MSU says Northern grad prayer OK ACLU not planning to pursue the issue further

The local university was not violating the Constitution by having a prayer at its graduation ceremony, a legal counsel said in reply to a complaint.

Leslie Taylor, counsel for the Montana State University system, said case law does not support the American Civil Liberty Union of Montana's complaint that having a Christian prayer at Montana State University-Northern's 2010 graduation ceremony violated the separation of church and state.

"Therefore, I cannot join in your conclusion that the invocation and benediction in this case 'were unconstitutional and inappropriate,'" Taylor wrote to ACLU of Montana Legal Director Betsy Griffing. "An apology such as you request in your letter would also not be appropriate since MSU-Northern does not 'sponsor religious exercises' and does respect the beliefs of different faiths and dissenters." The ACLU request stemmed from several Northern professors complaining that the benediction and invocation at graduation, presented by Havre Pastor Tim Zerger, was sectarian and had the effect of proselytizing at a public university event, including to professors who the ACLU said were required to attend the ceremony.

Amy Cannata, communications director for ACLU of Montana, said this morning that the organization will not pursue the matter in the courts.

"We do feel that there is a need for continued education on this issue," she added. "It's not that we're opposed to prayer at graduation. … Institutions have to be careful in the way they do it, so it doesn't prescribe to one particular religion, which we still believe happened in this case.

"It's important for everyone to be able to practice their own religion," Cannata said.

Frank Trocki, Northern chancellor, said this morning that the university was carrying on graduating its students in a serious, traditional manner and will continue to do so.

"The purpose of graduation is celebration of the students' success, and I believe the individuals who have completed four to five to six years of education should be honored and congratulated for all their effort, hard work and diligence to succeed," Trocki said.

"We, as a community, as a university community, try to uphold that celebration in all its regalia and form of traditions and will in the years to come." In the letter to ACLU, Taylor said a

U. S. Supreme Court case cited by ACLU was specific to commencements at public high schools.

"It appears to me that on its face, the case does not apply to post-secondary graduations," Taylor wrote.

Taylor cited two federal court cases which uphold invocations and benedictions at university graduations.

In one of the cases, the court held That unwilling adult listeners are not coerced to participate in the prayers.

"He may have found the prayers offensive, but that reaction, in and of itself, does not make them unconstitutional," the 6th Circuit Court wrote in Chaudhuri v. Tennessee in 1997.

Taylor added that the courts considering such cases have made it clear that the age of the audience is an important factor, as is education.

"We may safely assume that doctors of philosophy are less susceptible to religious indoctrination than children are," the 6th Circuit Court wrote in its decision.

Taylor noted in the letter that Northern has invited different ministers from the Havre Ministerial Association to participate in commencement ceremonies, and that the 2010 ceremony also included a Native American drum ceremony.

"Given the facts presented in this case, there is no evidence that the university is using the invocations and benedictions at its graduation ceremonies for the purpose converting (sic) attendees to a particular sectarian view," Taylor wrote.