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Show !MONDAY, APRIL l ~2001 UNIVERSITY JOURNAL OPIN I ON PAGE 11 CHURCH AND STATE SEPARATE? Discussion ensued after the dedication of the J.L. Sorenson Physical Education Building on March 23 on the separation of church and state, as mandated by the First Amendment of the Constitution. In keeping with an SUU precedent, a dedicatory prayer was offered at the ceremony and , as it happene,d , was ·given by Elder David E. Sorensen, a member of the Presidency of the Seventy of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Two issues.are involved . One, that such a prayer excludes SUUans of non-LDS fa1 h and; two , that prayer at a state-funded university violates the aforementioned amendment And , two questions arise from the issues: Is it legally right? And , is it morally right? As to the legal question, the amendment is worded thus: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion , or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.. _· And , th at's it. What we are left with are words which must be interpreted before they be pu1 into action . One can say !hat a dedicatory prayer at a public university is OK because ii is not governmentally established and mandated as essential to that institution's dedication; it was instilled by the people as a majority rule. Congress cannot prohibit the free exercise of religious activity where the people decide it belongs. Or, one can say that it is not OK because the prayer occurred in a governmentally-funded institution and such religious activity has no place in such a setting; One must keep the two completely separated. Bottom line: Everybody has his or her own interpretation_of the first amendment statement:"Congress shall make no l13w respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exerci se thereof.. ." In recent years, the U.S. Supreme Court has interpreted these words to prohibit prayer in school, regardless of denominational neutrality and voluntary participation (Engel v. Vitale, 1962;2 Abington v. Schempp, 1963;3 Commissioner of Education v_ School Committee of Leyden , 1971.4, Lee v. Weisman, 505 U.S. 577 (1992), $anta Fe Independent School Dist. v. Doe (2000), to name a few), Prior to these rulings, the issue was not as heated. We at the Journal feel that the original intent of the amendment was to protect the citizens of the United States from being controlled with religion. It simply states that the government cannot control religious activity . We feel, then , that the intent of the statement has been stretched too far . T hen , where is the line? That requires a lot of discu ssion . But, in our opinion , it does not encompass a serie s of simple dedicatory prayers if the people believe they belong. Now, the court system has set a series of precedents which other courts will follow "when making future decisions of this matter. But, as far as our research could find, there has been no precedents set, to date, on the issue of dedicatory prayers at building dedication ceremonies. Is prayer in school ceremonies morally correct? Yes, if effort is made to includ e membe rs of as many denominati ons as possible. The opening prayer to the Sorenson Building dedication was offered by Rev. Jeff Garrison from the Community Presbyterian Church. Prayers are also offered during SUU's graduation ceremonies and have been given by members of various religious denominations. But, a problem arises : all religions have not been represented . What about nonChristian religions? Wh.at about those which do not believe in a God? · Perhaps prayer does not belong in school; it belongs in the chapel. But, we at the Journal feel that prayer in ceremonies are not harmful as long as effo·rt is made to include as many local representative religions as possible . As for university c urricu lum , unless for educational purposes (and not for conversion}, religion must be excluded. SOUTHERN UTAH UNIVERSITY - CEDAR CITY . UTAH DIRECTING STAFF AND DESK PHONE NUMBERS: Editor Kam lynn Savage 586-7750 Anoc late Edito,.. Jessica Blonquisr 586-7750 Photo Editor Janelle Reichert 586-7750 Copy Editor Amberly Robinson 586-1992 Focus Editor Stacee Childs 586-1992 Arts Editor Ashley Adams 865--8443 Sports Editor Jason Erickson 865-8443 Camery Lybbert 586--7759 A lma nac Editor Jody Johnson 865-8226 Webmnter Rus5ell 1/Wliams 586-7750 Ad Manager Cami Perkins 586-7758 Advi aer Larry Baker 586-7751 Writing Coach Paul Husselbee 865--8556 SENIOR STAFF WRITERS AND REPORTERS' DESK 586-n57. 586-S488 The Uniwlr,ity Jouma/ Is put,ished .,,..., Monday ond 'Tll<nda~ of Ille academic year by an:! r.,.. lhe studenl body of SoWlem Ula/, Univl!l'llty. II recewH a<M,ement !ram fne unwtlfSll)" i•lnlti0<1 and lrom tho urr;enity'1 CC<M1UnlClliol1 depilnmenl The views ond O!)lnlons In 1he Journal ani 11-ose er ln<ivldual Vlrii.n and clo nol necessarily rellecl 1he view, of !he W111itu11on, faculty, Slall .,.. •tudent body In Tho •"P<••ffd ll<ilOnal dordy gen-. it tho cpW"" of ti-. Urwersity Jouma/ as • lingM .,111y, Letters 10 lhe editor ffl\JJt be typed rd inc:ludl lhe n11T1e and phone n<.mber. Only !he name wffl be print..i. Nome• wil nc1 be W>lllheld under _..y citcumstancu ond lhe odi1or rHllfVH e<11ti1111 privoleges. 1.8!11<1 mu,t be IIUbtnrtled by 5 p.m. Tlu1days for induslan In Monday ediicns. Ind by 5 p.m. Mondays for Thlnday ecilicna. Grilv1nceo: Any individuol with I grie- .tg,U\11 ine Joume/ shcud dnct such p,Clblem first 10 the odlor. If urnsaved, that grievance- 111en be <ir9ctad to 1he · Un'-olty Joumlll: Office• in SUV Technology~ 011 . Moil at SUU, C-Cily. Utoh M720. FAX (435) 511&-5'4.97. E·mail ldd1'9u. jOl.l'nliQsuu.ldv unilgned - ~ .J"R!HTED ON RECYCLED PAPER. Pl.£ASla RECYCLE THIS COPY. I ~r fll.JEVE 'IAMT 11frt DON1r PUT IN HERE! lEfS WDIEST! l LE1TERS Dedicatory prayers show gratitude TO THE EDITOR: As is apparent, the new SUU Physical Education Building was ded icated March 23 . I was fortunate enough not only to be there , but also to be involved in the way of o rganiz i ng and participating in the event. Four years ago I never wou ld have told you that I would be writing the newspaper to defend prayer at dedications, but that is what I am prepared to do today. It seems li ke people have forgotten how we got here (as if we ever knew) and aren't really interested in saying "thank you· to the forces that make opportun ity and pri v ilege possible. When someone prays, all they are doing is saying "I'm not in charge.· They are inviting energy of protecti on and gu idance to a chaot ic and disturbed world . But look at us; we're Beavis and Butthead-ized. We yawn as soon as someone says · Dear God" and we wake up to gentle nudges at the end of the sermon. Our mainstream media has us so adrenilized-out that a praye r in thanks for food or opportunity or a special friend Be thankful that the people in are considered boring. If food is charge here see themselves as boring , maybe it's because we secondary, that they are trying to don't cook it. If opportunity is deliver the opportunity you need, boring , maybe it's because we to you , so you can have a take it for granted . If a special chance towin. Be gl ad that they are not friend i s bori ng , maybe it's because they don't pray enough. simply lining their pockets with This life is extremely exciting your lunch money , but are because we never know what's acquiescing to a greater power go ing to happen . We never that is in charge of us all. Can 't we · agree that we all know when we mi ght go to NCAA or discover the cure for need help sometimes? If you cancer. In the meantime , let's don't think you are in a constant discover the cure for apathy and state of need, then try not eating take t ime to remember that for a week. I'll bet you get more hungry than the person who just nothing is guaranteed. As humans , we depend on prayed before their last meal. th ings . We need shelter and I want to c l ose in prayer , understanding, cultivation and support and thanks for this new and our future .fac ili ty expression. So when you go to a opportunities made possible by dedication for a new multi-million its creation . dollar building at a university in a I also want to give thanks for town whose crime rate is not people who pray. It's not nerdy, growing proport io n ate to its boring or annoying-it's a way of population , and your elders and saying ·we're not in charge,' and const ituents in athlet ics are · ultimately we're not. praying , just remember that we We have a hand in the can 't w in all the time , but we outcome of an intent or an action always need to eat. We can 't but we need more than that ; always be on top of the pile, but that's why we pray. we 're lucky enough to have a good climb at it. Ojango Larson McDaniels I • |