05 June 2007

WAIT ...IT GETS BETTER

Last week, Kay Pepin, University of Michigan-Dearborn Director of Facilities Planning, and Terry Gallagher, a U of M-Dearborn spokesman, confirmed that plans are in the works to build Muslim footbaths (they refer to them as "foot-washing stations") in both the University Center and Fairlane Center buildings at the university.

When asked why the footbaths were being installed, Gallagher said this is "an accommodation to a significant portion of our student body and their friends and visitors in accordance with our mission." He said that it is a growing trend with Boston University, Cal State-Fullerton, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Washington University of St. Louis, all installing footbaths. "We wanted to be part of that trend in accommodating Muslim students."

When asked what portion of the U-M Dearborn is Muslim,Gallagher said that the most recent information the school has is from a 2004 survey of incoming freshman. The survey only identified 11% of students as Muslims, whereas 37% of incoming freshman were Roman Catholic. When I asked if there was any accommodation or money spent on Catholic students, he could not identify any.

Check out the American Congress for Truth Website for more.

No comments: