SC Legislator Proposes Mandatory Cadet Prayer At Citadel

In 2003, The Citadel, in South Carolina, dropped its tradition of a mandatory mealtime prayer led by cadets, and instead instituted a period of silence before each meal at which a cadet merely has the option to pray silently. The change came after the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down mandatory prayer at Virginia Military Institute. (CNN report.) Now a South Carolina legislator is attempting to reintroduce mandatory mealtime prayer at the Citadel. State Rep. Wallace Scarborogh told WCIV News (Charleston, SC): "They said that didn't have the legal authority to have prayer so I said well if they don't have the legal authority let's give them the legal authority."