Student senators to protest prayer

University President Dan Mote defended his decision to overrule the University Senate and reinstate a prayer at commencement, saying the university needs to be building, rather than abandoning, traditions.

"There needs to be a strong force to walk away from tradition," Mote said, explaining his stance publicly for the first time. "I didn't feel the strength."

For the first time since assuming the presidency in 1998, Mote went against a senate decision, citing what he said was unconvincing support throughout the campus. The university's most powerful legislative and advisory body had recommended eliminating the two-minute invocation at graduation in a 32-14 vote. Student senators, who voted unanimously in favor of eliminating the prayer and said Mote's decision shows disrespect for the senate and their opinions, are planning to protest the decision early next month.

The controversy centers on a ritual invocation that opens the campus' commencement ceremony. The invocation is crafted and presented on a rotating basis by each of the university's 14 chaplains, who are instructed to make it as "inclusive as possible."

Critics of the prayer argued regardless of intent, any prayer at the all-campus event is inappropriate as it excludes non-believers and has no place in a non-religious ceremony at a public institution.

But Mote, who decided to overrule the senate's decision last Thursday, lauded the annual invocation as one of the university's "few traditions" and said it should not be taken for granted or eliminated.

"This is the first time I felt I could not support [the senate's] decision," Mote said. "Ultimately, when it comes down to the senate vote, the margin was not that large, and in my conversations with people here, I couldn't help but conclude that the strength of the campus on this issue was not strong as a whole - individuals, yes, but the campus as a whole was not for the ban.

"The invocation is a major tradition of campus," he added. "As an institution, we don't have a lot of traditions, and we are not burdened by them. We should be building them, not walking away."

But student senators said freedom from religion is more important than campus traditions and, after a rare showing of senate support, they feel the university administration sidelined and ignored them. The student senators will be working to organize a protest of Mote's decision early next month.

"I personally have nothing but the utmost respect for religion, but when you look at graduation, it's supposed to be a celebration of individual students and student accomplishments," undergraduate student senator Kevin Tervala said, adding this was the reason student senators voted unanimously to support the prayer ban, regardless of their personal religious beliefs.

"The protest is going to showcase the religious diversity and spirit of individualism we have on this campus," Tervala added. "That's why we're having the protest. Religion cannot serve as an all encompassing force of bringing people together. It has a place in society, just not necessarily at the graduation of a state-sponsored institution."

University officials said they understand students' discontent and acknowledged the decision was not an easy one. University Senate Chair Ken Holum said he predicts the issue will likely resurface in the future.

"[Mote] told me it was a very difficult decision to make, but he felt, somewhat reluctantly, that he had to do it," Holum said. "I don't think the issue will ever go away. Who knows what will happen next year."

Holum noted there was massive pressure on Mote from outside the university community to overturn the decision.

"[Mote] was under tremendous pressure to veto what the Senate approved," Holum said, adding he personally received e-mails from state senators and others with "shocking language" about the senate's decision.

"We've both been getting e-mails, phone calls and letters from the broader community more so than from those on campus," he added. "It was mostly people in the state at large, not on campus, who reacted to the recommendation negatively."

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