On Monday morning, 28 April 2003, the Executive Officer for the United States Air Force Academy's Acting Superintendent, Brigadier General John Weida, sent the following email to all Academy personnel:
Quote:
-----Original Message-----
From: Salgado Lori Lt Col USAFA/CCE
Sent: Monday, April 28, 2003 11:43 AM
To: Dist P; C03_All; C04_All; C05_All; C06_All; Shaw Jim Civ AOG; Emerson Mike Col USAFA/CCL
Subject: National Day of Prayer -- Message from the Acting Superintendent
Warriors,
Men and Women of faith will gather all over our great nation on 1 May to go to the Lord in prayer. We humbly ask that you remember the men and women of the Air Force Academy in your prayers on 1 May. Ask the Lord to give us the wisdom to discover the right, the courage to choose it, and the strength to make it endure. The Lord is in control. He has a plan for each and every one of us. If we seek His will in our lives, we will find the "peace that passes all understanding." May God bless the Air Force Academy, our great Air Force, this great nation, and you.
BG John Weida
Acting Superintendent
USAFA
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One brave Faculty professor at the Academy sent this email to everyone in his/her department:
Quote:
-------Original Message-----
From: xxxxxxxx USAFA/DFxxx
Sent: Tuesday, April 29, 2003 10:27 AM
To: DFxxxx_All
Subject: my two cents
DFxxxxers and any one else interested,
Whatever theology the senior administrator of a federally funded public institution espouses is his/her own business. When that person uses his/her position as a "bully pulpit" (the term seems invented for this very circumstance)-all of us should be concerned, regardless of the theology we do or do not profess as individuals.
There is something intrinsically coercive in the General's message and call to prayer because it implies that those who do not comply are those who are "not on board." Is praying according to General Weida's formula and on the day he announces a litmus test for demonstrating one's commitment to assuring a respectful, ethical environment? I think not, but his announcement suggests that it is.
Put General Weida's message in the context of General Jumper's comment, quoted in The Spirit April 4 page 4 that General Rosa was appointed because he is a "good leader, a good Christian leader." Using religion as a factor in appointing anyone to any position in a public, federally funded institution is against the law. General Jumper's statement leaves the door wide open for litigation by anyone who is not perceived as a "strong Christian" and who does not get or retain an appointment to whatever post.
Let's suppose that the President of the UNC system, Molly Broad, had made General Jumper's comment about a "strong Christian leader" when she decided about appointing a chancellor to one of the UNC campuses. Let's suppose that Chancellor Allen Meadors of UNCP, upon assuming his post, emailed the faculty with information about his religious convictions, and let's suppose that he-like General Weida--set aside a day and a time for all faculty, staff, and students to pray. I can assure you that the NC legislature would be forced to take action or at least counsel the President and the Chancellor. But neither President Broad nor Chancellor Meadors would make such a mistake because they are fully aware of the appropriate legal line that must be drawn between their private beliefs and their public office.
What agency might function in a manner similar to the NC legislature in order to counsel General Jumper and General Weida? Air Force leaders must understand the difference between a public institution of higher learner and a private Bible College.
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The USAFA Telephone Directory can be found at:
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Jeff
04-29-2003, 08:36 PM
National Day of Prayer and the Air Force Academy
