Paganism is so very the new Kabbalah! Not only are pagan weddings on the rise, but now Marshall University in west Virginia has issued a proclamation giving pagan students the same allowances granted to monotheists in regards to missing class for religious holidays. This makes Marshall, to the best of their knowledge, the only university in the country to specifically take measures to protect pagans in particular, and not just cop out with that bullshit "all faiths" blah blah blah language. Says one such Marshall student, "Now that we know we can be protected, that the government will stand behind us and we feel safe, it's going to be more prevalent."
So yay! New reasons to get out of class! We knew kids who pretended to be Jewish to be able to get out of riveting lectures in "Biology and the American Social Contract" when we were in school. And uh, those Christian kids? Classes weren't exactly held on their holidays. But we're not sure if there are going to be more pagans sprouting up all of a sudden. Especially since this is only happening in West Virginia. Still, how long before the ghost of Jerry Falwell shows up on campus and starts haunting these poor kids with hellfire and damnation? And by "those poor kids" we guess we mean that one kid who was quoted in the Times. Because as the Marshall dean, Steve Hensley, said, "I don't think there are a lot of students here who have those beliefs."
At a University in West Virginia, New Protection for Pagans [NYT]