Louisiana State University has created an uproar by digitally erasing tiny crosses from a photo of the school's famous "Painted Posse," a group of avid Christian students rooting for the LSU football team.
Thousands of football fans across the country have expressed their anger over LSU's decision to eliminate the crosses painted over the students' hearts. Gene Mills of the Louisiana Family Forum is an LSU alumnus and explains that the edit was made in an e-mail about the game against South Carolina on October 13 to avoid the possibility of offending someone.
"The university has since issued an apology, but also issued an edict that no religious symbols are welcome," Mills reports. "This is a religious symbol-free zone now at LSU."
He says this is another example of political correctness run amok.
"I think it's correcting a problem that doesn't exist and creating problems formally and frankly that didn't exist before," the conservative offers. "So it's another example of Christianity [being singled out], and particularly, its religious expressions being silenced or somehow censored."
Regardless of the school's new policy, The Painted Posse plans on wearing their crosses at future LSU football games.
Fox News describes the group as devout Tigers fans who are also devout Christians. "They honor both passions every Saturday by donning full-body paint, which includes a cross above their hearts." Members of the group insist they are not angry with the university's new policy, but do not plan to omit the cross in the future.