College bans student orientation leader from wearing cross necklace

[alp227]

I just saw John Iadarola and Cara Santa Maria cover this story on TYT University. Video below:

Article:

The Sonoma State student who was asked by a supervisor to remove her cross to avoid offending non-Christians says she’s not sure she will ever return to the school, but she said the university seems to be taking the matter seriously.

“The university is doing everything right and if I do decide to attend somewhere else, it would not be for lack of effort on the university’s part,” Audrey Jarvis said Monday after she and her attorney, Hiram Sasser, met with university officials.

University spokeswoman Susan Kashack said she hoped Jarvis returns to school in the fall, but in the wake of the incident, the student says she is considering her options for her junior year.

“I have some things to figure out; I’m taking a little time for myself,” she said. “I am not really sure where my future will take me, but hopefully within the next few weeks, I will be able to make some decisions and we’ll take it from there.”

Jarvis, 19, an event planner for the student government, known as Associated Students, was working at a student orientation event last month when a supervisor approached her to ask her to remove or hide a large cross necklace, saying it might be offensive or off-putting to students looking to attend the school or join the organization.

Jarvis, upset by the request, left the orientation early. After talking with lawyers from the Texas-based Liberty Institute, she filed a complaint with the university. The story hit Fox News late last month and was picked up by news organizations as far away as the U.K.

President Ruben Armiñana and others at the university quickly apologized for the incident, saying it was a misguided but well-intentioned mistake by the supervisor.

Hmm. First Amendment Rights, or "the world revolves around ME" conservative entitlement mentality? While I am a first amendment absolutist, whenever I see someone moaning and whining "OMG I IS PERSIKOOTED CHRISCHUN!!!!!!!" on right wing media outlets like Fox so-called News and Campus Reform, I reluctantly choose the latter.

On the other hand, I guess Joel Klein was right: Millennials ARE narcissists.

[snooper2]

1. I say let her wear it

as long as she can prove her purity ring LOL




Fundies crack me up- (how do I know she is a fundie? (Liberty Institute )

[Initech]

2. "A lot of Christians wear crosses around their necks."

"You think if Jesus ever comes back he wants to see a fucking cross? That'd be like going up to Jackie Onassis with a rifle pendant on. Just thinking of John, Jackie." - Bill Hicks

[Egalitarian Thug]

5. "Oh hell no dad, they're still wearing them. I'm not going back there until they stop" - Jesus

[WinkyDink]

10. Makes me think of the Moonie (and GHWB) and their "Bury the Cross" movement.

And the joke isn't even funny!

[SomethingFishy]

15. I miss Bill Hicks.

Although had he survived the cancer I think he might have had a coronary during the Bush administration...

[Initech]

16. Nah he most likely would have climbed to the top of the watchtower.

[Jenoch]

3. I thought universities were

places of tolerance and inclusivity these days?

[Dawson Leery]

4. People have been wearing religious/sectarian symbols for thousands of years.

I see nothing wrong with this.

[RZM]

6. A cross necklace? Who the hell cares?

Is there anybody on that campus who would actually be offended by somebody wearing a cross?

I doubt it.

[theHandpuppet]

9. +1

Atheist myself but telling someone they can't wear a cross is ridiculous. How stupid.

[Neoma]

19. I find it handy to spot believers.

[Dr. Strange]

22. I'm sure there are some students who would be offended.

Hell Heck, we got people here who get offended that other people pray in public: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023224611

[HiPointDem]

7. stupid move by the supervisor.

[WinkyDink]

8. I'd have just told the supervisor where to get off. Wimps, these college kids!

[bobclark86]

11. Yeah... the school fucked up.

Dude, I'm an athiest (and the really hard-core fundies annoy me more than the NRA types, even), but fuck, man. You don't EVER tell a girl she can't wear a crucifix even if it's Flava-Flav chest clock big. What's next, the kids in the Jewish Student Union can't wear a Star of David?

But then again, this is Fox and such, so chances are there are a few details missing... like it was full of coke a la "Cruel Intentions" or it had Jesus holding a can of Keystone Light and a bong or something.

[Common Sense Party]

12. If she were Hindu, would they make her remove the bindi from her forehead?

Somehow, I doubt it.

[Paladin]

13. Oh, great.

Another incident for my right wing acquaintances to give World War III status to. Way to go, Sonoma State.

[hunter]

14. I'm guessing she did worse than wearing a cross...

... and her supervisors screwed up when they made her jewelery the central issue.

Personally I have zero tolerance for evangelicals of any religion who are looking for a fight.

[FreeState]

18. "Texas-based Liberty Institute" - she's on a crusade

Regardless of right or wrong. Texas-based Liberty Institute is a hate group in my opinion.

[datasuspect]

17. they should make her a pentagram

or a sigil of baphomet

[Adsos Letter]

20. I earned both BA and MA at Sonoma State.

In the article Jarvis stated that:

...being questioned about her religion so bluntly seemed out of character with the university’s usual atmosphere.
“I was really caught off guard because that’s not something I’ve known Sonoma State to be about,” she said. “Usually it’s a very inclusive campus.”

SSU has always been considered one of the most liberal campuses in the CSU system. For years it went by the nickname "Granola State" because of its association with liberal/left values, including freedom of expression, and I'm not aware that that has changed at all.

She does make the comment that:

“Some course work I have kind of been asked to participate in or lectures I have heard have not shed a very kind light on Christianity at times, so there have been a few lectures where I have left,” she said, declining to be more specific. “But I think that is going to be the case in any university, any public university that you attend.”

Just speculating about that statement but, from my experience during six years of coursework there, I'm guessing that what she responded to were simply presentations of Christianity that draw upon the historical record of the last couple of millennia, and refused to paper over the darker side.

EDIT: ...syntax...

[alp227]

21. That is one narrow-minded student if there is one. "a few lectures where I have left."

There are some good Catholic/Christian universities like Santa Clara or Pepperdine or USF in this state she could've chosen if she can't take the heat in the secular aka reality-based public universities.

[Adsos Letter]

23. Both my degrees are in History...

...and critical evaluations of Christianity and it's development (it's impact on politics, thought, culture, etc.) were part and parcel of studying the historical record. However, I never felt personally belittled or attacked for my faith (I write this as a Christian).

Ideas are commonly subjected to critical evaluation. I took multi-semester courses on American Thought and Society, the evolving forms and impact of Exceptionalism and Americanism, as well as a semester on "Historiography of the Bible." These courses were taught by professors whose personal backgrounds included significant amounts of time as Christians (one has since adopted Buddhism while the other is, I think, Agnostic). At no time did I ever hear these people criticize the ideas/principles of Christianity; instead, the focus was always on the impact those things had on the historical subject under discussion.

In any case...I wasn't in any of her classes, but it would surprise me if she had been exposed to anything other than a critical evaluation of Christianity's impact/influence. Maybe, as you suggest, she isn't comfortable with that, or perhaps she felt a professor was emphasizing the negatives without addressing the positives, or something like that. I don't know.