Political correctness and sensitivity does have its price. This time it comes in the form of tuition payments from Saudi Arabia. These aren’t Arab students who want to learn about Christianity. They are just willing to tolerate or ignore the founding principles of the school they are attending in the interest of getting an American education.
The University doesn’t seem to mind that those they are accomodating have many members engaged in an unholy war against them. The money is good.
The accommodation comes in the form of an Islamic prayer room complete with ritual washing station at the University of St. Thomas in good-old Sharia tolerant St. Paul, MN.
There’s been a huge influx of Muslim students from Middle Eastern countries. The number enrolled from Saudi Arabia alone this semester is 121.
The dean of students, Karen Lange said, “Yes, we are a Catholic school, but I think this shows that we’re also a diverse place, and we’re welcoming of students from all faiths.”
There are Christian works of art throughout the campus and one has to ask how long those will remain, or how long will it be before the Muslim tolerance of the Christian symbolism around them becomes too much of an affront to continue to accept and concessions are demanded of the administration.
One of the students interviewed, Afna Alowayyid, said, “We didn’t know this was a Catholic university when we came here.” Alowayyid is a business communications major. More effective communication from the Saudi government might have tipped her off. She says that given her rudimentary English at the time, she didn’t even realize that the school was named after a Catholic saint.
“The name didn’t mean anything to me,” she said.And, obviously it doesn't mean anything to anyone else either.