Judge tells school: Remove prayer banner

A federal judge says a prayer banner that has been on display in a Rhode Island high school for decades must come down right away. U.S. District Judge Ronald Lagueux ruled Wednesday in favor of a 16-year-old student at Cranston West High School, who argued the banner violates the First Amendment, The Providence Journal reported. He gave Cranston 10 days to respond but said the banner's removal must be "immediate." The banner has a headline "School Prayer" and then begins "Our Heavenly Father." It ends with "Amen." Several students told the Journal Thursday they see nothing wrong with the banner. Some said no one is forced to look at the banner or say the prayer. "I think it should stay up," Adam Nunes, 16, a junior, said. "It's been there for so long. It's like a school tradition." Jessica Ahlquist, whose father, Mark, filed the lawsuit, told the newspaper Wednesday she did not want to comment until she had talked to her lawyer. The American Civil Liberties Union argued the suit.