Welcome Back, Adams County high-schoolers. Don't be confused by that graveyard on the front lawn.

        To make the Ten Commandments look educational, ministers this summer expanded their displays in front of Adams County high schools. Now the Big Ten are flanked by four other historical documents, all engraved on identical stone tablets 3 feet tall.

        This has to be the first legal dodge that looks like a bunch of tombstones.

        I talked to several students on Friday. The Ten Commandments were one thing, they said, but what the heck is the Justinian Code?

Too busy to read
               Eighth-grader Kyle Elkins kept calling it “The Justice of Something.” He and another eighth-grader, Matt Geeslin, confessed they had not yet read the extra tablets in front of North Adams High School.

        In addition to the code, which was developed by a Byzantine emperor around 533 A.D., the stones feature excerpts from the Magna Carta, the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.

        “I noticed them, but I didn't read them. Kind of in a hurry to get inside, not really paying much attention,” Matt said.

        “Kind of ridiculous,” was junior Megan Young's comment on the expanded display. She preferred the Ten Commandments alone.

        “They put that out to stand up for what we believe in, and then they had to make it look like a graveyard,” Megan said. “The Magna Carta and the Justinian Code, I have no idea what they are.”

Not finished
               Fortunately, the displays aren't finished yet. In a few months, they'll be labeled with a sign: “Foundations of Law and Government.” Granite benches will be installed along with explanations of each document, says the Rev. Ken Johnson.

        He's part of Adams County for the Ten Commandments, which formed in response to last year's lawsuit against the school district. The suit accused the district of violating the First Amendment by permitting the Commandments on school grounds.

        To address that charge, ministers and lay people have spent $50,000 surrounding the Commandments with historical context. It remains to be seen how this veneer of educational purpose will affect the lawsuit, which is still pending.

        The Rev. Johnson says he doesn't mind the compromise.

        “We probably wouldn't like it in the church. But in an educational setting, I think it's just fine,” he says. “They were all important in history.”

        He's right. The motive is clear — to keep the Commandments on school grounds — but the result is a genuinely educational display. Sure, it's a bit morbid looking, but then again, what could we expect? A local monument company had to do the engraving. That Magna Carta isn't exactly a hot item at Wal-Mart.

        The next challenge will be to convince students these documents are worth reading. Perhaps a Halloween tie-in would do the trick.

        E-mail ksamples@enquirer.com.

        New texts at Adams Co. schools

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