Please answer the following. 1 paragraph for each. THANKS!



Does praying before the start of a town meeting violate the separation of church and state? In a case that will be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court in June 2014, the town of Greece, NY, was sued by two residents--one Jewish and the other an atheist--because the town meetings always started with predominantly Christian prayers. The Solicitor General of the United States filed an amicus (friend of the court) brief to defend the town`s practice of holding prayers before the start of meetings because the "Obama administration believes the town`s practice of allowing local clergy and citizens to offer pre-meeting prayers is part of the nation`s long-standing tradition of legislative prayer and should not be considered an endorsement of religion" (McDermott, 2013, para. 15). Read the full article here: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/09/17/supreme-court-prayer-town-meetings/2827009/.



Should undocumented immigrants receive financial aid for college? Why or why not? A policy known as the Dream Act allows undocumented immigrants, who meet certain criteria, to receive financial aid for college. The Dream Act is not a federal law, but it has passed in a handful of U.S. states, including Texas and California. Legislators in the state of New York are currently debating their own version of the Dream Act. Please read the op-ed entitled "Talented Young People Need the Dream Act" by New York high school student Marcy Suarez for more background information: http://www.newsday.com/opinion/oped/suarez-talented-young-people-need-the-dream-act-1.7384824.



Should Catholic schools be allowed to fire employees for being gay? Why or why not? A man named Matthew Barret was offered a job as food services director at Fontbonne Academy, a Roman Catholic-based girls’ prep school in Milton, Massachusetts. When he listed his husband, Ed Suplee, as his emergency contact, the school rescinded its job offer. Courts in the U.S. have generally found that teachers in faith-based schools are similar to clergy in other religious institutions. Therefore, religious schools can legally discriminate when hiring teachers. This is known as a “ministerial exception” to the application of antidiscrimination laws. However, Matthew Barret was not being hired as a teacher or minister at the school. In addition, one in five students at Fontbonne Academy is not Catholic. Please read the news article entitled "Gay married man says Catholic school rescinded job offer" for the full story: http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/01/29/dorchester-man-files-discrimination-against-catholic-school-says-lost-job-because-was-gay-married/0KswVITMsOrruEbhsOsOeN/story.html.