A student who organized a secular revolt against unconstitutional graduation prayer at El Capitan High School in Colorado City, Ariz., has received a $2,000 Freedom From Religion Foundation Student Activist Award scholarship. The award has been endowed for many years by a generous West Coast couple who prefer anonymity, and is given for significant activism to promote FFRF’s aims.
Dahlia Richter says she was “scared to file the report at first.” She explains: “Standing up to the school board was intimidating. I am very relieved that the FFRF legal team has been kind and supportive throughout this whole process. Just knowing that my report helps protect future students means a lot to me.”
El Capitan High School has long included official invocations and benedictions at graduation ceremonies, with students selected in advance to lead the audience in prayer. This year’s graduation program was set to feature scheduled prayers led by two designated students, despite clear Supreme Court precedent ruling such practices unconstitutional. That is, until Dahlia objected and organized other students to join her.
District officials reportedly initially altered the program so that the prayer would occur before the ceremony officially begins and described participation as “optional.” But in the end, the Constitution was followed.
