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"University Of Minnesota Memo: Wrapped Gifts, Santa, Christmas Trees ‘Not Appropriate.’"

The items, which the document describes as “not appropriate,” include bows, bells, depictions of Santa Claus, Christmas trees, wrapped gifts, nativity scenes, the star of Bethlehem, dreidels, angels and doves. Also included are decorations themed around the colors of red and green or blue and white. - TheCollegeFix Graphic Source: The CollegeFix

 

Article by Nathan Rubbelke, Staff Reporter, December 16, 2017, The College Fix

 

Memo points readers to ‘Bias Incident Website’ to lodge complaints

A memo provided to some University of Minnesota community members at a recent event dedicated to discussing how to make the holiday season on campus more inclusive warns against Santa, Christmas trees, wrapped gifts and the colors “red and green,” calling them “not appropriate.”

The recommendations were circulated at a recent “Dean’s Dialogues” event hosted by the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences focused on “respecting religious diversity.”

The “Religious Diversity and Holidays” memo lists about a dozen separate items it says should not be used, asserting they represent “religious iconography.”

The items, which the document describes as “not appropriate,” include bows, bells, depictions of Santa Claus, Christmas trees, wrapped gifts, nativity scenes, the star of Bethlehem, dreidels, angels and doves. Also included are decorations themed around the colors of red and green or blue and white.

“Red and green are representative of the Christian tradition as blue and white/silver are for Jewish Hanukkah that is also celebrated at this time of year,” the document states.

Those on campus can put up religious decorations “in their own personal space if it does not have a meaningful public function,” the memo states. Though, it adds such decor should not be put up in public spaces such as reception areas and kitchens.

The document was first reported on by Intellectual Takeout, a media nonprofit based in Minnesota. The organization received a copy of the memo from a University of Minnesota employee.

Reached for comment by The College Fix, University of Minnesota spokeswoman Emma Bauer called the memo a “conversation piece to facilitate dialogue” at the inclusion event.

“It was not distributed broadly to [College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences] employees. It does not reflect current University of Minnesota, EOAA (Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action) or CFANS official guidance,” Bauer said.

Jon Miltimore, senior editor for Intellectual Takeout and author of its article on the document, told The College Fix he’s glad to hear the university is distancing itself from the memo.

“But I’d be interested in how such a document was created, approved, and disseminated to department staff in the first place,” he said.

In addition to the recommendations on decorations, the “Religious Diversity and Holidays” document encourages campus holiday parties remain “neutral-themed,” by employing titles like “winter celebration.” With that in mind, the document also says such celebrations should avoid any music, decorations, food or invitations that have ties with a certain religion.

The office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action stated that it would provide “additional support and problem solving” for any employees who reached out against “inappropriate religious celebrations” in the workplace.

The memo even points readers to lodge a complaint using the “Bias Incident Website.”

The University of Minnesota is not the first public university to establish directives regarding Christmas celebrations. In 2015, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion at the University of Tennessee developed a list of “best practices” that to community members to “ensure your holiday party is not a Christmas party in disguise.”

 

Above article by Nathan Rubbelke, Staff Reporter, December 16, 2017, The College Fix

 

The Twelve Rules of Christmas

The Rutherford Institute

Article by John W. Whitehead, December 6, 2004

This was not the mother’s first trip to her child’s classroom, where parents regularly volunteered to lead story time. Because it coincided with the holiday season, she thought the ideal story to tell would be the original Christmas story that began nearly 2,000 years ago. But she remembered the memo.

Sent weeks earlier, it was a stern reminder by the school principal that children in public schools could not celebrate Christmas. The sensitive kindergarten teacher added in her own handwriting, “It’s that old ‘separation of church and state’ thing.”

While the children seemed to enjoy A Pocket for Corduroy, the mother felt a certain injustice in her eventual decision to change her choice of books. There was no reason the children should not have been allowed to hear a story about the first Christmas. But she had given up the fight long ago when, after generating a few ripples when her first child was going through school, well-meaning family and friends had advised her to be a help, not a hindrance, to her child’s education.

Unfortunately, far too many parents, students and teachers think they cannot do anything to celebrate Christmas in the public schools. Whether it is ignorance or fear, Americans are painfully misguided about the recognition of religious holidays. Ironically, the most targeted religious holiday for exclusion is Christmas—also the most popular in American culture.

Are children really forbidden from learning about one of the most culturally significant events because it is religious? For that matter, are adults forbidden at work or in public places to celebrate the religious aspects of Christmas?

The truth is simply that no, they are not. In fact, there are constitutionally sound principles that, if followed, will allow the religious significance of Christmas to be celebrated and taught. The following twelve rules are offered:

1. Public school students’ written or spoken personal expressions concerning the religious significance of Christmas (e.g., T-shirts with the slogan “Jesus is the Reason for the Season”) may not be censored by school officials absent evidence that the speech would cause a substantial disruption.

2. So long as teachers are generally permitted to wear clothing or jewelry or have personal items expressing their views about the holidays, Christian teachers may not be prohibited from similarly expressing their views by wearing Christmas-related clothing or jewelry or carrying Christmas-related personal items.

3. Public schools may teach students about the Christmas holiday, including its religious significance, so long as it is taught objectively and for its historical or cultural importance and not for the purpose of promoting Christianity.

4. Public school teachers may send Christmas cards to the families of their students so long as they do so on their own time, outside of school hours.

5. Public schools may include Christmas music, including those with religious themes, in their choral programs if the songs are included for their musical quality or cultural value or if the songs are part of an overall performance including other holiday songs relating to Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or other similar holidays.

6. Public schools may not require students to sing Christmas songs whose messages conflict with the students’ own religious or nonreligious beliefs.

7. Public school students may not be prohibited from distributing literature to fellow students concerning the Christmas holiday or invitations to church Christmas events on the same terms that they would be allowed to distribute other literature that is not related to schoolwork.

8. Private citizens or groups may display crèches or other Christmas symbols in public parks subject to the same reasonable time, place and manner restrictions that would apply to other similar displays.

9. Government entities may erect and maintain celebrations of the Christmas holiday, such as Christmas trees and Christmas light displays, and may include crèches in their displays—at least so long as such items are placed in context with other symbols of the holiday season as part of an effort to celebrate the public Christmas holiday through its traditional symbols.

10. Neither public nor private employers may prevent employees from decorating their offices for Christmas, playing Christmas music or wearing clothing related to Christmas merely because of their religious content so long as these activities are not used to harass or intimidate others.

11. Public or private employees whose sincerely-held beliefs require that they not work on Christmas must be reasonably accommodated by their employers unless granting the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the employer.

12. Government recognition of Christmas as a public holiday and granting government employees a paid holiday for Christmas does not violate the law.

We must remember that those who founded this country and established the freedoms we still cherish were a religious people, and they passed these traditions down to us. Hopefully, we will not be too timid to continue their legacy of freedom.

 

The Rutherford Institute

Article by John W. Whitehead, December 6, 2004

Constitutional attorney and author John W. Whitehead is founder and president of The Rutherford Institute. He can be contacted at johnw@rutherford.org.

Source: Original Web page from the Rutherford Institute, Twelve Rules of Christmas

 

Paying For A Ginsburg Education

 

Photo Source: Etsy

"While Reuters attacks our president again, AOL News content children responded by referring to the Reuters’ article as generating 'raised eyebrows' . . . progressive AOL turning another page in its playbook of worn-out clichés.  

Sadly, Americans may have to continue to endure these kinds of articles from our media into the future.  They’re compliments of many of the country’s institutions that still refer to themselves as 'higher education,' while others through an electronic media are being taught by Prager University. 

Better known as PragerU, this free online service with volunteer donations still represents those young men and women who won WWII in LESS TIME than it took the progressive Obama to build one laughable “affordable” healthcare Web site.  

It's why Asian students are usually the best representatives of America's universities.  These students follow the age-old standards of their parents, ones who 'hold tight' to the stuff of ancient teachings that address conflicts, protects family heritage / values and separates themselves from parts of liberal societies like ours where monkeys could be considered to qualify as a human gender on college campuses.

Today's universities, at a whim, replace freedom of speech with 'you can't do this or you can't do that.' This originated in the 1990’s from the rotten fruit of the tree of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, causing many to ask the age-old question over this supreme court justice's hatred of males, 'If gold can rust, what will iron do?'

Well now we have the answer from the fools at the University of Minnesota, where it’s allowed to tell students, among many other things, what colors they can use and not use during the holidays.  What is amazing is that American parents who send their children to this university are spending tens-of-thousands of hard-earned dollars to give their child that special 'Ginsburg education.'” - Webmaster