^ 100 likes. Well said 
I think we know the answer to this…
http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/10/us/citadel-denies-hijab-request/
Yep, agenda confirmed.
@NoVADad99 wrote
What’s next? FAA exemptions for Sikh commercial airline pilots growing a beard?
It would be interesting to see what other institutions the student applied to , when she retained counsel and what is her state of residence .
It completely boggles my mind that anyone would want to attend a co-ed military school, which presumably includes field training, who thinks they need BATHROOM accommodations!!! If true, I find that simply ridiculous. Has this person every gone camping, for doG’s sake?
That’s because the student really had no intention to go to the Citadel.
They only wanted a way to get money out of them. Can you see this student in a co-ed swim?
The Citadel can and does exclude students who can’t meet the physical requirements of training. It excludes students who will not agree to all the rules and regulations, including uniforms. It is much more strict than joining the marines or ROTC at any other school. It CAN make exceptions, it just doesn’t want to.
@consolation “To be brutally frank, my heart will not bleed for someone who wants to wear a symbol of female oppression.”
I see it as oppressive too, and something that some women are essentially forced to wear. In my opinion, any action or statement that pressures a woman to wear a head covering should be a felony; however, that is not the law today, and following the law matters.
The Citadel is not the US military, no matter how much they may want to pretend that they are. This is a public school, and as such, has a responsibility to comply with federal law and the Constitution, even if the applicant only applied to the school to file a legal case.
It seems to me that when people talk about the importance of the Constitution, like the importance of the Bible, they usually mean the cherry-picked parts they agree with, based on their interpretation.
I have not found any source that says it’s not just about the hijab. Can anyone find one?
The source seems to be a student at the Citadel.
Given the date of the article linked in #90, seems like they should have had plenty of time to decide before May 1.
But also, why did school officials share the existence of the request with a student?
^ Eight days to make a major change in policy?
Thanks for that link, @Sue22. I now think differently about her position!
I especially liked this quote from the above article:
A seemingly minor exception to the dress code might seem like a trivial thing to some people, but it actually has far reaching implications, insofar as the Citadel’s core mission.
I believe the first amendment only requires “reasonable accommodation” in cases like this, and technically, the Citadel has been very reasonable with their religious accommodations with the exception of dress code.
For anyone who knows constitutional laws, please correct me if that is wrong.
That is your personal opinion which may not meet the legal standard of “reasonable accommodation” the courts will expect the Citadel to prove in its justification to deny this religious accommodation.
The recent case of the Sikh army officer being allowed to wear a turban will only weaken the case and as a state supported institution not affiliated with the military, its wriggle room to ignore religious accommodation requests are much narrower than if it was a private college or an affiliate of the US armed forces.
Also, it is interesting how some posters are trying to cast aspersions on the individual seeking religious accommodations as if the act is a bad thing.
Interesting considering the same aspersions/arguments were used by those who supported the prevailing perspectives and hanger-ons who dislike change/non-conformity against other groups who were later proven to be legally and morally correct such as Civil Rights activists or much more recently, the VMI cadets who sued to end mandatory prayers at mealtimes:
https://www.aclu.org/news/supreme-court-lets-ban-coerced-prayer-virginia-military-institute-stand
I do not have issue with the consideration of religious accommodations, based on the timing of her requests, I question whether her requests are religious or litigious in nature. I can not speak for others on this forum, it’s my own personal opinion.
@Sue22, thanks for posting the article. My source was a Citadel cadet interning with our company this summer.
It’s hard to know what exactly the young woman requested and which of her requests (assuming she asked for more than simply the right to wear the hijab) were non-negotiables in order for her to attend, and which were “as long as I’m asking I may as well ask for everything I might be able to get” requests.
I’m wondering about that, too. Wouldn’t this be a violation of some Federal confidentiality regulations regarding applicant/student records?
I do know for friends/relatives who worked in admissions offices of my LAC and some other selective colleges that they all had to sign confidentiality agreements barring them from discussing any identifying particulars about applicants/students they may have come across in the course of their work. Don’t know of too many college/university admins who would disclose such particulars at the risk of getting sued for breach of such confidentiality agreements/laws to the student body at large.
From their description of those agreements, they weren’t very different from the confidentiality agreements I had to sign as a condition of working for various firms…especially those in the financial and legal fields.