UMass chaplain fails in effort to boost Barack Obama's chances
Tuesday, September 23, 2008


University of Massachusetts officials yesterday quashed efforts by an Amherst campus chaplain to offer two college credits to any student willing to campaign in New Hampshire this fall for Democrat Barack Obama.

Chaplain Ken Higgins told students in a Sept. 18 e-mail, "If you're scared about the prospects for this election, you're not alone. The most important way to make a difference in the outcome is to activate yourself. It would be just fine with McCain if Obama supporters just think about helping, then sleep in and stay home between now and Election Day."

Higgins added that an unnamed "sponsor" in the university's History Department would offer a two-credit independent study for students willing to canvass or volunteer on behalf of the Democratic nominee.

"It is relatively (easy) to do late add-ons," Higgins wrote.

But university officials disavowed themselves of the effort after inquiries yesterday by the Associated Press. They said it could run afoul of state ethics laws banning on-the-job political activity, as well as university policy.

"There is no independent study for credit in the History Department that involves partisan political work, and no such activity has ever been approved," said a statement issued by UMass-Amherst spokesman Ed Blaguszewski.

Higgins refused to identify the History Department sponsor and referred all further questions to university officials.

Blaguszewski said Higgins is one of about a dozen chaplains from different faiths working in Amherst, the flagship campus among the university's five schools.