which denied her to return to Clayton High School so she has to finish the rest of her academic year out at an alternative school. American Civil Liberties Union got involved and they have filed a law suit against Johnston County School System to let Ariana come back and finish out her school year there and allow her to make up her school work.
Premise 1 : Nikki offered evidence to support her claim that this was a sincerely held religious belief, but her efforts were rebuffed and her religion dismissed by every school official to whom she turned for help.
Premise 2: The dress code policy allows for a religious exemption, and I explained to the principal and various school officials how my daughter's nose stud is essential to the expression of our family's religious values.
Conclusion: The school continues to violate Ariana's and Nikki's constitutional rights each and every day that Ariana is barred from practicing her religion by wearing a tiny nose stud."
This argument is a Moderate Condition because it commits the fallacy of Missing the Point. The school district enforces the rule that no piercings are allowed to be worn at school, therefore if they exempt this rule for one student because of religion, they would have to exempt it for all students posing religious beliefs pertaining to piercings. No facial piercings are allowed to be worn at school, so if the school exempts Ariana from this rule, then in all reality this is not really a fair rule for the whole student body.
No comments:
Post a Comment