ALBANY — Two Albany teenagers suspended on a charge of gang-related behavior prompted by crucifixes around their necks say the religious symbols are simply gifts from their mothers.

Jaime Salazar, 14, his friend Marco Castro, 16, were suspended from South Albany High School recently after they refused to remove the crucfixes.

Salazar told the Democrat-Herald newspaper here that Principal Chris Equinoa saw his necklace and told him to put it away.

“I was, like, why?” Salazar said.

Salazar said he argued and was sent to the office. Instead, he went home. Later, he received a note saying he had been suspended for five days for “defiance and gang-related behavior.”

Castro, a junior, was suspended for three days after refusing to take off a string of milky rosary beads, with a crucifix and a tiny picture of the Virgin Mary, that was strung around his neck. His mother gave it to him, he said.

Equinoa told the paper religious items are not banned. But, as principal, he reserves the right to ask a student to remove, or cover up, any item he feels could indicate gang affiliation, even a crucifix.

The school district backs him up. Principals have the latitude to determine the difference between genuine religious observance and gang symbols, said Jim Haggart, executive assistant to the superintendent.

“We’re not trying to squash any religious symbols and we’re not trying to get into religion, but we are trying to get into student safety, and that’s what we’re really concerned about,” Haggart told the paper.

Equinoa said he could not comment on specific student discipline issues. But he said any directive to a student to remove or cover any item, religious or otherwise, would not be made without other information.

Bud Bunce, spokesman for the Archdiocese of Portland, says it is offensive if anyone uses a religious object inappropriately. When it happens in a case like gang behavior, Bunce says, “we trust public officials to use discretion and proper judgment.” But the archdiocese offered a caution — symbols worn for religious expression by anyone are due great respect.

Albany police say fellow officers in Salem and Hillsboro have been contending with crucifixes and rosaries as gang markers for the past several years. Their appearance at South Albany High could be an indication that the markers are moving in, said Officer Ken Fandrem, who leads a gang task force that meets monthly.

“They put their gang colors on the rosaries and claim they’re religious,” Fandrem told the Democrat Herald. “This is the first time I’ve dealt with it.”

In a training police gave to Albany educators, religious items were among the possible markers mentioned. A former administrator in Southern California, Equinoa said he’s familiar with the pain and fright that gangs can inflict on a school.

“We don’t want to see it get to that point,” he said.

David Fidanque, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon told the Oregonian that educators should proceed with caution. Their intentions may be valid, but they run the risk of violating students’ rights, he said.“When it comes to restricting any form of expression, school officials have a pretty high bar to cross,” he said. “They better have very specific evidence that’s more than just a hunch.”

A similar case involving two students in New Caney, Texas, who were prohibited from wearing rosaries because they were considered gang-related ended up in a court in 1997. The judge ruled in favor of the boys, calling the school policy vague.