About Face: Marquette Accepts “Christmas Tree”
It was just what one would expect of a politically correct university (although not of a genuinely Catholic university): describing a Christmas tree as merely a “tree,” as Marquette did when it announced a tree lighting taking place yesterday afternoon.
Our Sunday night post on this was quickly picked up on social media, and also by Charlie Sykes, who discussed it yesterday (Monday) morning. Here is Sykes:
Then, all of a sudden, announcements from Marquette of the event suddenly began to include the word “Christmas.”
There was an e-mail, dated Monday at 3:17 p.m. that announced the “Annual Christmas Tree lighting ceremony.”
And sometime yesterday an announcement on “Marquette Today,” first posted on November 21, was updated to say that the ceremony is “tonight.” The other change? The inclusion of the word “Christmas.” Here is the blurb on “Marquette Today” as it appeared on Sunday afternoon, and here is the way it appeared when we saved the page as a PDF today.
Somebody forgot to sanitize the University calendar, however, since today the entry still omits “Christmas” just as it did on Sunday.
Likewise, University spokesman Brian Dorrington did not immediately respond to a request for a statement about the change of policy that allowed “Christmas.”
The banning of “Christmas Tree” probably did not come from top University officials. More likely, some Residence Life official decided that “Christmas Tree” was not sufficiently “inclusive.” But that is the problem. The campus bureaucracy is dominated by the kind of people who define “inclusive” as requiring the exclusion of things explicitly Christian.
And these are the people who make most of the day-to-day decisions.
Marquette, after our story broke, appears to have been aggressively e-mailing people with the version of the announcement that includes “Christmas.”
Our Sunday night post on this was quickly picked up on social media, and also by Charlie Sykes, who discussed it yesterday (Monday) morning. Here is Sykes:
Then, all of a sudden, announcements from Marquette of the event suddenly began to include the word “Christmas.”
There was an e-mail, dated Monday at 3:17 p.m. that announced the “Annual Christmas Tree lighting ceremony.”
And sometime yesterday an announcement on “Marquette Today,” first posted on November 21, was updated to say that the ceremony is “tonight.” The other change? The inclusion of the word “Christmas.” Here is the blurb on “Marquette Today” as it appeared on Sunday afternoon, and here is the way it appeared when we saved the page as a PDF today.
Somebody forgot to sanitize the University calendar, however, since today the entry still omits “Christmas” just as it did on Sunday.
How Did it Happen?
It would be nice to know who first decided that a Christmas tree could not be called a “Christmas Tree.” But Mary Janz, Executive Director of Housing and Residence Life (the office that oversees the Residence Hall Association, which sponsored the event), has not responded to a request for an explanation of the policy, who made it, and how it was made.Likewise, University spokesman Brian Dorrington did not immediately respond to a request for a statement about the change of policy that allowed “Christmas.”
The banning of “Christmas Tree” probably did not come from top University officials. More likely, some Residence Life official decided that “Christmas Tree” was not sufficiently “inclusive.” But that is the problem. The campus bureaucracy is dominated by the kind of people who define “inclusive” as requiring the exclusion of things explicitly Christian.
And these are the people who make most of the day-to-day decisions.
Update
A woman posting a comment on the Badger Catholic blog said the following:I attend Marquette and this is the actual text from the E-mail we received, “Reminder: Residence Hall Association to hold annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony tonightThis, of course, is the November 21 post on “Marquette Today” that has been modified with “Christmas” added. Here, again, is the original November 21 post.
NOVEMBER 21, 2016
The Residence Hall Association will hold its annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony, “Igniting Hope,” on Monday, Nov. 28, at 5 p.m. in Westowne Square. The ceremony will include speakers, performances and the tree lighting. A reception, including musical performances, crafts and snacks, will follow from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the AMU Monaghan Ballrooms.
Marquette, after our story broke, appears to have been aggressively e-mailing people with the version of the announcement that includes “Christmas.”
Labels: Anti-Christian Bias, Christmas Tree, Marquette University, Political Correctness, Secular Intolerance, War on Christmas
posted by John McAdams at 3:18 PM
2 Comments:
Sad that media shaming seems to be the only way to get Marquette to remember that--because it claims to be one--it's supposed to be representative of the Catholic faith. Once again, were it not for Dr. John McAdams, Marquette would be much farther down the road of secular progressive suicide along with its brother Jesuit universities.
It seems to me that Marquette is fairly far down that road. Dr. McAdams has done a sterling job of exposing what is inevitably progressing--short of divine intervention and the conversion of the Jesuits.
Incidentally, is the ignition of "hope" referring to a rekindling of the message of eternal salvation through the gospel of Jesus Christ? The gospel, that is, not of income equality or the oppression of victim groups. The gospel of the forgiveness of sins on account of God's mercy in Jesus Christ. If someone knows the nature of the Hope surrounding the reluctantly named Christmas tree, please let me know.
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