08/12/00
Eight-year-old should have "checked her religion at the door"
NORTH PORT -- In her best eight-year-old singing voice, Samantha Schultz practiced singing "Kum Ba Yah, my Lord, Kum Ba Yah ... Oh Lord, Kum Ba Yah" every day for a week. But no one heard her little song. Schultz was banned from singing the song Friday at the North Port Boys & Girls Club's end-of-the-summer talent show. Her grandfather, Ed Campi, took the day off work to see Samantha perform. His wife, Marie, and Samantha's mother, Pam Schultz, accompanied him. They said they were shocked to learn five minutes before the talent show began that Samantha couldn't sing the song. They were told the song was of a religious nature because it had the word Lord in it. "This is a song Samantha's mother learned many years ago when she was in Girl Scouts," Campi said. "Samantha asked the talent show director if she could sing the song last Friday. She practiced it everyday for a week." Bill Sadlo, director of operations for the Boys & Girls Club of Sarasota County said all Boys & Girls clubs across the nation are nonsectarian. Although numerous clubs are supported by church groups, no religious material is passed along to children. The talent shows, he said, are designed to create a positive experience for children to sing, dance and perform before their peers. "We don't want to take the chance of a child offending another child's religion," Sadlo said. "If a child went home and told their parent they heard a Christian song during a talent show and the parent gets upset, we risk the parent calling to complain they sent their child to a nonsectarian camp." Campi and Schultz disagree with the club's ruling, saying it should have been made clear that Samantha couldn't sing the song before she practiced and built up her self-esteem in preparation for the talent show. "Samantha is an extremely shy girl," Schultz said. "After she learned she couldn't sing the song, the expression on her face -- a child who just made her communion a few months ago -- was like, 'Mom, why are you bringing me to church every Sunday if I can't sing this song?' " "It's a crock! I learned that song in the Girl Scouts -- not in church. Girl Scouts is a nonsectarian organization. We sang it at the YMCA. It's a campfire song, for goodness sake." Sadlo agreed the staff should have properly -- and immediately -- informed the girl's parents that songs of a religious nature were not allowed immediately, not wait until the last minute. He said there was a communication problem between the parties. "What's amazing is the club, which I don't begrudge, would take a donation from a religious group," Campi said. "They say this is supposed to be a positive experience for youngsters. It was supposed to be positive for my granddaughter. Her singing this song was proof that there is more to music than just the hip swinging Britney Spears and Backstreet Boys stuff that the other kids were doing." Although some of the songs by Britney Spears and 'N Sync have lyrics which include breaking hearts, getting lost in the game, starting fighting and getting lucky, Randy Bouck, local club unit director, said the songs are censored for derogatory language. "This is supposed to be something fun for children," Bouck said. "We make sure that there aren't any bad words in the songs before the kids begin practicing for a talent show. We just can't allow any religious songs. Parents sign a waiver which includes this information at the beginning of camp. You have to check your religion at the door before coming here." Sadlo offered an apology to the family, saying Samantha should have been encouraged to sing a different song so she could have been part of the talent show and reach her full potential.
You can e-mail Elaine Allen-Emrich at eallen@sunletter.com
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