The Columbia University Senate has adopted a resolution which will end the practice of scheduling classes on Jewish religious holidays. Rabbi Charles Sheer, the University’s Jewish Chaplain, notified the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that at its Feb. 11 meeting, the Senate requested officials scheduling academic activities to “schedule classes, examinations, registrations, convocations and other activities” that are a “part of the academic calendar” so that they will not conflict with religious holidays.
A list of religious holidays will be issued by the Registrar at the beginning of each academic year. The Senate resolution also provided that when a scheduling conflict proves unavoidable, no student will be penalized for absence due to religious reasons, and alternative means will be sought to satisfy the academic requirements involved.
The resolution also provides for faculty members to observe the holidays by making arrangements with their department heads to provide alternative instruction or consultation. Rabbi Sheer noted that “the resolution adopted by the University refers to all Jewish holidays, not just Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, and it protects students and faculty alike. It is far-reaching because it places the onus of enforcement on the office of the Provost, rather than the campus rabbi.”
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
