Growing up as children there was a pattern to the holidays from New Year’s, Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, the Fourth of July, Labor Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Each holiday came with its decor and traditions and as kids, it was another day off, depending on the holiday, a chance to decorate or do fun activities, a wealth of different candy and foods, the opportunity for gifts and spending time with family.
While this would be typical for someone growing up in the United States, there would be different holidays in other areas, such as Bastille Day for the French, Boxing Day for the British Commonwealth and others. In addition, you have other occasions that are viewed as high religious observances such as the examples of Good Friday, Eid al-Fitr and Yom Kippur, among others.
With so many different holidays and observances, it can be confusing to understand the different nuances of each. This confusion raises the question of how the university responds to the needs of students, faculty and staff awho observe such religious holidays.
The university does provide flexibility to the faculty, but the responsibility lies with the student to seek out the necessary accommodation. The critical aspect is planning ahead so that things can be done in advance i.e., the student needs to be aware of the dates up front and speak with his faculty about it. Each religious observance will have a different meaning for the student and he needs to articulate that to his faculty. We as faculty need to be open and accommodating to the different requests. The same can be said for supervisors who also need to be mindful of the needs of their faculty and staff.
This has been a challenge in the past as different students, faculty and staff have faced difficulties when exams, projects or major campus events take place on religious holidays. Some have faced unnecessary obstacles because of the lack of information and understanding. A lot of this happens as a result of the lack of knowledge that the holiday is taking place.
While the University Registrar does an excellent job in providing guidance at the start of the academic year as a reminder to faculty, it is something that needs to be stressed throughout the year.
While the university is accommodating to the needs of the community as it observes certain religious holidays, what happens with other holiday observances?
Let’s look at the current time period, as it is the start of December. In the U.S. and in a number of other places around the world, this is the time associated with different images. In some areas, it is very religious with the depictions of Joseph, Mary, Baby Jesus or the usage of the Menorah, or the Kwanzaa candles, while in others it is multicolored lights, decorated trees, the usage of evergreens and other traditional customs. It is filled with holiday music and different foods. In other areas, it is a time to prepare for the upcoming New Year. Each of the images will have different meanings to each of us, and each of us will display those images according to practice and traditions.
With so many nuances and viewpoints, how do you ensure that the holidays are inclusive to everyone? My response is that the holidays are inclusive because each of us as individuals celebrates them in different ways, if one even celebrates them at all. If anything, we must always strive to allow individuals to celebrate or not celebrate their traditions freely. It is this choice that allows for the concept of inclusion of different viewpoints, but not the stifling of a celebration.
Any holiday period points to the richness of our diversity and the fact that one can or cannot celebrate as one sees fit.
For some these holiday times are very religious in nature while for others, they hold more secular meanings. Each meaning is correct and should be allowed to flourish. It is an individual choice when it comes to the celebration of any holiday. We head down a slippery slope when we begin to decide how members of the community are supposed to mark an occasion.
If we begin to decide what is appropriate or not appropriate then it raises many more issues and concerns. Could we see the following: no outward display of your religious preferences such as wearing a cross or a Star of David, for example? No private prayer before starting your meal in the dining hall? We can go on and on in this regard and we begin to get into constitutional issues of freedom of speech and religion.
I think that most individuals on a college campus are aware of their own biases and needs when it comes to the different holiday celebrations. If individuals are uncomfortable because of something taking place, then they should be able to bring those concerns forward and be heard.
In the end, any holiday celebration, from All Hallows Eve, to the Summer Solstice to Chinese New Year will have different meanings for members of the university community. It is through these different meanings and the choice that we have to celebrate or not celebrate that we get to the spirit of inclusion rather than the spirit of exclusion