Playing "The Star-Spangled Banner" at intercollegiate sporting events in the United States is as commonplace as, well, apple pie. But until now, the national anthem has never been performed at Goshen College, a small 116-year-old institution in Indiana whose ties to the pacifist Mennonite Church led it, among other things, to ban the song because of its martial lyrics. According to the Associated Press, the college has agreed to allow the anthem's performance in order to be more welcoming of visitors and students from outside the faith (only 55 percent of the enrollment is Mennonite). But the decision has split the college, with hundreds signing an anti-anthem petition and some 900 joining a Facebook page called "Against Goshen College Playing National Anthem." The college has compromised, however: The version of the song to be performed starting next month will be instrumental.
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