Religious holiday forms due today

Whether it's Yom Kippur or Good Friday, students will not be allowed to just skip school this year. Due today, students must fill out an exemption form to be excused from classes on religious holidays.\nIU is asking students to fill out the name, religion, dates and practices of holidays on "Request for Accommodation for Religious Observances" forms and give them to professors. The deadline allows professors adequate time to accommodate their students and gives students the opportunity to make up any school work missed. \nIf students miss the deadline, Gerald Pugh, assistant dean of the faculties, said most professors will work with students and allow them to be excused from class. \nBefore each semester, faculty members receive holiday calendars. IU recommends that instructors provide information about the accommodation form, including the Web site, on their syllabi. \nJournalism professor Amy Reynolds postponed an exam because it was scheduled for the day after the Jewish holiday Rosh Hashanah. \n"Because our calendar makes accommodations for Christian holidays, I think it's appropriate and necessary to make accommodations for other holidays," she said.\nThe current "Accommodations for Religious Observances" policy was implemented by the Bloomington Faculty Council on Feb. 15, 2000. With all faiths in mind, the BFC created a policy which states, "IU respects the right of all students to observe their religious holidays and will make reasonable accommodation, upon request, for such observances."\nThe policy does not just apply to Christian and Jewish holidays, but includes Buddhist holiday Bodhi Day and Bahá'i holiday Birth of the Báb.\nRetired professor of philosophy and Jewish studies, and former chair of the BFC's Affirmative Action Committee, Paul Eisenberg presented the new policy to the BFC. \n"Before this policy, IU . . . had a practice which was ineffective because if a faculty member was unwilling to make accommodations and a student complained to the dean, the dean could only encourage the faculty member to be more considerate," Eisenberg said. "Now it is official policy and the dean can command faculty members to pay more attention to holidays and observances."\nUnder the current policy, instructors should discuss accommodations with students. If they cannot agree on arrangements, they may go before the dean of the faculties. Once the dean makes a decision, either party can appeal the decision to the Office of Affirmative Action.\nAlthough IU asks professors to inform students about accommodations for religious observances, some students believe the University could do more. Sophomore David Cangany said he learned about the forms from friends. \n"I think for a university with such a diverse population, it needs to do more to make students aware of what accommodations the University makes regarding religious observances, and you shouldn't have to hear about it from your friends," he said. "The University should make more of an effort to publicize it."\n-- Contact staff writer Stephanie Susman at ssusman@indiana.edu.