ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — A cadet quitting West Point
less than six months before graduation says he could no longer be part
of a culture that promotes prayers and religious activities and
disrespects nonreligious cadets.
Blake Page announced his decision
to quit the U.S. Military Academy this week in a much-discussed online
post that echoed the sentiments of soldiers and airmen at other military
installations. The 24-year-old told The Associated Press that a
determination this semester that he could not become an officer because
of clinical depression played a role in his public protest against what
he calls the unconstitutional prevalence of religion in the military.
"I've been trying since I found
that out: What can I do? What can I possibly do to initiate the change
that I want to see and so many other people want to see?" Page said. "I
realized that this is one way I can make that change happen."
Page criticized a culture where
cadets stand silently for prayers, where nonreligious cadets were
jokingly called "heathens" by instructors at basic training and where
one officer told him he'd never be a leader until he filled the hole in
his heart. In announcing his resignation this week on The Huffington
Post, he denounced "criminals" in the military who violate the oaths
they swore to defend the Constitution.
"I don't want to be a part of
West Point knowing that the leadership here is OK with just shrugging
off and shirking off respect and good order and discipline and obeying
the law and defending the Constitution and doing their job," he told the
AP.
West Point officials on Wednesday disputed those assertions.
Spokeswoman Theresa Brinkerhoff said prayer is voluntary at events where
invocations and benedictions are conducted and noted the academy has a
Secular Student Alliance club, where Page served as president.
Maj. Nicholas Utzig, the faculty
adviser to the secular club, said he doesn't doubt some of the moments
Page described, but he doesn't believe there is systematic
discrimination against nonreligious cadets.
"I think it represents his own
personal experience and perhaps it might not be as universal as he
suggests," said Utzig, who teaches English literature.
One of Page's secularist classmates went further, calling his characterization of West Point unfair.
"I think it's true that the
majority of West Point cadets are of a very conservative, Christian
orientation," said senior cadet Andrew Houchin. "I don't think that's
unique to West Point. But more broadly, I've never had that even be a
problem with those of us who are secular."
There have been complaints over the years that the wall between
church and state is not always observed in the military. The Air Force
Academy in Colorado in particular has been scrutinized for years over
allegations from non-Christian students that they faced intolerance. A
retired four-star general was asked last year to conduct an independent
review of the overall religious climate at the academy.
There also has been a growing
willingness in recent years by some service members to publicly identify
themselves as atheists, agnostics or humanists and to seek the same
recognition granted to Christians, Jews and other believers. Earlier
this year, there was an event at Fort Bragg that was the first known
event in U.S. military history to cater to nonbelievers.
Page said he hears about the
plight of other nonreligious cadets in part through his involvement with
the West Point affiliate of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation.
The founder and president of that advocacy group said Page's action is a
milestone in the fight against "fanatical religiosity" in the military.
"This is an extraordinary act of courage that I do compare directly to what Rosa Parks did," said Mikey Weinstein.
Page, who is from Stockbridge,
Ga., and who was accepted into West Point after serving in the Army,
said he was notified Tuesday of his honorable discharge. He faces no
military commitment and will not have to reimburse the cost of his
education.
West Point confirmed that it
approved his resignation and that Page had been meeting the academic
standards and was not undergoing any disciplinary actions. Page said he
had been medically disqualified this semester from receiving a
commission in the Army as a second lieutenant — like his classmates will
receive in May — because of clinical depression and anxiety. He said
his condition has gotten worse since his father killed himself last
year.
It's not unusual for cadets to
drop out of West Point, an institution known for its rigorous academic
and physical demands. But the window for dropping out without the
potential for a penalty is in the first two years. Dropouts are rare
after that point.
Page expects to leave for his grandparents' home in Wright County,
Minn., in the coming days. He plans to remain an activist on the role of
religion in the military.
"I'd really love to be able to do this for the rest of my life," he said. LINK
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