By Stacey Dresner

ENFIELD – After months of debate, a federal judge in Hartford has ruled that two high schools in Enfield may not hold their graduation ceremonies at a Bloomfield church because it would violate the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.

Parents and school officials of Enfield High School and Enrico Fermi High School were concerned about holding the graduations outdoors, as had been originally planned, in case of bad weather, and they sought a venue that would provide more indoor seating. The schools were set to hold their graduation ceremonies at First Cathedral, which seats 3,000, on June 23 and June 24.
U.S. District Court Judge Janet Hall ruled last Monday that the schools’ decision to hold their ceremonies at the church was unconstitutional.
“By choosing to hold graduations at First Cathedral, Enfield schools sends the message that they are closely linked with First Cathedral and its religious mission, that they favor the religious over the irreligious and that they prefer Christians over those that subscribe to other faiths, or no faith at all,” Hall wrote in her ruling. “In addition to the character of the forum, the history and context of the decision to hold the graduations at First Cathedral also support the conclusion that, in doing so, Enfield public schools have endorsed religion.”
Rabbi Yitzchok Adler of Beth David Synagogue in West Hartford agreed.
“I think it is a very fair ruling, a good ruling, ” he said. Despite the fact that “the church was endeavoring to be as accommodating as it possibly could, which is a credit to the congregation and its leadership, nonetheless, it is surely understandable if there are families who would have been uncomfortable celebrating the graduation of their children from a public high school in a venue that is normally dedicated to spiritual pursuits. So I compliment the court in a very sensitive and wise decision.”
The lawsuit was filed by two students and three parents, who were represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, who sought a court injunction against the town of Enfield renting the church.
The decision by the federal court was met with some dismay by the Enfield Board of Education and some graduating students. As the Ledger went to press, the school board announced plans to appeal the decision and see it overturned – despite the fact that there are several other nearby venues comparable to First Cathedral in price and seating capacity at which the graduations could be held. They include, MassMutual Center and Symphony Hall in Springfield, the Big E Coliseum in West Springfield and La Renaissance banquet hall in East Windsor.
Adler said that it is the responsibility of the majority to look out for the rights of those in the minority.
“It’s about the sensitivity on the part of a majority population to the needs and the sensitivity of a minority population,” he explained, “and recognizing that a public school represents, in theory, an even playing field, where all students and families are treated equally…Asking those families to enter into a space for graduation purposes that otherwise they might never enter is really inconsiderate, unkind and thoughtless.”
Adler emphasized that the decision is not based specifically on the fact that the venue in question is a Christian church.
“Lets say, an agency wanted to rent the sanctuary of Beth David for a ceremony. Even if we were to offer, in consideration, to cover all of the motifs of Jewish spirituality and worship to accommodate our guests, that still doesn’t speak to the sensitivity and needs of some of the people who would be there as part of that agency.
“It was simply not a wise decision to make and it is to the credit of the courts to have asked the school board to go back to the planning stage to come up with an alternative that is going to be more accommodating for everyone.”

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