A new temporary space recently opened on the second floor of the Kirkhof Center to provide a place for students of all faiths to pray and meditate. Aaron Haight, assistant director for Student Organization Development and an adviser for the GVSU Interfaith Council, said many groups have already been reserving rooms for this purpose and the new designated prayer room would provide a centralized place to meet their religious needs.

As of now, the space is temporary as building managers monitor the response to and use of the prayer room. The fact that the room is temporary is one of its redeeming factors.

If a renovation were started to make the space a permanent area for prayer and meditation, students and faculty at GVSU should take a critical look at the funding and purpose of the project for possible conflict of the separation of church and state.

The concept of a separation between religious interests and public institutions is not found in the constitution, but rather stems from interpretation of the First Amendment and a letter written by Thomas Jefferson about protecting state rights.

The opening clause of the First Amendment regarding religion states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” The Supreme Court has been rather ambivalent in applying this part of the First Amendment to various conflicts between religious and state policy, but in the case of a state university, too much funding and attention should not be spent of personal religious needs.

Congress has not prohibited religious practices on public campuses, nor has GVSU. According to the GVSU Counseling Center website, “This university is founded on strong moral and spiritual principles as is indicative of Western Michigan. Students from differing religious sects come together on this campus to form a unified group of students.” While the majority of the student population identifies itself as Christian or Catholic, according to the Counseling Center website, the smaller religious groups deserve just as much respect as well as an area to freely exercise their religious rights on campus.

The Cook-DeWitt Center on the Allendale campus provides a non-denominational facility for religious services throughout the week catering to different groups, so there is no reason for a state university to invest any further resources from its general fund into accommodating different religious beliefs. The idea for the prayer room was started by the Muslim Students Association, and the Cook-DeWitt Center is available for this group as well.

Plans for whether or not to make this prayer room a permanent fixture in Kirkhof are still up in the air, but members of the community should watch carefully to ensure this state university upholds its obligations as a public institution and doesn’t sway too much to private religious interests.