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St. Cloud State University
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Decorations cause clash
By Becky Glander
Published:
Thursday, December 9, 2004
Media Credit: Adam Hammer
First-year student Amber Manko decorates the CSOLD office window in Atwood Memorial Center. Manko said she drew multiple designs for the display in an attempt to come up with a non-cultural holiday display.
Some students believe the Grinch has stolen Christmas.
In past years, holiday decorations filled campus buildings and residence halls. Although there is no written policy, some students have claimed the university has taken a no-decorations stance to the holidays.
Residential Life President Larry Christiansen said that the residence halls are free to decorate, with exceptions.
"Residential Life has no policy about decorating, except when it comes to eliminating fire hazards," Christiansen said. "We don't allow real trees in students' rooms and we ask that students limit the amount of paper on their doors, but they are free to decorate however they want in their rooms."
The Eagle Line, Residential Life's newsletter was handed out to students who live on campus this week. It provided decorating guidelines that only pertained to fire safety, not the content of the decorations.
Christansen, who has worked at SCSU since the end of October said that there seems to be a heightened sensitivity about cultures and holidays compared to other campuses he has worked at.
Except for toy drive drop boxes, the residence hall lobbies are free of Christmas, Hanukkah or Ramadan reminders. Freshman and Stearns Hall resident Joe Sanderson said he is disappointed with the lack of holiday spirit.
"I think decorations look nice," Sanderson said. "I can live without them, but it could be a little more festive."
This year, there is a controversy over whether or not the lit tree should remain on top of Sherburne Hall. KSTP Channel 5 visited campus on Tuesday and covered the story on the nightly news. Sophomore Matt Rydberd, a desk worker at Sherburne, said that the KSTP reporters referred to the tree as a "giant metal triangle."
The controversy began when a group of students were offended by the decoration, saying that it promoted Christianity. Another group of students argued that the tree is not associated with any religion. Residential Life is still debating whether or not the tree will keep its position.
"I think it was hypocritical of the school to want to take it down, even if it is a Christian symbol," Rydberd said. "If it was a giant menorah, nobody would be saying anything for fear of offending the Jewish population, but somehow Christians can be picked on and it's politically correct."
Director of Atwood Center Margaret Vos believes the university is concerned about how inclusive they are with decorating for a particular season in comparison to other seasons.
"We're used to doing whatever is in the best interest for the students on this campus," Vos said. "We just do whatever it is that needs to be done."
Third-year student Frankie Yang doesn't know why holiday decorations would be offensive. He believes everyone should have the opportunity to celebrate publicly.
"I think it's good to showcase the different holidays that are going on," Yang said. "I guess in this world today, whatever you put up is offensive to someone. If I put up a picture of a Christmas tree and someone was offended by it, I'd think it would be kind of dumb, but what can you do? There's a fine line between what is offensive and what's not and I think people should know that by now."
Amirban Ray and Sramana Chakraborti are both graduate students from India that practice the Hindu religion. Although they have no holidays approaching, they enjoy holiday decorations.
"I grew up going to a Protestant school where there were Christians celebrating Christmas," Ray said. "I have no problem with people celebrating their holidays on campus."
Chakraborti believes some people may be offended because it is up to individual perception.
"I don't know exactly why people would be offended by decorations," Chakraborti said. "Maybe it's because freedom is promoted and religions make it individualized. They might think Christians are pushing their religion on them."
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