The Cupertino Courier

Keep jolly old Nick off campus

By Eleanor Dickman

Yes, Jon, there is a Santa Claus. And always will be--a benign icon of generosity and thoughtfulness for those who believe in him. But for those who don't?

Scene 1: Second Grade. A class of 20 or so boys and girls sit at their desks holding little teddy bears made of brown construction paper. Each bear is to be decorated with a "Santa Claus hat." My daughter, comfortable with her faith and her identity, reminds the teacher that she doesn't believe in Santa Claus, and in any event, she'd rather give her bear a pink polka dot dress. Not allowed. Only Santa Claus hats are allowed. This is not an art project. It is not a fine-motor- control project. It is definitely not an imagination-building project. It is a Santa Claus project. After all, it's December.

Scene 2: Third Grade. This time, the class sits with a half-sheet of paper with widely spaced lines. It's December again. The teacher instructs the children to write one or two sentences about what Santa left under their Christmas trees. Again, my daughter, bless her heart, reminds the teacher that she doesn't observe Christmas and therefore doesn't have a tree. "Well, then," says the teacher dismissively, "write about what you might find under a fallen log." Cheerfully remembering a visit to Yosemite the previous summer and a docent walk among the sequoias, my daughter writes: "Under a dead log, I found a new tree growing."

Santa Claus may not be strictly a religious figure, but he is definitely a symbol of a holiday that has religious roots and a very specific, sectarian religious perspective.

Especially in Cupertino, where the traditional white population is a minority, there are Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims and Jews, non-holiday-celebrating Christians (e.g., Jehovah's Witnesses) and atheists. Some may accept Santa Claus as the inoffensive "G-rated" American culture symbol Jon Hoornstra would have us embrace; many do not. And for them, the Cupertino Union School District's Policy 6141.2 is a reassuring and eminently appropriate safeguard of our constitutional guarantees regarding separation of church and state.

Mr. Hoornstra cited his sources. Here are mine:

From the ACLU: "Separation of church and state has become a mainstay of our democracy, largely sparing us from the religious strife that has torn and still tears other societies asunder. And separation has worked well, protecting the rights of those whose religious views are not the majority's, as well as the rights of those who are not religious."

From Susan Josephson, and author of From Idolatry to Advertising: Visual Art and Contemporary Culture (1996): "The conventional symbols for Christmas and Thanksgiving and other occasions are used to enhance products by associating the product with holiday specialness. For example, Santa Claus testifies for chocolates, for cameras, for exercise machines, and for brand-name whiskey. In consequence, the cultural symbol itself becomes less clear."

So, Jon, please keep Santa if you need him. But do not insist that everyone else must also stumble over Santa Claus at every turn. He has his place. But it is not in the public schools.

I submit that the truest way to get into the "spirit of the holiday season" is to remember the fundamental story of the birth of a founding prophet of a major religion, and to restore to "jolly Old Saint Nick" the dignity and righteousness of the Turkish bishop who gave this holiday its themes of caring and hope. This is not merely political correctness: It is a return to cultural integrity and an acknowledgment of the validity of religious diversity.

Eleanor Dickman is a Cupertino resident.

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