According to the Boston Herald, University of Massachusetts officials sought to quash efforts by Ken Higgins, an Amherst campus chaplain, to offer two college credits to any student willing to campaign in New Hampshire this fall for Democrat Barack Obama.
Chaplain Higgins told students in a Sept. 18 e-mail, “If you’re scared about the prospects for this election, you’re not alone. The most important way to make a difference in the outcome is to activate yourself. It would be just fine with McCain if Obama supporters just think about helping, then sleep in and stay home between now and Election Day.”
Higgins added that an unnamed “sponsor” in the university’s History Department would offer a two-credit independent study for students willing to canvass or volunteer on behalf of the Democratic nominee.“It is relatively (easy) to do late add-ons,” Higgins wrote.Of course, Higgins refused to identify the History Department sponsor. you know, as a college student, you welcome extra credits, but that is clearly not the way to get them. Whatever happened to separation of church and state? I say that Chaplain Higgins was clearly wrong for his offer.
Filed under: Barack Obama, Chaplain Ken Higgins, UMASS
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