Students Banned From Thanking God In Graduation Speeches

A professor at East Carolina University forbade his students from thanking God in personal statements that will be delivered during departmental graduation ceremonies, Campus Reform reports.

He defended his policy in an interview with Campus Reform saying, "it's not a religious ceremony, it's purely educational."

In an email obtained by Campus Reform, Assistant Professor Eli Hvastkovs, who teaches chemistry at East Carolina University (ECU), instructed his students to prepare a "family friendly" 35­ word personal statement that mentions future plans or "thanks someone." The students, however, were explicitly forbidden from thanking God.

"I've had some submissions that needed to be edited. so [sic] here are some guidelines," the email reads. "1. You can't thank God. I'm sorry about this-and I don't want to have to outline the reasons why."

In an interview with Campus Reform late last week, Professor Hvastkovs defended the restrictions and confirmed he sent the email banning giving thanks to God after too many students recognized religious figures during last year's event.