I don’t have a problem with this. And this will probably get me flamed here, but this seems to me a bit as if perhaps this family and/or CAIR was looking to start shit.
I think religious exemptions are stupid.
So, the question is, are other religious exemptions made? Orthodox ringlets? Yarmulkas? Amish beards? Tilaka?
I have to agree. Why choose to go to a place that demands uniforms, and then complain about uniforms?
The century-and-a-half-old institution holds that it has never made an exception to its uniform regulations and that dressing students identically is key to instilling patriotism and teamwork in its recruits.
Dressing identically — the very foundation of patriotism. Got it.
“Uniformity is the cornerstone of this four-year leader development model,”
I thought leaders were independent thinkers who bucked the norm, set trends, and aren’t afraid to be a little different. Yet the statement quoted above seems to be the conventional wisdom in this country.
I dunno. I think context matters.
Here, in this context, I’m gonna have to side with the college unless there are some facts suggesting this was actually denied despite others receiving such considerations. The military thing is a different world.
That being said, there are some other considerations here too, like isn’t the Citadel public, not private? That might change things a bit. I’d have to think on it more. In any event, this isn’t a cut and dried issue.
Seems reasonable to me. Except for her pending lawsuit.
She had a choice and made the one she was comfortable with.
“Uniformity is the cornerstone of this four-year leader development model,” Rosa wrote.
I wonder, do they all have to have the same favorite fruit? Agree Billy Joel sucks? Root for the Lakers?I’m good with private sector or even government leaders seeking to color outside the lines, but lets leave the military creativity with battlefield strategy and tactics. I don’t want an officer trying to be a little different when it comes to following orders and unit cohesiveness.
So the military should allow everyone to just dress as they choose?
Removing individuality in order to foster unit cohesion is the foundation of a functional fighting force. It’s not like being in the Millennial work force at Facebook.
I get that, especially in a matter of life and death, cohesive, and clear communication is key.
The wearing of a hijab doesn’t in my mind present a challenge to strategy, and tactics.
This. Twice.
The Citadel has a hard-earned reputation as the most militaristic of the military colleges in the country. (Yes, I know VMI would contest that dubious honor, but I think The Citadel wins the argument. YMMV.) I will be shocked if I ever learn that The Citadel has ever made an exception to its uniform regulations.
I’m on the college’s side here. If she wants to go to The Citadel she ought to understand that uniformity is huge part of the thing. It’s basically four years of boot camp with academic classes added. When new boots arrive at camp, everybody gets a haircut. It doesn’t matter if you went to a barber the day before and got a buzz cut: you get in the chair and they run the clippers over your head anyway. The whole experience is not designed to produce leaders, it’s designed to convince you that you’re just another brick in the wall. (Apologies to Pink Floyd.) That is as true of The Citadel as it is true of boot camp.
The Taliban, Al-Qaeda and ISIS don’t have a standard issue uniform. It seems they’ve collectively done a pretty good job at kicking Russian, American, and Syrian asses all over the battlefield for a couple generations. The rag-tag, differently dressed Viet Cong ran us out of Southeast Asia. There were probably a thousand different manners of dress on the people that drove us from Mogadishu. I hardly see that matching uniforms is predictive or helpful as to military success.
“It isn’t fair!”
The military is very unfair, always has been. She wasn’t very serious about Citadel if this was her concern. She should have checked out the situation before she got her hopes up. Citadel = conservative bastion. BTW, sorry to say it but I have said it in sincerity to two Muslim women in Iraq, your life generally is going to be more complicated and difficult if you move to a Western country and maintain the hijab standard. It’s a choice certainly, but if you can let it go, things are going to be much smoother.
It most certainly does. Meditate on the meaning and worth of the word “uniform” if you will.
It’s at the core of having the discipline to perform as a unit in combat. If uniformity is tossed aside in favor of troops dressing as they choose and other considerations are given to their fee fees then essentially what we’d have is the WW2 era French or Italian army.
We have choices.
If you cannot accept uniformity and discipline then the military is not for you.
Given the school’s venerable history, I can’t think of any way a Muslim woman attending the Citadel could go awry even if she gets to wear a hijab.
This is a bit like signing up for membership in the KKK, then complaining that they won’t let you wear a do-rag instead of the white hood.
It isn’t called a “uniform” for no reason.
They all dress pretty similarly though don’t they?
And I don’t recall seeing much variance in the attire of the Viet Cong while in country. Black was pretty much black.
“She told the commandant it wasn’t fair that she has to choose between practicing her faith and going to the Citadel,” Hooper said, as quoted by the newspaper.
No, it’s not fair, but I don’t think the Citadel is at fault, after all, if you were a Muslim man, this would not be an issue.