State University of New York at Stony Brook in New York has decided to no longer cancel classes for major Christian and Jewish holidays in an effort to ensure that some religions are not given special treatment and to “afford equal support and equal respect to students and faculty from all faiths.”
Jewish students would be impacted on Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Passover and Holy Week. Christian students would be impacted on Good Friday. The X-Mas holiday is protected under a union contract and occurs when classes are traditionally not in session.
The university had considered allowing faculty to schedule exams on Saturday and Sunday — a time when many students attend worship services. However, that decision was tabled after reaching a compromise with students.
“As a secular university, as a state-funded university our priority must be to maximize instructional opportunities for our students,” said Charles Robbins, vice provost for undergraduate education. “First and foremost, it’s important to note that while I respect everyone’s concerns, the reality is it’s a relatively small number of people who are upset.”
Robbins told FOX News Radio the university’s decision to stop canceling classes for Christian and Jewish holidays offers “equal protection under the regulations to everybody and no one is getting quote, unquote, special treatment.”
Robbins, who has a background in social justice, said many religions, including the Muslims and Buddhists have never had their holidays officially recognized by the university.
“Now all segments of our population will be equally recognized,” he said. “It really is the American fair thing to do.”
However, Stony Brook University’s 24,100 undergraduate and graduate students are not as religiously diverse as the vice provost said. According to a report in The Jewish Week, 26 percent consider themselves Roman Catholic, 24 percent consider themselves other Christian, 8 percent are Muslim, 5 percent are Jewish, and 5 percent are Hindu.
The university’s decision led the school’s Jewish, Muslim, Protestant, Catholic and Asian Christian chaplains to write a letter encouraging them to reconsider.
“Rather than ‘respecting all religions equally,’ as we were told the new calendar would do, it will surely be perceived as an attack on student and faculty religious identity and observance,” the letter read.
“We fear that this will be seen as making Stony Brook a less tolerant community that seeks conformity over diversity.”
(Source: MyFoxNY)
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8 Responses
Its the right decision. A public college cannot organize its classroom and exam calendar around the multiple regligious holidays of all the major faiths or it would be chaos. Most professors will make some accomdoation if you ask. For the jewish yom tovim alone, they would lose at least at least 8-10 days a year and they would have to add in the holidays of other faiths. If someone is frum, they should consider flexibility to reschedule before enrolling or go to YU or Stern.
What about Jewish faculty members. Not so easy to get a job elsewhere.
Rather than respecting all religions this change means they respect no religions.
#1 wrote “It would be chaos”
Haven’t they been giving those days off for years already? Has it been chaos until now? If anything the new way would be more chaotic as the teachers will have to deal with students asking for exceptions, postponements, etc.
To no.3
No. They haven’t closed on all yom tovim. Only on RH and YK. And they haven’t closed for any muslim holidays, even the most important ones. There have been growing requests from other religious groups for “equal” treatment so this was the right thing to do. They are no different from any other employer and those who prefer not to work (or take exams) on Jewish, Christian or Muslim yom tovim will need to make their own arrangements.
I heard about this when the story broke Wednesday. The Friday they mention is a joke because usually spring break is around that time anyway.
The chutzpah is that they will mark the student absent for those days. When I was in college (CUNY) we didn’t have off for Succos (RH & Yom Kippur were off days) but I was NOT marked absent and the profs were VERY nice about it.
However under Federal and state law they will be required to individually each and every student and professor. Taking this year as an example, where “Good Friday” and “Pesach” come together, they have to reasonably accomodate all Jewish and Christian students. It might be easier to suggest a rule that one should close if the affected number of people exceeds a certain number, and if less than the number is involved rely on indvidual accomodations.
It also should be remembered the Democrats tend to favor “freedom from religion”, which is probably why any Jew who supports the Democrats is in the class as those German Jews who voted for Hitler since they thought he would be good for the country.
When I was in college, not suny or cuny, we didn’t have off anything except RH. Not YK or anything else. Christmas always falls on winter break, Easter is always on a Sunday. I almost failed 2 classes because Pesach fell in such a way that I missed a ton of classes including a midterm, my teacher was a huge anti-Semite. After that year I switched to a more accommodating school. I dealt with this.. And I still say it is not the schools responsibility to accommodate every religion. That is asking to much. If being off for the holidays is really important to you go to stern , yu, touro. It was very difficult for me to take off for everything and although I did go to the dean about my missed midterm which after much back and forth he talked my Prof. Into changing my grade, it was not worth the headache.
“those German Jews who voted for Hitler since they thought he would be good for the country.”
I’ve been wondering for a long time, is this a fact or just an anti-Semitic accusation?