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FRIDAY,
CT013ER 29TH
THROUGH
Troy City Council approves controversial holiday displays.
ATURDAY,
SHARON LUCKERMAN
StqfWriter
CTOBER 30TH
B
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y a 4 - 1 vote, the Troy City
Council passed a controver-
sial resolution Oct. 12 that
would allow cultural and religious
displays on city property.
Mayor Louise Schilling cast the
dissenting vote and Council mem-
bers Cristina Broomfield and Martin
Howrylak were absent.
"We spent a lot of time
meeting with council
members and spoke often
at the meetings, and
we're very frustrated
about the ruling," said
Rabbi Aaron Starr of
Congregation Shir
Tikvah in Troy.
These symbols won't
make the city a better
place to live or lead to a
dialogue among the reli-
gions, the rabbi said,
adding that they only lead to divi-
sion and to someone feeling unwel-
come in the city.
Mayor Schilling said that although
the resolution is broad based, she is
concerned that these displays will
wind up being nativity scenes on
city property.
"I'm not against these displays but
they should be at churches and per-
sonal homes and residences, not on
city property — and many believe
as I do," she said. "So I'm hopeful it
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won't cause problems for our citizen-
ry."
The issue arose when a city resi-
dent asked to cover the cost of set-
ting up a nativity display outside the
Troy City Hall.
"The new [resolution] is constitu-
tional," said Wendy Wagonheim, the
ACLU of Michigan's Detroit-based
communications director.
However, she added, by creating
an open forum, Troy will
have to treat all requests
equally from all groups
regardless of their politi-
cal or religious view-
points.
Yes, she said, "We
might not like what the
[Klu Klux] Klan says, but
they have the right to put
their stuff up, too."
The ACLU will be
monitoring the situation
carefully, she said, to see
if any group is denied
participation in this public forum,.
Rabbi Starr said he and his congre-
gation have talked much about this
matter and have a wait-and-see
approach for the moment.
"We don't want to burn any
bridges with the community, but we
want to make sure our rights are
protected as well," the rabbi said.
"The first step we'll be taking is
interfaith dialogue with churches in
the city." 111