When a Florida Atlantic University student refused to participate in a class assignment that he felt denounced his religion, his professor suspended him as a consequence.

FAU found itself in the national spotlight last week when a student claimed his professor suspended him for refusing to stomp on a piece of paper with the word “Jesus” on it. The university issued an apology for the professor’s actions.

The student, Ryan Rotela, said his professor asked students to write the word “Jesus” on a piece of paper, throw it on the floor and stomp on it. Rotela, who identifies as Mormon, refused, according to a March 21 CBS12.com article.

Two days later, he met with his professor, Deandre Poole, to discuss the incident, at which point he was suspended from the class, according to the article.

“Anytime you stomp on something, it shows that you believe that something has no value. So if you were to stomp on the word ‘Jesus,’ it says that the word has no value,” Rotela said in the article.

The exercise was designed to illustrate the power of specific words. It was included in a study guide for the textbook, “Intercultural Communication: A Contextual Approach, 5th Edition,” written by James Neuliep, a professor at St. Norbert College in Wisconsin.

FAU said in its statement that the exercise will no longer be used in the course.

Student participation in the exercise was not mandatory, according to FAU’s statement.

“No students were forced to take part in the exercise; the instructor told all of the students in the class that they could choose whether or not to participate,” the statement said. “No students will be disciplined in any way related to this exercise, either inside or outside the classroom.”

FAU’s apology came shortly after Rotela and his attorney met with university officials. The meeting marked a shift in FAU’s stance on the incident, as it had initially defended Poole, according to a March 27 South Florida Sun-Sentinel article.

Rotela expressed his satisfaction with the apology via Facebook on Monday. “FAU gave me everything I want. Victory!” his Facebook status read.

Poole, who is also the vice chair of the Palm Beach County Democratic Party, has kept silent on the incident since last week, and FAU has not said publicly whether Poole will face disciplinary action as a result of the incident, according to a March 22 article published by the Miami Herald.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott spoke out Monday against the assignment, which he called “offensive,” and wrote a letter asking Florida’s state university system to investigate FAU’s handling of the incident, according to the Sun-Sentinel article.

“Whether the student was reprimanded or whether an apology was given is in many ways inconsequential to the larger issue of a professor’s poor judgment,” Scott wrote in the letter. “The professor’s lesson was offensive, and even intolerant, to Christians and those of all faiths who deserve to be respected as Americans entitled to religious freedom.”

Published on March 27, 2013 at 11:47 pm

Contact Michelle: mlsczpan@syr.edu