EXCLUSIVE: Oregon student disciplined, given referral for writing “Jesus saves,” wearing patriotic shirt

NEWBERG, OR — A Newberg High school mother has reached out to OFA Media to share what she believes is the recent targeting of her son due to his religious beliefs and his love of country. The mother has been asked to remain anonymous for now.

The male student, a sophomore at Newberg High School, was given a referral by the school for writing “Jesus saves” on the whiteboard in the school commons area. The referral (see below) states it was the student’s “2nd day of writing ‘Jesus saves’ on white board…”

According to the student, many students have written on the white board in the past and have never received disciplinary action and that he was given no prior warning.

Further in the description of the referral, the infraction is checked off is “Disrespectful Behavior.”

During the same week, the same male student received an additional referral for refusing to cover up his patriotic t-shirt that displayed a 1776 logo and firearm drawings on the sleeve. Here’s an image of the actual shirt:

The referral states the student was “…asked to cover up t-shirt with guns on it…”

The mother said the student was given a total of three referrals for both incidents. OFA Media reached out to Newberg High School for comment and spoke with Vice Principal, Ben Patterson, who said “All three referrals have been thrown out. We decided neither of the incident merited such action.”

Although some might see this as justice, the mother says her son still feels targeted at the school since she made some recent complaints to the school, “I feel they have been targeting him since I sent the first complaint email about curriculum and other matters.”

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