This year, for the month of Ramadan, the Glickman library set aside group room 221 for prayer and meditation to help meet the needs of Muslim students whose religious practices require prayer at five prescribed times through out day. When USM’s interfaith chaplain notified the school of this through the USM Information Exchange list serve, faculty members raised concerns that the school was potentially promoting one religion over others.
Professor of business administration, John Voyer, said in a phone interview “I’m not a hundred percent comfortable with a public university setting aside rooms for religious observance. Usually religious groups find their own space at their own expense and don’t have it provided at public expense,”
“It’s not costing anything,” said Andrea Thompson McCall, assistant dean of student life and interfaith chaplain. The room came as a gift from the library staff upon receiving her e-mail, which “included an appeal for faculty and staff to be sensitive to the particular needs of observant Muslims during Ramadan.”
Aside from only observant Muslims, other faculty see a need for a quite place on campus. “I think having a quiet prayer/meditation room on all campuses should be mandatory – not just during Ramadan, but all year round,” Wrote Lisa Marie Lindenschmidt, information and accessibility coordinator at the Muskie School of Health Policy Institution.
With space being at a premium on the campuses, Thompson McCall said there are not plans for full time rooms at the present.