On April 14, the Washington Post ran a story about a female Muslim cadet requesting of the Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina, that she be allowed to wear a hijab as part of her uniform. In its nearly 175-year history, the Citadel has never granted a religious or any other accommodation that resulted in a change to the uniform.
The request was denied last week.
Robert Azzi’s column in the May 15 Sunday Monitor takes issue with the decision and believes it to be wrong. Azzi says the Citadel should have made an example by granting the request, to quote Azzi, “to recognize her quest for what it is – an affirmative signal to America’s enemies that all Americans – including Muslims – repudiate all forces of terror and instability that threaten this nation.”
My take: Pure political correctness on the part of Mr. Azzi.
I applaud John Rosa, a retired Air Force lieutenant general and president of the Citadel, for upholding the uniform standards.
Rosa’s statement reads: “Uniformity is the cornerstone of this four-year leader development model. The standardization of cadets in apparel, overall appearance, actions and privileges is essential to the learning goals and objectives of the college. This process reflects an initial relinquishing of self during which cadets learn the value of teamwork to function as a single unit.”
In other words, the students themselves assimilate into the culture of the college. Webster defines assimilation as “the cultural absorption of a minority group into the main cultural body.” Enough said.
David Sandoe
Bow