Michigan's Foot Bath Controversy

To assist the University of Michigan-Dearborn's large Muslim population, the school will spend $25,000 installing foot baths in two campus bathrooms, reports the Michigan Daily. Although the Dearborn campus is following in the footsteps of several other universities, clean-feet critics claim these "aggressive accommodations" violate separation of church and state in public institutions.

Dearborn has the highest concentration of Muslims in the United States, many of whom participate in a preprayer cleansing ritual that has led to students washing their feet in bathroom sinks, which has been cited as both a safety and sanitary concern. –Jackie Mantey