JT of the Missouri State University Pastafarians has told me about some troubling discrimination.
The MSU campus is displaying a Holiday Tree and Menorah - but requests to put up a FSM Holiday display were denied, then false hurdles put in place, and now it seems that communication is being ignored.
It should be noted that Pastafarians are an officially recognized student organization at MSU, with the support of many of MSU’s finest faculty members.
It seems clear that the denial of the FSM display is due to the Dean of the Humanities Dept. and building coordinator, Dr. Lorene Stone.
The display is spectacular, and tasteful by anyone’s standards.
Take a look:
JT and MSU Chemistry professor Dr. Mark Richter have documented their correspondence with Dean Stone. It’s an extremely interesting read; everyone should take a look: JT’s blog post about this.
A note to Dean Stone: you’re running a school, NOT a religious organization. It’s not your place to push your personal beliefs on anyone, nor is it your place to reject beliefs that you don’t subscribe to or take seriously. Jesus would not approve of what you’re doing.
–UPDATE —
It seems the MSU administration is unwilling to discuss the matter. Dean Stone’s most recent correspondence said “I am VERY busy and do not have time to continue this e-mail dialogue with you.”
MSU President Dr. Michael Nietzel has been notified of the issue.
We need your help. We’d like the administration to get a sense of the number of people concerned about this issue. If you choose to write the administration with your views, PLEASE be courteous and respectful. The issue here is equality, not whether Pastafarianism is better than any other belief system.
Dr. Lorene Stone:
lorenestone@missouristate.edu
417-836-5529
Dr. Michael T. Nietzel:
President@missouristate.edu
Thanks for your help.
– UPDATE 2 –
I’ve been forwarded some replies by MSU President Dr. Michael Niezel, which, if accurate, indicate that the administration offered to allow the Pastafarian display to be placed in a different building.
I would like to know why the Pastafarian display is not allowed to be placed next to the other religious displays.
I believe Dr. Stone made the decision to deny the placement of the Pastafarian display based on her biased personal views, and that her decision is being upheld by the administration above her for political reasons.
My view is that a building administrator who allows a Christian and Jewish display, but denies a Pastafarian display has acted inappropriately.
What do you think? Is it enough to be allowed to place the display in another building?
lorenestone@missouristate.edu; President@missouristate.edu;
sean@saturday-night-live.com;lorne@lornemichaels.com
Sean, you’re going to love this.
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=40539144&blogID=337042809
Dr. Stone(wall) und Herr Dr. Neat Sell
My, my, my,
You folks just crack me up. I am so sorry I have missed the fun of watching this “drama” unfold at your proud institution.
I came to your story via the Washington Post. Wow, I am so impressed by the effort you expend on behalf of the Constitutional Freedoms of our nation. Moreover, your staunch defense of “fair and equal” is to be applauded (I actually cried - just thought I’d throw that i - what with everyone crying these days). Indeed, your courage in the face of the FSM will be relived and retold until ……well until we all get a good laugh on SNL.
Fight On Proud MSU.
Deliver us from the evil FSM
Can’t wait to send my grandsons to MSU - no the real one.
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=40539144&blogID=337042809
Please pass along my regards and support to JT.
I wasn’t up to joining in order to post on his site.
what is it because we don’t have a pretty little building with a steeple on it? is that why we can’t put up decorations?
Fact: only 0.22% of the world’s population is Jewish, while atheism claims a significantly greater number, at 6%. Why a Menorah, directed towards one of the world’s least-believed certified religions, would be allowed, while a Pastafarian display would be denied, makes no sense. The only explanation that we can logically come to is that MSU is trying to build a theocracy where they don’t have to tolerate religions they think are foolish. Also, it might be because we don’t have a pretty little building with a nice steeple.
Go’ramn it! Turn yer ship upside down if ye want a bloody buildin’ with a steeple!
Oh, you’ve got a building with a steeple? So friggen what? We’ve got lots of heavily armed upside-down floating buildings with steeples!
It is a little late, but I chimed in as well…
Dear Dr. Stone,
I feel that if you allow one group to receive preferential treatment at the expense of the others, it does not reflect well upon the presumed ideas of equality and fairness that should be present in a university. I am speaking about the decision to deny the Pastafarian group at your university the right to erect a holiday display while permitting the displays of both the Christian and Jewish religions.
Now, while I personally believe all religion to be equally foolish, I cannot fathom how you have decided that the Pastafarians are less deserving of respect and consideration than anyone else. I ask you to consider how you may have reacted had a Moslem student organization requested to construct a holiday display. Would you have been so cavalier in your dismissals of their request?
It cannot be that the Pastafarian symbols are ‘religious’, because the christmas tree is not a religious symbol. As I’m sure you well know, it was an ancient pagan symbol that was adopted by early Christians in an attempt to make their new religion more compatible with the ‘old ways’. So, here you have a religious (Jewish) and secular (pseudo-Christian) symbol arranged side by side - on what basis do you reject the Pastafarians their opportunity to display their own symbol of belief next to all the others?
If I am not mistaken, your university is the recipient of public funds. As such, I do not feel that you have any right to discriminate against any recognized student group whether or not you personally share any or their views or beliefs. Clearly, your refusal to allow this student group to construct a tasteful holiday display springs from your own persona biases. This sort of blatant favoritism has no place at an institution that presumes to be devoted to developing open and inquiring minds.
I urge you to reconsider your tenuous and indefensible position, and to demonstrate the values upon which our university system is founded. Equality, fairness, justice do not go hand in hand with favoritism and disregard for other points of view. Yes, I am aware that an offer has been made to move the Pastafarian decorations to another location…and again I ask: Would you have asked a Moslem or Coptic Christian or Hindu student organization to sequester their symbols?
I suspect not, and so it seems that the entire basis for this decision is firmly rooted in prejudice. I look forward to being proven wrong.
forget having steeples, weve got pirates, pirates automatically win against churches its a scientific fact, so says me lord of things i feel like being lord of
Get the Pinjas to crush them [A cross between Pirates and Ninjas]
Zekk XX
I’m looking forward to Easter, to see if Dean Stone continues to show discrimination in allowing only certain religious displays. I hope JT and the others at MSU will have a beautiful Pastafarian display ready! Since Easter will be only 3 days after the vernal equinox, a spring celebration will surely be in order!
This really ticks me off. I want to email them both, but I don’t want to make any enemies there before I actually get accepted. I hope this gets resolved before I apply…
If you make an e-mail with Earthlink (I’ve had it for a very long time and don’t remember if they charge, but you can check), they give you five free aliases, all that you can anonymously send e-mail from and you will receive in your normal inbox. It’s a nice tool to have when you want to send people like this e-mail.
*receive replies in your normal inbox
I recently found that FSM is huge at my college, Spokane Community College, with students and faculty alilke. Then I started noticing that it’s not just limited to the college. Spokane loves FSM!!! go pastafarians!!!
So, O Holy Henderson, what’s the deal? Why have you forsaken us? I got all emotional about this injustice, and you haven’t updated us in two months! Is there to be no satisfaction for all of us fighting this battle vicariously?? I know the Noodly One is out there watching over us, but sometimes it’s hard to keep the faith…(sniff……)
Thought you might like to read my letter
Dear Sir
I come from South Africa, a diverse and exciting blend of cultures, languages and races. Our history is dark, one of violence and segregation. Through persistance and an aim to right the wrongs, great men and women changed the future of my country. We now tolerate all peoples as we have come to realise that everyone is equal to life, choice, speech and religion - to name a few. Please will you accept my brothers and sisters who follow the Flying Spaghetti Monster’s wise teachings at your institute. We as a church have struggled in the past and I fear that the negative way our situation is being handled and portrayed may cause riffs in our society. My brothers and sisters have been very accomodating to the other students and their beliefs- don’t we need that kind of treatment too?
May Noodley appendage guild and protect you
Concerned Pastafarian
Captian Jason of HNS (His Noodlyness’ Ship) Cook With a Little Oil and Salt
P.S., JT’s blog doesn’t have an update either. (sigh)
They allow a Christian display but nto a Pastafarian one?
That’s illegal, take the infidels to the supreme court that they may order the legal equivalenccy of a damn good stoning!
Hi,
Does anyone know if the teacher or the student got a lawyer and took this issue to court? I would be willing to find legal counsel and even help fund it. This is simply a matter showing that we are serious. People like Dean Stone are intolerant and do not understand letters, even letters that explain what she is doing is illegal, so I say we stop telling her we’re serious and start showing her we’re serious.
Ahh screw them, I mean they’re assholes and what they’re doing is illegal! Pirate #1 trillion is right, we should take up a lawsuit. As long as an organization accepts public funds it has to abide by people’s rights. i.e.. the boy-scouts accept public funds and use public property for their meets for as little as $1, which means that they cannot legally exclude gays. Or MSU accepts public funds and therefore it’s anti pirate/pastafarian agenda is illegal.
-J.T.S.
Lighten up, we having fun here aren’t we (or you guys are, I’m a newbie). How about not mocking their beliefs in their faces. Have fun in our own area and don’t insult them. Their beliefs are personal and important and I wouldn’t want to leave hurt feelings. We can mock (false) religions without confronting them.
Ooh, that’s just ridiculous! What right do they have to say that Pastafarianism isn’t true?
I would LOVE to see somebody take up a lawsuit against them, really. What they’re doing is highly illegal and just plain immoral, as well.
I know that if anybody attempted this at MY school, we’d have around a billion people climbing up their asses about it. That’s what should be happening at MSU.
Hopefully, someone will do something about this. It’s hard to believe that this type of discrimination is still allowed to happen in this country.