Public community college will stop recruiting students based on their religion

Inside Higher Ed reports that Northwest College, a public community college in Wyoming, will no longer send recruitment letters to Mormon high school students. Links to Insider Higher Ed’s earlier story are here.

President of public community college attempts to recruit Mormon co-religionists

Inside Higher Ed reports on the attempts by Paul B. Prestwich, president of a public community college in Wyoming, to recruit fellow members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The recruiting efforts raise questions about separation of church and state and whether the president may have violated the state Constitution.

The article provides rich background to the dispute, including a discussion of prior attempts to use students’ religious affiliation for recruitment purposes at public institutions. It could serve as the basis for a wide-ranging discussion of boundaries in church-state separation in higher education.

BYU backs off from production of Euripides’ Bacchae

Inside Higher Ed reports that Brigham Young University has decided this year not to stage an annual University of Utah production of an ancient Greek play. This year’s play is Bakkhai [Bacchae] by Euripides.

Rodger Sorensen, chair of theater and media arts at BYU, said that as an institution that is part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the university "must take into consideration our particular audience." As he learned more about the production, he said, he became concerned that audience members would be "troubled" by the production.

"We have no problem with the play,” Sorensen said, “but feel it shouldn’t be done here.” More details and a link to a local review of the production at Insider Higher Ed.