Good God (am I allowed to say that word), York. Are you for real?

My alma mater has re-inserted itself into the limelight. And like too many times before, it's in a not so very flattering way.

A student went up to his professor and begged out of group work because his particular set contained females, and his religion was against that. The professor, J. Paul Grayson, consulted religious scholars who said no, a student's religion doesn't ban him from studying with females, and Grayson refused the student's request.

But when York brass got wind of the matter, they supported the student, with provost Rhonda Lenton saying, "the broader issue of religious accommodations in secular universities remains an important societal concern that warrants further discussion.”

No, no it doesn't.

This whole country- and especially Toronto- promotes religious diversity and provides places of worship where people can go and pray to the deity of their choice. And each place of worship has its own set of rules, making it unique and distinct from other places of worship. In a mosque, you take off your hat and shoes. Men put on a yarmulke when entering a synagogue. Both genders cross themselves when entering a Catholic church, and so on.

Each religious institution has its own rules, and you can't just enter one, requesting that they bend to accommodate you. And yet York is doing that very same thing.

A university doesn't have a dress code (with the exception of Christian colleges in the States), but it does have its own code of behaviours. Thou shalt not plagiarize, cheat, steal or act in any other way that compromises the academic code of honesty.

So for York to suddenly adopt religious codes in deference to its own isn't just muddle-headed, it sets a dangerous precedent.

Like Grayson said, "This takes us back to the dark ages as far as I'm concerned. It's completely unacceptable."