A Sonoma State University (SSU) supervisor ordered a student last week to remove a cross necklace, Fox News reported.
Liberal arts major Audrey Jarvis, 19, was working at an Associated Student Productions freshman orientation event when her supervisor told her the cross necklace be offensive to some students.
"My initial reaction was one of complete shock," Jarvis told Fox News. "I was thrown for a loop."
One unnamed school official speculated that this was a case where "political correctness got out of hand."
Jarvis' lawyer, Hiram Sasser, of Liberty Institute, said he expects the school to apologize to his client, and they appear ready to.
"It's amazing in this day of diversity and tolerance on university campuses that a university official would engage in this type of obvious religious discrimination," said Sasser.
According to Sasser, the supervisor told Jarvis to take off the necklace because the chancellor had a policy against religious symbols and "it might make incoming students feel unwelcome, or it might cause incoming students to feel that ASP was not an organization they should join."
Jarvis is Catholic and wears the cross to show her faith. The supervisor allegedly told her to take it off or tuck it into her shirt, which upset Jarvis so much she left her job early that day.
"I was offended because I believe as a Christian woman it is my prerogative to display my faith any way I like so long as it is not harming anyone else," she said. "I was very hurt and felt as if the university's mission statement - which includes tolerance and inclusivity to all - was violated."
SSU spokesman Susan Kashack confirmed the incident to Fox News and said the school is going to contact her and issue an apology.
"It was absolutely an inappropriate action for him to make that request of her," Kashack said, adding that the school president Ruben Arminana was "angered" by the incident. "The president was very upset about it and asked me to contact Miss Jarvis and give a profuse apology."
