There was some controversy over a Kwan Yin statue at a Buddhist temple in Utica, New York, but apparently Buddhist temples aren’t the most desirable neighbors all over the globe. Two colleges in the suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria in Australia were planning to merge and hired a firm to choose the more desirable site for the new “super-school.” From The Age:
In its site suitability analysis, independent firm Arup said the oval at Lakeside Secondary College abutted an ”unsightly industrial plastic plant on the eastern aspect and a Buddhist temple at its western aspect”.”These uses are not complimentary [sic] to a learning environment and detract from the school’s image,” the report said.
Oh well. It seems the “mosque” at “Ground Zero” isn’t the only religious institution bumping into NIMBY sentiments. Perhaps people will be able to silence church bells and other similar nuisances in coming years.
[Image: The Age. Bad for a school’s image? Picture: Michael Clayton-Jones]
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