Juggling classes and holiday celebrations every year can be difficult, some Jewish Boston University students said.
BU does not give university-wide days off for Jewish holidays, including two major ones this week: Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Instead students and faculty members can opt-out of class on days of religious significance.
But College of Communication freshman Laura Flanagan, who said she visited her family in New Jersey last weekend to celebrate Rosh Hashanah, said the policy is frustrating.
‘I just found out that Hanukah comes very early in December, so I cannot go home at all to celebrate the holiday with my family,’ she said. ‘I’ll be home for Christmas, but I live five hours away so I can’t go home after school and come back every night to celebrate.’
The updated BU policy for this year on religious observances says, ‘Students are permitted to be absent from class, including classes involving examinations, labs, excursions, and other special events, for purposes of religious observance.’
The policy also references the Massachusetts law requiring institutions to excuse students from regular classes and activities for religious reasons.
‘The university in scheduling classes on religious holidays and observances intends that students observing those traditions be given ample opportunity to make up work,’ BU spokesman Colin Riley said. ‘Faculty members intending to celebrate these holidays will arrange for another teacher to teach any missed classes.’
Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore said it would be impossible for BU to give days off for every religious affiliation in the student body.
‘We’ve got such a wide variety of people here that I think everyone’s interests might be better served if we address the individual,’ Elmore said.
Flanagan said she understands that BU is a big school and the policy cannot accommodate everyone.
‘I understand that not everyone’s Jewish and to give off a week in the middle of December would just interfere with classes,’ Flanagan said.’
But given the level of participation in Hillel House weekly services and the more than 30 Jewish organizations on campus, students said having the chance to miss class and turn work in late does not make up for class time missed to celebrate their religious holidays.
COM freshman Mara Berg said the policy is unfair and she dislikes having to skip classes for services.
‘It is just a pain to have to email teachers and say you’re not going to be in classes because you have services,’ she said. ‘It should be just like Christmas for us where we get off automatically cause it’s only fair.’
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James D – While BU does have a large and diverse population of students with various religious beliefs, the focus of the article was on Jewish students and their views on the subject of their holidays. The Jewish community at BU recently celebrated high holiday hence their situation being the issue at focus. Ms. Berg was merely stating her view on the subject considering how her relgious beliefs factor into BU’s academic calender. <p/> Scott Riegelhaupt-Herzig – Ms. Flanagan did in fact make discuss that Hanukkah was not as an important holiday as the recently celebrated high holidays. Her full interview was not included in the article but her mention of Hanukkah was mainly to point out the timing of the holiday this year and how while she will have off for a Christian holiday, she will not have off for her own.
Muslim students do not get special treatment during Ramadan nor do they get days off from school during the recently passed holy day of Eid. Hindu students do not get days off from school for Holi or Dasera. BU has an incredibly diverse student body that follows a huge array of religions. Everyone else has to skip classes on their holy days. The university has done a wonderful job to accommodate the diverse population and its various religious beliefs. So I struggle to understand why exactly Ms. Berg feels it is ‘unfair’, particularly when that policy affects everyone equally across the board..