FFRF was able to stop a teacher from offering prayers to students in the nursing program at the Southeastern Community College in Whiteville, N.C.
A concerned Southeastern Community College student reported that, on March 28, an instructor in the nursing program led the class in prayer just prior to scheduled testing. FFRF’s complainant reported that this was a frequent occurrence and that the instructor regularly asked to pray over the class or spoke about prayer during class. The complainant chose not to participate in the program due to the instructor’s inappropriate conduct and feared retaliation for speaking out about the behavior.
FFRF Staff Attorney Chris Line contacted Chris English, the college’s president. The college’s Director of Human Resources Ian Callahan informed FFRF of the college’s response via email. “There should be no future concerns with the report of religious activities involving our instructors in the classroom setting,” Callahan wrote. “We here at Southeastern Community College strive to investigate and remedy all concerns reported by our students.”
