UC Irvine makes an unjustifiable and dangerous decision

Michael Arnold Glueck

This is one of those sensitive and complex issues that cannot be

fully addressed in letters of 150 words or commentaries of 750. Nor

does this writer want to further fuel the hate and name-calling. But

there are a few things many or most of us can agree on.

Imagine if this small group of UC Irvine students had instead

universally spoken out against all terrorism. Wouldn’t that have led

to a better outcome of this last month of campus unrest?

If the goal of this well-organized group was to polarize the

community and receive local, national and international news

coverage, then they succeeded because the UCI officials suffered an

acute case of weak backbone.

Imagine if hundreds of graduating students had taken the same road

and shown up adorned in stoles and robes of many colors so as to

identify their Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist or other

religious backgrounds.

Or how about wearing the colors and pins of their country of

origin or their clan? Why not bring in the gladiators and horses and

start World War IV right on the UCI campus.

Graduation is an honor, privilege and is voluntary. Traditionally,

students are specifically told before graduation ceremonies what

dress code will be acceptable. This, according to teachers and

administrators elsewhere, is to wear nothing over the gown. All items

of personal belief and conviction are to be worn under the gown.

But there is another reason UCI should not have allowed these few

students or any other group to wear special robes and badges of

identification.

According to a well-known amendment of the Constitution of the

United States of America, there is separation of church and state in

this country. The students in this case are of a specific religion

and the college, UC Irvine, is part of our University of California

system. Faced with what should have been an easy decision, the UCI

administrators allowed church and state to concoct at this graduation

ceremony.

They chose to let a small group of students provoke rather than

pacify -- while they themselves chose to pacify a few rather than

confront provocation. For this day and age, this was a cowardly

decision. On Friday, an American in Saudi Arabia was beheaded because

he was not of the preferred religion.

The administrators at UCI owe our community many apologies and

valid explanations. Shame on these masters of elitism for the wrong

lesson they taught everyone this day. They think their beliefs take

precedence over the nine Supreme Court justices.

And finally, does this mean that next year all UCI students will

be allowed to graduate in their choice of decorative garb, gowns,

stoles and symbols?

Let’s see how the elites reinterpret their own decision come next

year.

* MICHAEL ARNOLD GLUECK is a Newport Beach resident and an author

and columnist who writes on medical, legal and social issues.