Posted on 08/07/2007 4:21:21 AM PDT by Pharmboy
Fabrizio Costantini for The New York Times
A footbath has been installed in a corner of a unisex restroom at the student center at Eastern
Michigan University in Ypsilanti. The University of Michigan-Dearborn has installed footbaths
in an effort to accommodate Muslim students.
DEARBORN, Mich. — When pools of water began accumulating on the floor in some restrooms at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, and the sinks pulling away from the walls, ... some were washing their feet in the sinks.
...the university announced that it would install $25,000 foot-washing stations in several restrooms.
...it created instant controversy, with bloggers going on about the Islamification of the university, ... or unconstitutional government support for that religion.
But after a Muslim student at Minneapolis Community and Technical College slipped and hurt herself last fall while washing her feet in a sink, ...double standard — stopping a campus coffee cart from playing Christmas music but taking a different attitude toward Islam.
“After the column, a Christian conservative group issued an action alert to its members, which prompted 3,000 e-mail and 600 voice messages to me and/or legislators,” said Phil Davis, president of the college.
On her Web site, Debbie Schlussel, a conservative lawyer and blogger in Southfield, Mich., posted, “Forget about the Constitutionally mandated separation of church and state ... at least when it comes to mosque and state.”
The American Civil Liberties Union says the footbath issue is complex.
“Our policy is to object whenever public funds are spent on any brick and mortar component of religion,” said Kary Moss, director of the Michigan Civil Liberties Union. “What makes this different, though, is that the footbaths themselves can be used by anyone, don’t have any symbolic value and are not stylized in a religious way..."
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Well then, I guess the biology lab can dissect pigs in the foot baths, huh?
Prolly one of those old timey urinals, that stretches out half a meter along the floor. Some pee, others footwash. What’s to complain about.
woops, that’s before i saw the picture. shoot why not make it a shower.
that’ll be the question. But I think I’d rather have the foot baths than having somebody wash his feet where I have to brush my teeth.
It would be terrible if an occasional random turd found its way in there.
Looks like a low-walled urinal to me. I know if I were there, that’s what I would use it for. Daily.
OTOH, wet floors are a hazard to everyone using the facility.
Easy to fix. If they want to support one religion over others, take away their federal funding. Simple. BTW, pressure on the ACLU may be effective here.
Maybe we need more militant Christians, too.
Try to separate the religion aspect from it.
On the other hand, at one company I worked for I got tired of walking into the mens room and finding some jackass washing his feet in the sink. I suppose it’s as much for our sanity as it is for their convenience.
Actually, they are showers for toddlers.
Or, as in the case of the Muslim cabbies at KC airport, the shower stalls are so they can fill up buckets to clean their cabs.
Why? Do they wash their feet in the sink, too?
Yep, good enough to “let some water”.
It's a good thing the coffee was still brewing when I read that. LOL!
I demand that the college put holy water fonts in classrooms for Catholics. They can be made such that they “can be used by anyone, don’t have any symbolic value and are not stylized in a religious way.” I also demand that they install kneelers (prie dieux) in libraries and various locations so they can kneel and pray. These also can be made such that they “can be used by anyone, don’t have any symbolic value and are not stylized in a religious way.”
It looks like some urinals I’ve seen. Maybe it will be used that way - accidentally, of course.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.