By Elizabeth Pierdominici
The University administration is deliberating changes for the future academic calendar that may schedule classes to be in session during major Christian and Jewish holidays.
Currently, the University does not hold classes on the first two days of Rosh Hashanah, the first day of Yom Kippur and the first day of Passover. There are also no classes in session on Thanksgiving and Good Friday. A change from the present calendar could jeopardize students and faculty honoring these holidays.
The University Senate voted to recommend that the administration create a task force to evaluate the academic calendar. This newly found task force met for the first time on Wednesday, March 2.
Dan Seabold, associate professor of mathematics and speaker for the faculty ,said the University’s faculty initiated the discussion by voting on May 2, 2003 to reexamine the current scheduling policy.
The Calendar Committee of the University Senate gathered information pertaining to calendars of local universities, generated a census of students’ religious affiliations and surveyed the faculty in spring 2004 and then the students in fall 2004.
In response to a survey directed to the faculty, approximately 300 faculty members listed Sukkoth, additional days at Passover, Ramadan, Eid al-Fitr, Eid el-Adha and Hindu religious days as holidays in which they would be unable to attend class. Seabold said that there was an even division among those for and against a change.
“The survey was a good-faith gesture for getting feedback from the students and faculty about their views on this issue,” Jewish chaplain, Rabbi Meir Mitelman, said. “It is essential that there is sensitivity to the thoughts of the student body.”
If the administration decides to modify the schedule, making classes in session on some holy days, students will be able to receive an excused absence. Many students worry that this will mean falling behind in work and potentially earning lower grades.
There is also a concern over the fairness of the change. Students and professors might find themselves in a dilemma over their religious obligations and their academic obligations.
“As far back as I remember, the University has always closed the campus on the first day or two for the Jewish holidays, or coincided spring break to include Passover and Good Friday,” Mitelman said. “Because the Jewish calendar is lunar, the actual days these services occur will shift with each year.”
Planning an academic calendar may become an arduous task when considering these varying dates. However, students against the possible calendar change argue that the schedule has been successful for the last 20 years. They question why the administration wants to consider a revision now.
Shauna Smith, sophomore community health major, wonders how any person or any organization could decide which day is holier than another.
“No one can compare the sacredness of one holiday to another,” she said.
As a member of Hillel, a Jewish organization, Smith is ardent in her desire for the calendar to remain the same.
“Rosh Hashanah is considered the Jewish New Year and Yom Kippur is a day of atonement,” she said. “Both of these are considered among the holiest days on the Jewish calendar and many people of the Jewish faith use these days to go to temple with their family and participate in a religious service.”
Major Christian holidays are also affected, but aside from Good Friday and Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter occur during times that classes are already not in session.
Eric Dubinsky, a sophomore marketing major, recently created a petition in hopes that the administration will allow for a referendum that will enable students to vote directly on the matter. Dubinsky has acquired approximately 300 signatures for the petition, which can be found in the Interfaith Center.
“I am not sure why students believe that they can only influence the decision through an act of protest,” Seabold said. “The students have representatives on the University Senate and the Senate Calendar Committee. The Calendar Committee has already surveyed the students, and the results will be examined by the newly-formed Calendar Task Force.”
He said a petition against change is less informative than a survey where students can express opposition to or support for the current policy.
In weighing the pros and cons of a University-wide policy, Seabold said supporters of a change do not accept the lack of representation for religious minorities, mainly, Muslims, Orthodox Jews and Eastern Orthodox Christians. They feel that the University’s role as a non-sectarian institution would imply that there is no room for religion in the planning process, especially when breaking for religious holidays interrupts the flow of a course.
“Supporters of a policy change feel that the decision to attend or not to attend class for religious reasons is a personal one,” Seabold said. “I don’t think that the number of absences caused by holy days will harm the typical student if faculty takes reasonable steps to mitigate that harm. A far greater concern is that the University will appear insensitive to its professors’ and students’ religious practices.”
It is this concern that fuels the support of many students, like Dubinsky and Smith.
Dubinsky argues that since the majority of he campus is comprised of Christian and Jewish students, their religious needs should be considered equally to that of any other need.
“My hope is that the administration will consider the majority of the school’s population and how they feel about this matter,” he said. “When the petition has reached 1,000 signatures, a number that represents about one-eight of the student population, I plan to submit it to President Rabinowitz. As a private academic institution, we deserve to be heard as a matter of principle and because of how much we pay for tuition.
Jessica Wallerstein, a sophomore religious study major, agrees that it is ideal for the calendar to remain the same.
“We are not asking for new holidays to be added to the calendar,” she said. “We deserve a right to vote about what affects us directly.”