The Michigan Tech University Pastafarian club has been the victim of harassment even before their first meeting. The MTU Lode reports:
Two individuals are currently undergoing disciplinary procedures through the Dean of Students Office after an investigation by MTU Public Safety determined that they posted a threatening message on the door of the President and Vice President of a recently-formed student organization called the Pastafarian Club.
Some background on the MTU Pastafarian club’s leaders:
According to the president of the Pastafarianism Club, Matt Halberstad–who identifies as agnostic–the group is a parody “religion.” But the group’s purpose isn’t to attack religion, and one would be hard-pressed to find a member of the group who truly believes in their parody deity–the Flying Spaghetti Monster.
The vice president of the Pastafarian Club, Steven Wheeler–who is atheist–believes that Henderson’s argument boils down to the main belief of the Michigan Tech chapter of the Pastafarians: creationism, whether or not one believes in it, is not a science, and should not be taught in a science classroom.
I agree with that, but there are people - maybe not in this particular club - who do truly believe in the FSM. Also, I want to make the point that there are plenty of Christians who are members of the Christian religion without truly believing in the deity God/Jesus.
The harassment was hateful, not unlike some of the messages I receive. In part, the message said:
they [Pastafarians] should be shot and hanged from the tallest redwood and then thrown to the raging sea.
The individuals who left the hate messages were caught and are now facing a hearing:
The Bias-Related Harassment and Violence section of MTU’s Code of Community Conduct covers threats due to one’s “race, ethnicity, national origin, disability, religious or cultural identity, sexual orientation, gender-identity or gender.” The penalties for violating the Bias-Related Harassment and Violence section range from disciplinary probation to expulsion.
The outcome of this will be very interesting. Even if the death threats were not meant to be taken seriously, they were still hateful messages directed at members of a religious group on campus. What if the harassment had been instead directed at an Islam club? I strongly suspect the kids would be expelled.
I wonder if the school admins are willing to make the statement that Pastafarians deserve less protection against religious harassment than other mainstream religions.
That said, I don’t think these kids should be expelled. But it would upset me if a Pastafarian organization received less protection than another religious organization (or any other organization).
I guess we’ll see what happens.
Read more about it here.
Hmm - keep yourselves safe MTUites - there are some scary people out there.
And they should be given the same rights - no question - any group should - religious or otherwise - what if someone said that to the Chess club?
The hate mailers have started leaving notes now.
The students responsible should get suspended or given a substantial fine, if they just get a slap on the wrist, they’ll think it’s considered acceptable.
Those kids should probably be expelled. I went to MTU for a year, expressed that I didn’t care for Counterstrike to one student, and I received so much harassment that more than 7 kids got expelled for leaving me multiple, and very graphic death threats for the remainder of my year there. It’s a very strange school. I guess people lose sight of reality from all the isolation up there.
Threats like this are never acceptable, either against a religious club or as Booty says the chess-club. It should be made very clear to all. Disagreeing is ok, being against a group, their ideas etc is ok, threats are not!
Hanging someone after they have been shot would be a bit pointless wouldn’t it!?!
> there are people - maybe not in this particular club - who do truly believe in the FSM
thank you for acknowledging that. i realize that it might seem kind of silly, but as i’ve gotten older i’ve found that science does *not* hold the answer to everything, and for me the fsm does the best job of filling in those empty spaces.
i don’t pray (or prey) to the fsm. i don’t expect him to change my world. but he does bring me peace of mind.
Bah…they are just ignorants; people who are as violent as their god is. That’s what is wrong with these crazy (please note that I said crazy) religious people: Only them are right! Egocentric, ignorant, full of shit, people.
What do I get for the 7th post?
It’s absolutely frightening where some people have their minds. That is so sick! I think those kids should be sentenced to see some sort of councilor.
How saddening.
I’d say expell them, or let them be lectured about the greatness of pastafarianism by a pirate.
Pacific Pam - for 7th you get an extra ration of rum - here is comes…
*Booty throws the tankard across the Atlantic*
I don’t think you should expell kids for acts of stupidity.
That is a very hateful message, but they probably don’t mean it and haven’t acted on it in anyway.
They should certainly be made to see the stuidity of their action and given a chance to reform.
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If they do it again, then expell their asses.
It is disgusting but I agree that those kids should not be expelled for their stupidity.
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Instead they should be properly lectured, dressed in full pirate regalia and obliged to make a conference on the merits of the Flying Spaghetti Monster (parmesan be upon him).
RAmen
I don’t think they should get expelled either. But maybe a fairly substantial fine, or being forced to redecorate the pastafarian chapel. Maybe make a not to scale model of heaven.
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One model of ours and one model of theirs. Bet theirs would be rubbish.
I think they should be nailed to a piece of wood and left on a hill side.
“I agree with that, but there are people - maybe not in this particular club - who do truly believe in the FSM. ”
Yes, and you think those people are crazy, right? RIGHT? I find it disturbing that you’re beginning to talk about this jape as if it were a real religion, one that deserves as much protection as other religions!
Yikes! I thought you were pointing out the silliness of unfounded beliefs, not adding to their number!
Actually we’re just pretending mate.
Graham, please understamd, bobby just said that for people who would visit the frontpage, so that they would really thinkg there really are people who beleive.
@Graham - This is just about as real as many other religions in a number of ways. Here is one of them: If you look at modern christians for example, many of them don’t believe the bible word for word. They don’t believe that the world is 5000 years old, that Moses parted the red sea in two, that those people lived to be 700 years old, that there was ever a Noah or an arc, that Jesus did what the bible says he did, etc etc.
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Those people just get together at churches for weddings and funerals and listen to priest there. So to them being a christian is talking about various issues at christian wedding and funeral parties. We get together to talk about various issues under the embrace of His noodliness. I’ll hand it to you that we are on average most likely more secular than other religions, but I think that at least I believe in the gospel of the FSM as strongly as many christians I know believe in the bible if they really start to think of it.
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Maybe my faith is even stronger, for I believe very strongly in the dogma that religion does not beling in the science classroom. Have faith Graham!
If anyone did that kind of crap at my college, there would be a disciplinary hearing and they would probably be expelled. OU just doesn’t see a lot of death threats and would probably take it seriously.