Snapped Shot

At the time I initially came through the area that afternoon, the prayer room was actually in the process of being used by a large group of Muslim students, and the partitions were set up as usual to segregate the men from the women. So, returning after my class let out at 9 PM, I stopped by again to have a look, and noticed that the partitions and floor mats were still set up.

So much for the Administration taking a tough stand on keeping the space ecumenical.

I sat down for a moment to pray there, to get a feel for what other students must be feeling. Or at least, I tried to. The space is definitely intimidating, even during the relatively quiet hours of night—which aren't all that quiet: I ran into two Muslim students while trying to get in to the space to use it. I can't imagine how difficult it would be to get in that space during the busy parts of the day!

I'm going to be keeping an eye on the construction right next door—if the University is doing anything other than renovating educational space on this already-overcrowded building, you'll hear about it here, first.

Until later, here are the pictures of the areas I'm discussing—Please forgive the large size and graininess of the originals: I have not had opportunity to scale these phone-camera shots down for the website at present.

Update: I just noticed this press release issued by the University on the 27th of July, most likely in response to the USA Today article written on the topic:

STATEMENT FROM GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY ON CAMPUS MEDITATION SPACE—July 27, 2007
Media Contact: Jennifer Edgerly, jedgerly@gmu.edu (703)-993-8699

FAIRFAX, Va., July 27, 2007 - George Mason University is proud of its ranking as one of the nation's most diverse universities, with students from more than 130 countries. As one of Virginia's largest higher education institutions, the university supports and maintains a peaceful and tolerant environment on campus while adhering to the appropriate separation of church and state that is expected from a public institution.

Recent news articles have presented a misleading and inaccurate description of the meditation room on the Fairfax Campus. The meditation room in the Johnson Center, a student union building, was established seven years ago in response to those in the university community who wanted a quiet, drop-in location for reflection and prayer. The room is open to all on campus who wish to utilize it for quiet meditation. It is not and never has been affiliated with a specific religion or religious practice and there are no plans to change this in the future.

Alleged issues surrounding the use of the meditation room that were discussed in an article in Mason's student newspaper nearly three months ago were resolved peacefully on campus last spring with no additional problems. The students on campus who utilize the meditation room, including the Muslim students, have shown the utmost respect for each other and for George Mason University.

My apologies for not writing about this sooner, but from what I've continued to read on the SGA bulletin board, the issue was most certainly not resolved in the Spring. Nice to see that the Administration is starting to take notice of the seriousness of the situation, though. Not that I expect anything good to come of it.