The next meeting of the Minnesota Student Association Forum will not begin with the Pledge of Allegiance.
The Forum reversed a Feb. 9 decision to recite the pledge, which mentions God.
MSA President Matt Musel said Feb. 9 that members were not given enough time to debate adding the pledge to the agenda. He said Tuesday that it is divisive to begin Forum meetings with a controversial formality.
Musel has also argued that reciting the pledge trespasses against many foreign students whom MSA represents.
Forum member Matt Curry supported reciting the pledge. He said MSA probably would not exist without everything the flag stands for. “Because of this country, we’re able to have this institution.”
The Forum will still observe two minutes of silence at the beginning of meetings for those who wish to pray.

— Aaron Osterby