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UW-Eau Claire Bible Study Controversy
While listening to WTAQ this morning on my way to work, I believe it was Jerry Bader who commented on a recent controversy at UW-Eau Claire regarding a resident assistant (RA) whom was conducting bible study sessions in the basement of the dorm where he lived and worked. Surprisingly, I couldn’t find any articles about this incident in The Spectator (UW-Eau Claire’s student-run newspaper), but Google News came to my rescue. Apparently, this RA was sent a letter forbidding him from conducting the bible study sessions within the dorm where he worked.
Not surprisingly, this created a controversy over the individual’s rights and freedom of speech. From the article linked below:
The controversy began on July 26, when UWEC Associate Director for Housing and Residence Life Deborah Newman sent a letter saying RAs could not lead Bible studies in their dorms at any time. Her reason for this was that students might not think Bible study-leading RAs were sufficiently “approachable.”
…and from this article:
They can participate in one, or lead one in another building. The school says if assistants lead bible studies in their dorm, it might make them seem unapproachable to some students. Administrators say it could also violate the separation of church and state because RA’s are university employees.
I think the ban is a good idea, since it appears to me that they are welcome to study by themselves, as well as participate in any other religious activities both on- and off-campus, so long as it’s not in the dorm where they work and live. They article below also mentioned, “Newman’s letter added that Koran and Torah studies would be similarly prohibited,” so I don’t see any discrimination there.
Finally, he is essentially an employee of the state in a state-run institution. Accepting the position of RA comes with several
restrictions, and this is one of them. Although I agree this policy should have been spelled out in some sort of handbook that he should have received, nobody put a gun to his head to become an RA. Such restrictions are a large part of the reason many students choose not to become RAs.
What do you think?
- College Bans Dormitory Bible Studies (Nice sensationalistic headline, there.)
November 4th, 2005 
News & Current Events, religion 
Tags: eau claire, news, Politics, religion, more... Congratulations, Wanda!
My fiance Wanda Fiala graduated today, marking an exciting end of years of hardship. For those of you who don’t know us too well, we both graduated from the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire in Management Information Systems.
New Job
Umm…I had a change of heart (again) about going back to school, but this time it’s a good reason. I was recently accepted for a programmer position at a company called Entropy Multimedia in Eau Claire, WI. Sweeeet. The best part is I get to be with Wanda, which rocks.
The Value of a College Education
So I start my new job on Saturday making $7.50 an hour. It dawned on me that I was making $7.00 at a job 5 years ago before I went to college. Basically, I went to college and did all that work for a 50 cent raise. To make matters worse, that amount doesn’t even keep up with inflation if you assume a 3% decrease in the value of the dollar each year. So I am actually making less money than I was before going to college. Go team.
September 26th, 2002
Jobs Tags: college, eau claire, education, employment, Jobs, lame, school, university, more... Summer Jam
We went to Summer Jam on Sunday. A great time was had by all. The Calling and Nickelback put on the best shows. Ashanti sucked, but that was no surprise.
July 25th, 2002
Entertainment & Media Tags: concert, eau claire, music, nickelback, summer jam, more... Powered by WordPress.
