CALIFORNIA BRIEFING / LOS ANGELES
A UCLA student can thank Jesus in a personal statement to be read during graduation ceremonies, even though an administrator initially barred use of the Christian reference, the university said Tuesday.
The university supports “the 1st Amendment and in no way intended to impinge upon any students’ rights,” senior campus counsel L. Amy Blum wrote in a letter.
Students in the molecular cell and developmental biology department were asked to submit short statements that will be read as they cross the stage Saturday to receive their degrees. Student Christina Popa’s statement read, in part, “I want to thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
The student affairs advisor for the department objected to the Jesus reference and asked Popa to substitute it with, “I want to thank God” instead, according to the Alliance Defense Fund, a religious-freedom group that took up the young woman’s cause.
When Popa protested, the administrator told her the only other option would be to forego any statement, the Alliance Defense Fund said.
The department was concerned that the university could be seen as endorsing a specific religion because an administrator would be reading the statement aloud, Blum wrote.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
