All Cory Schroeder wanted to do was to say the Pledge of Allegiance.
Schroeder, a recently-elected senator in the Associated Students of the University of Wyoming (ASUW), told Campus Reform he was informed that he couldn’t say the Pledge at the beginning of student government meetings in fear that it might offend others. He certainly has good reason for wanting to say the Pledge — he is a six-year Army member with a completed tour of duty in both Afghanistan and Iraq.
“Multiple senators sat me down and said it was a ‘very touchy subject’ and ‘we don’t want to offend anybody,’” Schroeder said.
Instead of the Pledge, the ASUW reads the school’s mission statement aloud at the beginning of meetings.
To voice his concern, Schroeder said he met with ASUW Vice President Ricardo Lind-Gonzales.
Lind-Gonzales supposedly told Schroeder that the issue would be put on ASUW’s agenda, with the opportunity for Schroeder to speak as well. This didn’t happen before the year’s end.
In an email to Campus Reform, Lind-Gonzales stated that “[t]he Pledge was not left off the agenda due to being seen as offensive.”
“[t]he Senator was in no way banned from reciting the Pledge of Allegiance at meetings. The Pledge of Allegiance is a tradition that many organizations adopt in their meeting procedures.”
Lind-Gonzales added that the ASUW simply hasn’t included the Pledge in such an outline, as shown in Article II of the organization’s “Rules and Procedures.”
