The Citadel military college has decided a newly accepted Muslim student cannot wear her traditional Muslim headscarf if she enrolls.
The South Carolina school announced Tuesday that commandant of cadets Geno Paluso decided that allowing the student to wear the head covering, known as a hijab, wouldn’t be consistent with the school’s policy of having cadets look similar.
The school in Charleston is known for its buttoned-up uniforms and close-cropped haircuts that represent the sacrifice of one’s self for the greater goals of the unit.
“Uniformity is the cornerstone of this four-year leader development model. The standardization of cadets in apparel, overall appearance, actions and privileges is essential to the learning goals and objectives of the college,” Citadel president and retired lieutenant general John Rosa said in a statement.
The Citadel will continue to provide for any cadet’s spiritual needs when it can, such as providing special diets or time for prayer and driving cadets to their places of worship if they don’t have a car, Rosa said.
The president said he hoped the student, whose name and hometown have not been released, would still attend the Citadel in the fall.
But the woman will not attend the school unless there is a change, a spokesman for the family, Ibrahim Hooper, with the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Washington DC, said Tuesday.
Hooper said the family was considering legal options after the school’s rejection.
The woman was crying this morning after getting the call, Hooper said.
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