Melbourne, November 14, 2024
In Australia, female students at a school are protesting against a ban on crosses within the walls of the institution, where the main Christian symbol has come to be seen as "offensive".
At Methodist Ladies College (MLC), a prestigious girls' school in Melbourne, the capital of Victoria state in the southeast of the country, students have been asked to remove their crosses because they allegedly "might offend others," reports The Herald Sun.
"My friend was wearing a cross and there was another girl in our class who said she found it very offensive and so the teacher told my friend to take it off.... My friend's parents (and they are very religious people) asked the school for an explanation, but they were told that it (wearing crosses) harms the prestige of the institution," the newspaper quoted the student, whose name was not disclosed.
MLC College was reportedly founded by the Methodist Church in 1882 and charges about $39,000 per year to students. The school also has a strict dress code regarding makeup, jewelry and hair length for female students.
"We are supposed to have a religious school, but the administration listens to the minority rather than the faithful students who make up the vast majority," another student was outraged.
"Well done girls who stand up to their school's aggressive policies! Well done to the students who defend their fellow students, whether they are Christian or not," Methodist Pastor Murray Campbell criticized the college's actions on his blog, Sky News reported.
"Now we know that the word 'inclusion' actually means 'exclusivity' and 'diversity' means 'uniformity'! But I want to commend these girls for standing up to the bullying from wok-culture [wokism, "culture of inclusion": a modern ideological movement that emerged in the United States in the early 21st century. It is characterized by a heightened attention to racial prejudice, any form of discrimination, socio-economic inequality, sexism and the denial of rights to various minorities," said history teacher and author Stephen Chavurah.
"Wear your crosses if you have them! Wear your cross and go to school to convey to other female students, teachers and the administration of the institution that this is a Christian school, not a Marxist school!" - he urged the female students.
According to the Christian Post, the most outrageous part of the story is that while some students were asked to remove their crosses, others are still allowed to wear furry ears and tails as elements of animal imagery typical of the furry movement, as well as items with "rainbow" themes. Recall that representatives of the furry subculture dress in costumes of certain anthropomorphic animals from cartoons, comics or anime and communicate on behalf of their favorite characters, although, unlike quadrobers, do not copy the habits or lifestyle of these animals.
"We strive to maintain a consistent dress code policy that prohibits the wearing of any jewelry .... This policy applies to all students and are not affiliated with religion or anyone's beliefs," Principal Julia Shea said in response to the allegations.
The MLC recognizes that many students come here for an education, not for religious reasons. At $39,000 a year, the school primarily does not want to offend "Melbourne's elite, not Christian parents and their children".
Source: https://www.christianpost.com
