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An
adviser on the campus of UCLA has edited a student's
personal graduation statement to remove her reference to
"my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ," citing policy in the
Department of Molecular, Cell & Development Biology.
Word of the situation came from an Internet posting by
Gordon Klingenschmitt, the former Navy chaplain who was
removed from the military in a dispute over the use of
Jesus' name in his prayers.
"This is another example of the improper application of
separation of church and state," he told WND. "As a
government school, UCLA cannot prohibit religious
expression. They're the ones crossing the line here."
The school, in a later statement, confirmed it had
reviewed its procedures and would read the statements as
submitted by students, after "making clear" that it was
understood that it is not a university statement.
The posting revealed an e-mail exchange for a submission
by student Christina Popa to faculty adviser Pamela
Hurley of her "personal statement" for graduation. The
statements are submitted by students, but eventually are
read by faculty.
Popa wrote she wanted to say: "'I want to thank my Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ. I also want to thank my father
who passed away 3 years ago, for teaching me to always
do my best and thus motivating me to pursue the
sciences. I want to thank my mother for supporting me in
school as well as my sisters and brother for encouraging
me and my friends for making college fun.' I plan to
work in a research lab or become a dietician."
Klingenschmitt said he'd talked with Popa and she was
not making any further public statements on the dispute
at this time. WND messages left via telephone and sent
via e-mail to Hurley were not returned.
The university, however, did release a statement
explaining the reading of the "words of wisdom" is done
by a member of the school administration.
"Because the reading is by the university, not the
students, to avoid the appearance that the university
was advocating one religion over the other, guidelines
were established so that messages would not include
references to particular religions," the school stated.
"The department and the university support the First
Amendment and in no way intended to impinge upon any
students' rights.
"Thus, upon review, and recognizing that the intent of
the ceremony is for all students to have a chance to say
something at graduation, the department will continue to
make clear to the audience that the statements are the
personal statements of each student and will read
statements as originally submitted by the students," the
school said.
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