In regards to the November 29th article "Michigan bullying law has fatal flaw", I do agree that excluding the statements about religious beliefs and moral convictions is a hiccup for Michigan, but I think the writer missed the problem.

The main concern the writer addressed was that by allowing adults on campus to say anything they want as long as it's on morally high ground, the students will follow. I disagree that the teachers will have any affect on bullying. The problem should be that ignorant, young students will use their upbringing as justification for bullying.

Teachers can try and spout religious decrees to their students, but not if they want to keep their job. Specifically in the state of Michigan, each teacher is held to a state-wide code of ethics. It states in principle one of the Michigan Professional Educator's Code of Ethics, that teachers "shall not on the basis or race, color, creed, sex, political or religious beliefs, family, social or cultural background, or sexual orientation, unfairly: Exclude any students from participation: Deny benefits to any student: Grant any advantage to any student." Anything a teacher says or does that puts one student above the other will be considered a violation of these ethics.

This is certainly a problem that the state need to address, but the commitment the faculty is responsible to uphold is to the students and to their profession. Any bullying done by a student based on his/her values should be handled accordingly by the school.