Controversy was sparked when several faculty members took issue with an evangelical Christian invocation being delivered at the Commencement ceremony.

According to the Yuma Sun, the president of the Faculty Senate said that when the college staff was asked for input, there were a large number of responses in favor of the invocation prayer and only four against.

Yes, the majority of the responses were favorable; but behind every person who lifts up his or her hand to say they don’t agree there are always several others who don’t voice their opinions because they’re afraid of conflict – especially when it comes to politics and religion.

If even a couple of faculty are against it, it’s because they see it as problematic or unfair, not just because people like to complain.

Also, why not ask the students for their opinions? After all it is their commencement ceremony. What is the Student Government Association for, anyway?

The separation of church and state is not even the issue here; it’s that having an evangelical Christian prayer is not inclusive and leaves out a big chunk of students and faculty who have a different set of beliefs.

We could go to the other extreme and be completely inclusive. But rather than sitting through a snooze-fest of back-to-back prayer sessions of Catholics, Christians, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, etc., I suggest we do not have it at all and let the dispute end right there.

Loading… But if we just have to have it, at the very least it should not be mandatory so some of the staff can be absent without pay cuts.

Prayer is very personal, and if an individual has the spiritual need for it they can do it – whether it is in church, at home or at school – but those who seek a communal prayer experience will go to church for it, not college.

Logic states that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, especially when the needs of the many are to not have to sit through a sectarian invocation if they don’t believe in it.