Oregon – While University students got an extra day of rest in observance of Yom Kippur on Monday before classes started, Oregon State University held classes without regard for the Jewish holiday.
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It was a move that drew criticism from Jewish leaders and others in Corvallis and an apology from the school.
“We obviously missed the boat on this,” OSU Community and Diversity Director Terryl Ross told the Corvallis Gazette-Times.
Corvallis community members responded angrily to the move.
“The comparison isn’t exact, but this is a little like scheduling the first day of class on Christmas,” a Gazette-Times editorial read. “It’s a scheduling embarrassment for OSU and most of the other schools in the Oregon University System.”
However, the editorial then praised the school’s apology. The Oregon University System plans not to schedule the first day of classes on the holiday again.
The university of Oregon (based in Eugene) did not have classes on yom kippur. I guess the 2 largest schools don’t talk to each other…
Why should they? It’s not a Jewish school. Missing one day of class at the start of the semester is hardly a big deal. Besides, even if it were in the middle of a semester and they were missing something important, Jewish students have the right to make it up later since they had to attend to their holiday.
at portland state university we all had to miss the first day of school. apparently it could be excused but it was a huge hit missing organic chemistry the first day….
why should they have a day off? most students are not Jewish. the school should not apologize.
When I went to university in 1972, classes started also on YK. Big deal. So I missed day 1. I met my room mate who was also looking lost that first day we started. She was the first person I actually spoke to! Why does everyone have to fight over everything? As my father A”H said to me when I was still at school, no one ever failed a career or ultimately lost parnassah because they kept Shabbos. I certainly didn’t! Now I ( a Frum woman, wife, mother & grandmother) own a successful consulting business.
Interestingly, we met a Jewish student (from a traditional home) who did attend classes on YK. He was a total wash-out. So who succeeded & who lost?
True, the university dropped the ball. So it won’t happen again. Get over it, people!
Feh. These schools never learn. My law school scheduled my graduation on Shavuos. There was never a haveh amina that I would attend, obviously. The school knew it was a Yom Tov but held it that day anyway because the guest speaker’s schedule couldn’t be changed. To this day, I will not give a penny to the school – whenever I get literature and money requests from them, I send it back with a note saying that as soon as they give me my graduation ceremony, I will send money.
i didnt know that it was custom to have no university classes on jewish holidays. and how many jewish kids are at Oregon SU? my school i was one of few jewish kids and i wouldnt think theyd cancel classes.
You obviously are not religious. Your statement is akin to saying that I “choose” not to eat in non-kosher restaurants. If you are a Torah-observant Jew, its not a matter of choice. We follow the Torah law and the Torah law did not permit me to attend the graduation on Shavuous. Again, I’m not saying that the school should have accomodated me – they made a choice and held the graduation on a day they knew or should have known that I (and a few others in my class) would not be able to attend. So I choose not to give them a penny forever.
hello people! we are in the galus! we cannot expect the world to schedule around us! you know what you do when yontif and class coincide? you miss class, and you make up the work! that’s what i did, and b’h i’m doing just fine. now as far as i understand, most ny schools (cuny, and others, as well as the public school system) give off for r’h and y’k- but then again, ny has a lot of jews and those two holidays are observed by most, even those who aren’t frum. in oregon, however, there is no reason to expect this kind of accomodation. you just deal with it- which is what you’re going to have to do in the real world anyway.